Breakdown of 2018-2019 Incoming Players

[jgphillips3]

Offensively, we are going to miss Macon and Barford.  However, we do have a true point guard coming in with Harris and a straight up elite freaking shooter in Joe.  If Garland can play and Gafford is back, to go along with the other freshmen, we will actually have the kind of "length" you need to more effectively run the press.  So, next year could be a mixed bag.  If we do have Gafford, I expect a team that will be up and down early but, if things go right, could be pretty decent by tournament time if they just don't screw the pooch too bad with early losses.

[Dominicanhog]

The growth or lack of growth from CJ Jones will play a big role in how good we are next year.

I'm hopeful that with more consistent minutes and a starting role, he can be a solid12-14 ppg Guy.

I think CJ gets passed by, his minutes will be about the same next year, if that... same with Bailey.. they'll get minutes early in the year but the newcomers will be playing by year end..

[JayHog]

CJ is just too inconsistent for me. I was on the CJ bus at the beginning of the season, but as the season wore on, he's just too streaky to ever be anything other than a role player.

[Pinto]

CJ is just too inconsistent for me. I was on the CJ bus at the beginning of the season, but as the season wore on, he's just too streaky to ever be anything other than a role player.

People said the same thing about Anthlon and he came back and shot 44% from behind the arc the next year. He was only a sophomore with very limited career playing time. Y'all give up too quickly. Confidence is a HUGE part of shooting.

[lstewart]

I don't expect to have Gafford and Garland. I'm thinking 17 wins after the SEC tourney and maybe getting into the NIT. Probably 7-11 SEC, maybe 8-10.

[redleg]

IF...Gafford returns for next season, Arkansas will make the NCAA Tourney, but it won't be some big leap forward. There are no other big men on the team to relieve Gafford, or take over if Gafford gets into foul trouble, which is what most coaches will try to do since they will know the Hogs won't have anyone else in the paint like Dan. Also, senior leadership and experience counts for something. There will be six new faces on the team next year. Yes they are talented, but none of them have played a single minute in a college basketball game yet. They could surprise everyone and win big! But logic and reality dictates that there will be too many growing pangs, and the learning curve in SEC basketball is too steep, for six freshmen, a handful of second and third year players (no seniors), and one solitary center to even repeat this past season's "success". ←and this past season was a letdown according to the majority of pre-season hype.
2018-19 will be a rebuilding year. And if Gafford leaves now? Arkansas will do well to finish with a winning record, forget going to any post-season tournament.
Sadly, Razorback fans seem to be getting use to 23-25 wins (with a "down year" every now and then), finishing 3rd to 6th in the SEC, and getting knocked out of the NCAA's in the first two rounds (if they even make the Tourney). THAT is NOT Razorback basketball! 
And I am no longer convinced that Mike Anderson is the long-term solution. I don't know who Arkansas might get to replace him, but CMA had better start improving his team's lot in their college basketball life, because this new Athletic Director is not the same guy that hired him, and my guess is he is watching for improvement. If he doesn't see it, or sees regression, don't be shocked if the Hogs get a new head coach in the next year or two.

[NoogaHog]

What are we expecting from Jalen Harris next year?

[Letsroll1200]

CJ Jones is not a starter. Not even close. He's not even a good player off the bench. One of the incoming freshman should start in his place.

I'm with you. CJ Jones hasn't done anything that suggests he'll be a starter next year. CJ shot 29% from 3 and 66% from the free throw line during conference games. CJ only attempted 9 free throws during conference play. Really needed production out of CJ Jones to make a realistic run in the conference and the NCAA tournament.

[woopig870]

Does anyone know what the situation is with Khalil Garland? Is it looking like he will play next season? Would be a HUGE boost to our team.

[cram224]

Our lineup if the basketball gods decide to bless Mike Anderson:

PG: 6'2" Harris
SG: 6'5" Jones
SF: 6'6" Hall
PF: 6'8" Chaney
C: 6'11" Gafford

Guards: Embery, Joe, Garland, Sills
Forwards: Phillips, Bailey, Osabuohien
Posts: Henderson

If things do not go Mike's way like in the 2015 off-season, the lineup will look like:

PG: 6'2" Harris
SG: 6'5" Jones
SF: 6'6" Hall
PF: 6'7" Bailey
C: 6'8" Chaney

Guards: Embery, Joe, Sills
Forwards: Phillips, Osabuohien
Posts: Henderson, Late Addition (Tory Miller-Stewart?, Connor Vanover?)

