Arkansas freshman Davion Thompson won’t be Hogs’ last surprise

John Calipari built this Arkansas roster around freshmen and folks have asked about that ever since the class was finalized.

Saturday, the youngest one gave the Hogs something to point to.

Davion Thompson is 17. With 1:01 on the clock, he rose up from deep and knocked it down. That sent No. 12 Arkansas past No. 15 Gonzaga 76-72.

It was only an exhibition. Nobody’s hanging a banner for it but everybody might want to remember this exhibition result going forward. The entire season may end up that way.

Still, a 17-year-old taking that shot against a top-15 team in October is something that shows new guys may appear just about every game.

Calipari sure didn’t treat it like it was something special.

A freshman takes big shot

Gonzaga had chopped the lead to 70-68 and the clock was getting short. The Bulldogs were rolling and you wondered if the Hogs had a lid on the goal they were aiming to hit.

Billy Richmond III had the ball the next trip down. He attacked the lane and got smacked in the face for his trouble. It was a physical game that the coaches wanted and the players will see a lot this year.

He still found Thompson outside with time ticking away.

Thompson let it fly. The ball fell through and the Razorbacks led 73-68.

Arkansas held on from there.

“It was amazing, man,” Thompson said. “Shot clock is going down, and I just felt like I had to go make a play, and the ball went down. So that’s what it was.”

Calipari’s favorite line gets new proof

Calipari has one go-to reply whenever somebody brings up his young roster. This weekend handed him fresh evidence he’s right about the talent level of the kids.

“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough,” Calipari said.. “[Davion] making that shot proved he’s 17, but he’s old enough.”

He didn’t hand out a free pass, though.

“He made a couple plays where he drove in and turned it over, and then one he just threw (away),” Calipari said.

Some nights you’ll get the clutch 3 and the bad pass from the same kid. That’s life with this many freshmen and you might want to get used to it.

Calipari still liked his nerve.

“He wasn’t afraid,” he said. “He’s special.”

The veteran still sets tone

Richmond is one of the few vets Calipari can lean on. He led all scorers with 17 points.

He also made the right call on that last big trip. He didn’t force a shot. He trusted the kid instead.

“There were times when we had to handle adversity, and all the guys showed up, like even him (Davion) right here,” Richmond said.

Not every young Hog had a night like Thompson’s. Freshmen such as Jordan Smith and Cooper Bowser were quiet against a ranked team.

Calipari’s staff will have plenty of film to go over this week.

Gonzaga played a physical game, the kind the Razorbacks will see in SEC play.

Thompson said the jump in contact was real. “It was an adjustment,” he said. “We’ve been practicing, going at each other for the last, who knows, but obviously, the physicality is there, and I feel like today it showed, and we showed our ability to handle it.”

A late arrival who fits right in

Thompson was supposed to still be in high school. A summer move up from the 2027 class changed that.

Caleb Ourigou made the same early jump. The two got to Arkansas just days ahead of the Bahamas trip.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard hasn’t had long to settle in. Against Gonzaga, he looked like he’d been around a while.

He’s the youngest in a big freshman group. If a few more of them grow up this fast, Arkansas could be a tough out.

Fans shouldn’t get too attached to one name, though. With this many freshmen in the mix, the guy taking the last shot against Memphis could be somebody else.

Memphis comes to Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday for one last tuneup. Tipoff is 7 p.m. on SEC Network+.

Calipari will want better ball security from his young guards.

He’ll also want more freshmen to look as calm as Thompson did with the game on the line.