Arkansas Basketball Recruiting: Can Calipari flip Chris Cenac?

Five-star center Chris Cenac will be one of the most coveted prospects in the 2025 class until he commits. The New Orleans, Louisiana native has been linked to LSU for his college basketball career. According to On3’s recruitment prediction machine, the Tigers lead the race with a 28% chance to land Cenac.

Despite LSU’s lead, it might be wiser for Cenac to turn his sights to Arkansas. Cenac took an official visit to Arkansas this weekend. The Razorbacks place fourth in On3’s prediction at 10.6%. John Calipari’s arrival in Fayetteville marks a new era for the Razorbacks, hopefully of success and fortune. Calipari flipped three of his top recruits from the 2024 class to Arkansas from Kentucky.

John Calipari’s Draft Success should entice Chris Cenac

For Cenac’s eventual NBA aspirations, joining forces with Calipari could be a wise idea. History tells us that Cal’s high-rated recruits tend to be high draft picks at the very least. There’s a long history of Kentucky bigs under Calipari going high in the draft. Across his 15-year Kentucky tenure, NBA teams selected Wildcat 10 bigs in the lottery.

Some of these bigs — DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis and Karl Anthony Towns — blossomed into NBA stars. Plenty of solid role-player bigs came from the Calipari Wildcats — PJ Washington, Nerlens Noel, Isaiah Jackson and Patrick Patterson. Cenac’s talent should lend to college success and he’s likely to receive draft buzz under Calipari.

It’s difficult to project a college team’s roster multiple years out given the volatility of the modern game. But if Cenac commits to Arkansas, his path to playing time early appears clear. Two of Arkansas’s three main bigs, Trevon Brazile and Jonas Aidoo are seniors this season. Only sophomore Zvonimir Ivisic projects as a long-term piece.

Chris Cenac’s fit with Arkansas

All three of Arkansas’s high-profile freshmen — Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond – are perimeter-oriented players. Assuming they remain with the program past their freshman season, the path is open for an elite talent at center to complete the roster. Cenac will likely feature heavily wherever he goes, but Arkansas’s complementary talent might be the strongest.

Google Trends can help us point towards a possible commitment decision. Predictably, Louisiana searches the most for Cenac of all states. Arkansas doesn’t sit far behind at second, though, hinting at the state’s interest in Cenac.

At 6’10, Cenac boasts the perimeter skills requisite of modern star center prospects. He’s a capable shooter off of the dribble with enough handling skill to drive past slower bigs. Cenac defends the basket at a high-level, rising up for big blocks and covering space with his mobility. His two-way skillset and perimeter versatility make Cenac one of the highest ceiling prospects in the 2025 class.

holy hell chris cenac (’25) detonated over this defender, disgustingly explosive poster pic.twitter.com/rySuSBK9jG

— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) June 1, 2024

Outside of 2025’s loaded top three, Chris Cenac’s recruitment could shake the college landscape more than most other recruits. Despite predictions favoring other programs, don’t be shocked if John Calipari flips Cenac to play his college ball in Fayetteville.