John Calipari urges Meleek Thomas to embrace discomfort: "Keep shooting, even if it's an airball" 

Meleek Thomas is one of the top freshmen coach John Calipari has brought into the program this offseason. The five-star guard is ranked No. 12 in the nation, according to 247 Sports Composite rankings.

As Calipari begins his Year 2 with the Razorbacks, he is pushing his players to get outside their comfort zone to find their ceiling.

On Wednesday, following the team's practice, Calipari met with the media to talk about his squad's progress and what he hopes to see out of them this summer. He went into detail about each player, including Thomas.

"I'm making Meleek dribble less and still score, but you're not going to dribble as much," Calipari said (Timestamp: 31:14 onwards). "He's very uncomfortable. He's wide open and doesn't want to shoot it. He wants to come here and then shoot it. Why didn't you shoot the first one?

"So, how do I make him comfortable? I want you to shoot it — I don't care if you make it, but you've got to tip dunk your miss. So, go ahead and shoot it. I don't care. Throw it off the backboard for you. How about you're going to get in the greatest shape of your life? I'm asking you to shoot jump shots even if some of them were airballs, keep shooting," he added.

Thomas averaged 31.9 points and 8.9 rebounds last season with the Overtime Elite program, shooting 38.1% from beyond the arc as well.

John Calipari discusses Meleek Thomas' upside and scoring ability

Without a doubt, Meleek Thomas is a great scorer and has shown the ability to be lethal from almost anywhere on the court. However, John Calipari thinks he can get even more out of the young freshman.

In the same press conference, a reporter asked Calipari about the positive attributes of Thomas.

"He's different," Calipari said (Timestamp: 33:04 onwards). "He's a basket-getter, but he is used to having the ball and then getting a basket. We're going to create opportunities for him to run downhill, to shoot floaters, come off a screen, pull up in transition, shoot.

"You're not going to bounce it 50 times. And if you do ... It better go in. You can do it, but if it doesn't go in, you're coming out. You're not playing that way," he added.

John Calipari continued that he wants his players to do what the team needs to succeed, rather than show off individual abilities.

Arkansas landed another five-star guard in Darius Acuff Jr, who is expected to play a big role for the Razorbacks next season.