I do not think Jones will end up starting by conference play. His skill set right now is more of a shooter off the bench (let's hope his numbers improve next year). I'd expect Embery or Joe to end up starting at SG.

Not bashing. You seem to have a lot of knowledge on our incoming class. I pay attention to you and Kevin Mc. I'm curious, how offend do you get to watch these HS players live? It seems with AAU ball that the player rankings are more accurate than football. Best playing the best. Most of the recruiting services agree on the top 10 or 15 players and they are pretty accurate. When you get say past the top 50, would you say it's a crap shoot? I know some players will always over perform, but the "difference makers" usually live up to their billing. On average, how many players from each years class would you say is a "difference maker"?

[Beaverfever]

I was so excited about CJ Jones after our non-conference games.  He really looked like he was going to be our third scoring option on this team.  I always thought he was the difference between this being a solid team and a very good team.  Hopefully he takes full advantage of all the minutes that will be up for grab next season and lives in the gym this offseason. 

[Kevin McPherson]

Kev, when do you think we will finally get word on Garland?

Also, any chance you think a player or two may transfer?

Might get word on Garland as soon as next month or May. Yes, in this age of wide-spread transferring in college basketball, always a chance 1 or 2 will leave.

[thehill1414]

People said the same thing about Anthlon and he came back and shot 44% from behind the arc the next year. He was only a sophomore with very limited career playing time. Y'all give up too quickly. Confidence is a HUGE part of shooting.

Exactly. Don't give up on CJ!

Just like those who predicted a sweet 16 run this season, I don't understand how you can predict anything other than In or Out of the NCAA. Just look at Kstate...they were a 9 seed (could have been a 10 since Butler was supposed to be an 8 in the seed rankings), they get by their first round game vs Creighton, and then luck into playing a 16 seed in round 2. No one predicted that. Arkansas could get an 11 seed next year and win round 1 and play a 14 round 2 to get to the sweet 16. You never know what will happen in the other games, so saying we will be in but won't go far is silly. In or out is the only thing you should predict.

[CPO Hog]

CJ shooting drought is because his follow through started drifting right. When his follow through was straight to the basket he nailed it. Dusty had a similar issue at times, as when he wouldn't square up his body and his follow through would drift right. When he was squared up his follow through was straight and he was deadly accurate. Look at any sharp shooter in a drought and you'll find a problem with their form.

[OkieBack]

If we have gafford and garland next year, I think we will be better than this year. We never really had good flow offensively this year, and lacked scoring options. We have a lot of talent coming in this year, and better defenders overall. Also Isaiah Joe is more like 6'4" or 6'5"

I like the incoming talent.  Keep Gafford and I would bet we become more consistent, quicker, and hopefully more defense-savvy.  Gafford is the key to maintaining an inside game.  Our incoming guards should make a noticeable difference particularly with the transitions game and assists.

[Cargill A. BullHog]

Tennessee was better than us at almost every position.  Not a whole lot you can do there.  We had no business losing to Butler by 20 TWICE in the same game.  It wasn't freakish the way Butler hit shots.  They got a lot of open looks and were 11/26 from the 3 point line.  That's solid but they turned the ball over 14 times and got to the line 11 fewer times than Arkansas.  Everyone knew Butler could score.  Everyone also knew that Butler was no defensive juggernaut.  It was a very winnable game and we lost by 17.

I wholeheartedly agree.  We had a better team than Butler, better talent, better coaching.  But Butler started hot and our older players did what theyve done all year when the other team was hot, they panicked. 

This leads us to this thread.  A young team will play blindly for a great coach like Coach A.  They won't quit when the other team gets insanely hot and hits 3 pointer after 3 pointer.  They won't know to quit because of their youth, they'll believe theyre just a classic "Coach A run" away from taking the lead.  Im just real excited to watch this young group mature and grow under the tuteldge of Coach A.

