Calipari’s offer for Razorbacks rookie caught him by surprise

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — John Calipari’s knack for dramatic action is starting to show in the offers he’s making to Arkansas right now. JJ Andrews was a little surprised when assistant coach Chin Coleman gave him the call Monday afternoon.

It turned out to be none other than Calipari on the other end of the line, and after some discussion, he made the offer to the highly ranked Little Rock Christian star.

Nate Olson of our sister site High School on SI visited Andrews for over 20 minutes and learned that the call was completely unexpected. But he knew he had made an effort.

“I was speechless,” Andrews told Olson.

• Full interview with the Razorbacks’ latest offer

As a sophomore, Andrews averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds for Little Rock Christian last season. He played well at Peach Jam, winning the Nike EYBL U16 title. His Bradley Beal Elite team went 7-0 against some of the other star players in the country.

He led the Warriors to the Class 4A state championship last year, beating Farmington in the final in Hot Springs. He is the 15th-ranked player by ESPN for the 2026 class, and On3 ranks him 20th overall and No. 1 in Arkansas.

It’s another step in Calipari’s goal of recruiting in-state players who can compete at the level he wants. But they have to fit what he’s looking for, and apparently the 6-foot-6 guy some consider a “game-changer” probably fits that bill.

Andrews is also a long-term recruit. His father, Shawn, played football at Arkansas, but that didn’t mean he was automatically going to join the Razorbacks. These decisions come down to what’s best for the player, from his family’s perspective.

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