WPS

[swinesation]

My completely clueless predictions based on very little actual knowledge:

- The stars of the incoming class will be Reggie Chaney and Desi Sills. Chaney is the real deal.

- Jalen Harris will be a very good starting point guard for us next year.

- Surprise breakout player next season: Adrio Bailey

- Ethan Henderson needs at least a year to develop. If he ends up being our starting center next year, uh oh.

[razorback1829]

We will be young and dangerous next year. I believe the chemistry will have to be sorted out, but as all MA teams do, they will strike some upsets. Might even be good enough to sneak into the tournament if we play our best ball down the stretch, as MA teams do. Will be plenty frustrating starting out, but the Baby Hawgs will be the funnest bunch we've seen regardless of winning or losing. These guys are winners, and they have the dog neccesary to compete. Just all comes down to how fast they catch on.

[zenchow]

We will be young and dangerous next year. I believe the chemistry will have to be sorted out, but as all MA teams do, they will strike some upsets. Might even be good enough to sneak into the tournament if we play our best ball down the stretch, as MA teams do. Will be plenty frustrating starting out, but the Baby Hawgs will be the funnest bunch we've seen regardless of winning or losing. These guys are winners, and they have the dog neccesary to compete. Just all comes down to how fast they catch on.

I wonder if the fact that three of these new players have played together in the summers will speed up the chemistry part of the equation a bit...it's a thought

[HoopS]

I refuse to give up on CJ. He can shoot too well. He needs consistency and to figure out his strengths and faults in his game and correct things. He can. And he could be deadly.

[ballinhog]

I haven't been to a game since CJ has been here so I haven't had the chance to watch him shoot around but I have heard and read from other folks that in warm ups he barely gets any lift when he shoots and that he's automatic.

When I watch him in games he gets way up on his shot, so my question is, is that normal? I could possibly be 100% dead wrong but if I'm coaching him I tell him just calm down, relax and keep your feet closer to the floor when you shoot jumpers during games and I think the % goes way up. I think it's a big reason for his inconsistency.

Shooting is a lot of just muscle memory. Well if your shooting in an open gym 1 way and shoot another way in competition then you'll never get that consistency.

Just my 2 cents

[ballinhog]

I'm not saying this should be the starting lineup but I can't contain my excitement thinking of being times during games where Garland, Joe and Phillips are on the court at the same time.

6-5 6-5 and 6-7 all three versatile scorers, ball handlers, passers. All three are athletic, we've never had this. As frustrated as I was with the way we finished this season, next year has potential to be as exciting of a year as we've had in a long time.

I know I know it's always "next year" for us but we've never had this many guys at this size that can do what these guys do. Next year may finally be here, next year lol

[#1 STUNNA]

If we return Gafford and Garland, I believe we will be better than this season. I think next year could be the first year where we can actually see a hog team get up and down the court offensively and defensivel like we have expected since Anderson has taken over. Pretty excited about this class and whats returning if we get Gafford back.

[#1 STUNNA]

We have depth everywhere but one position. Gonna be interesting to see how we keep all of our guards happy because we got alot of depth at the position. Could see a lot of our guys playing multiple positions the next couple years.

[Pinto]

If we return Gafford and Garland, I believe we will be better than this season. I think next year could be the first year where we can actually see a hog team get up and down the court offensively and defensivel like we have expected since Anderson has taken over. Pretty excited about this class and whats returning if we get Gafford back.

Hard to say we will be better with all of the unknowns coming in. At least I wouldn't bet on it. I'm definitely not saying it isn't possible due to what we accomplished this past season playing bad basketball. If these young guys come in sharing the rock, knocking down shots and playing with heart then I believe they can win 18 games with Dan returning.

[311Hog]

Hard to say we will be better with all of the unknowns coming in. At least I wouldn't bet on it. I'm definitely not saying it isn't possible due to what we accomplished this past season playing bad basketball. If these young guys come in sharing the rock, knocking down shots and playing with heart then I believe they can win 18 games with Dan returning.

completely agree

The one thing i think some are missing is that Garland and Gafford IMHO are as much if not more "used" to playing with the players coming in than the players that are leaving because they played AAU together and had alot of success if i remember right, they grew up together.

the chemistry could really take off, and now that Macon and Barford are not tasked with carrying so much of the load maybe the others will be forced to step up.

[#1 STUNNA]

completely agree

The one thing i think some are missing is that Garland and Gafford IMHO are as much if not more "used" to playing with the players coming in than the players that are leaving because they played AAU together and had alot of success if i remember right, they grew up together.

the chemistry could really take off, and now that Macon and Barford are not tasked with carrying so much of the load maybe the others will be forced to step up.

These kids grew up playing with and against. I think if we ger Garland and Gafford back it will be a unknown yet fun season. And we are gonna be long, fast and more athletic than ever under Anderson. We realistically could have a 6'5 point guard this season and he could be the shortest in the starting 5 possibly. Depends on other stuff obviously.. but it is a chance.

[311Hog]

These kids grew up playing with and against. I think if we ger Garland and Gafford back it will be a unknown yet fun season. And we are gonna be long, fast and more athletic than ever under Anderson. We realistically could have a 6'5 point guard this season and he could be the shortest in the starting 5 possibly. Depends on other stuff obviously.. but it is a chance.

yeah i mean i don't think any of this group played with or against Macon and Barford because of their age and the route they took to get here, and probably neither Trey and the others because of the age difference.

We will be very young and super long and fast.   could also be pretty salty from the 3.

[rude1]

Exactly. Don't give up on CJ!

Just like those who predicted a sweet 16 run this season, I don't understand how you can predict anything other than In or Out of the NCAA. Just look at Kstate...they were a 9 seed (could have been a 10 since Butler was supposed to be an 8 in the seed rankings), they get by their first round game vs Creighton, and then luck into playing a 16 seed in round 2. No one predicted that. Arkansas could get an 11 seed next year and win round 1 and play a 14 round 2 to get to the sweet 16. You never know what will happen in the other games, so saying we will be in but won't go far is silly. In or out is the only thing you should predict.

I don't want to be a program that is going to have to wait to get lucky draws to get the sweet 16, I want to be a team that's good enough and expected to get to the sweet 16, where not getting there would be viewed as an upset.

[#1 STUNNA]

yeah i mean i don't think any of this group played with or against Macon and Barford because of their age and the route they took to get here, and probably neither Trey and the others because of the age difference.

We will be very young and super long and fast.   could also be pretty salty from the 3.

PG Garland/Harris
SG Joe/Embery/ Sills
SF Hall/ Phillips
PF Chaney/ Bailey/ Osa
C Gafford/ Henderson

The future is bright... and im excited to see the youth on the floor next year... last years class will be the winningest in mikes career... The pieces are here.

[311Hog]

PG Garland/Harris
SG Joe/Embery/ Sills
SF Hall/ Phillips
PF Chaney/ Bailey/ Osa
C Gafford/ Henderson

The future is bright... and im excited to see the youth on the floor next year... last years class will be the winningest in mikes career... The pieces are here.

i am to, i am hopeful we can finally have some scoring punch from the 4 spot. IMHO alot of our problem was the lack of jump shooter/scores at the 4 and 5.  passing the ball to any of our 4's was just a middle man to the next pass everyone knew they were no threat to score.  And Gafford didn't have a real post up game so if it wasn't a lob or a transition  dunk he wasn't scoring.

Which resulted in allot of Barford, Macon, Beard passing the ball around on the perimeter eventually ending with a 3 jumper or one of them would drive.

[#1 STUNNA]

i am to, i am hopeful we can finally have some scoring punch from the 4 spot. IMHO alot of our problem was the lack of jump shooter/scores at the 4 and 5.  passing the ball to any of our 4's was just a middle man to the next pass everyone knew they were no threat to score.  And Gafford didn't have a real post up game so if it wasn't a lob or a transition  dunk he wasn't scoring.

Which resulted in allot of Barford, Macon, Beard passing the ball around on the perimeter eventually ending with a 3 jumper or one of them would drive.

We have been lacking athletes with basketball skills... Last Class and this one is the start of something goooooddddd!!!

[Pinto]

i am to, i am hopeful we can finally have some scoring punch from the 4 spot. IMHO alot of our problem was the lack of jump shooter/scores at the 4 and 5.  passing the ball to any of our 4's was just a middle man to the next pass everyone knew they were no threat to score.  And Gafford didn't have a real post up game so if it wasn't a lob or a transition  dunk he wasn't scoring.

Which resulted in allot of Barford, Macon, Beard passing the ball around on the perimeter eventually ending with a 3 jumper or one of them would drive.

Exactly. I've heard Dan talk about how he loves to play with Jalen Harris in practice due to the fact that he can penetrate and dish/lob. I've been Watching Keyshawn at IMG and once he gets by his defender, he's reading the defender on whether to dish or not. Simple basketball that we did not play much of last year

[DeltaBoy]

Good looking bunch.

[swinesation]

Unless Garland plays, I don't see where we're going to get longer at guard. Joe and Embry are 6'3, Harris and Sills are 6'2. Phillips will play 3, not 2 IMO, plus he's probably least ready to contribute.

[thehill1414]

I don't want to be a program that is going to have to wait to get lucky draws to get the sweet 16, I want to be a team that's good enough and expected to get to the sweet 16, where not getting there would be viewed as an upset.

I get that, but expecting us to be a top 4 seed each year is a little much. I do expect us to be a 5 seed or better more than once every 7 years.

I think reasonable expectations are to make the tournament (~80% of the time) and be a top 7 seed most of those times. If we hit that we will make runs to the sweet 16 and beyond.

[The Hogfather]

Next year's roster will easily be the most talented group of players under Coach Anderson.  I'm as disappointed as anyone with this year's end result but remain optimistic considering the uptick in recruiting we've seen from Coach Anderson over the last couple of years.  If Gafford comes back and Garland gets cleared next year could be a really fun team.  I just hope if Gafford leaves we don't take a reach as a replacement and then have to endure a lesser talented player eating up way too many minutes.

Just think what it could've been like if Adidas hadn't bought Reggie Perry for MSU, Garland didn't have this unexpected health issue, and Gafford decided to stay for another season or two.

[The_Iceman]

PG Garland/Harris
SG Joe/Embery/ Sills
SF Hall/ Phillips
PF Chaney/ Bailey/ Osa
C Gafford/ Henderson

The future is bright... and im excited to see the youth on the floor next year... last years class will be the winningest in mikes career... The pieces are here.

Did you kick CJ Jones off the team?

[Pinto]

Unless Garland plays, I don't see where .
we're going to get longer at guard. Joe and Embry are 6'3, Harris and Sills are 6'2. Phillips will play 3, not 2 IMO, plus he's probably least ready to contribute.

Joe isn't 6'3"...closer to 6'5". What makes you think that about Phillips?

[The Hogfather]

Exactly. I've heard Dan talk about how he loves to play with Jalen Harris in practice due to the fact that he can penetrate and dish/lob. I've been Watching Keyshawn at IMG and once he gets by his defender, he's reading the defender on whether to dish or not. Simple basketball that we did not play much of last year

I keep saying this, but I think Harris is going to surprise a lot of people around here who just look at his overall stats at New Mexico and think that's all he'll ever be able to do over the rest of his career.  I'm excited to see him play next season!  Just hope he still has Gafford to lob/dish to next season.

[cram224]

Just think what it could've been like if Adidas hadn't bought Reggie Perry for MSU, Garland didn't have this unexpected health issue, and Gafford decided to stay for another season or two.

If I had bought 10,000 shares of Amazon back in the late ninety's I would have over $10 million.

[The Hogfather]

If I had bought 10,000 shares of Amazon back in the late ninety's I would have over $10 million.

Are you saying we should've paid more than MSU?

Nice "ninety's" reference, by the way.

[#1 STUNNA]

Did you kick CJ Jones off the team?

unless he learns how to dribble and do something besides shoot... yep... not sure if he can make the leap or not.. but hopefully he can get better... if he cant he should get lost on the bench.

[swinesation]

Joe isn't 6'3"...closer to 6'5". What makes you think that about Phillips?

I found a couple of places that listed Joe at 6'3, but Kevin did list him at 6'4, so I'll defer to you guys who probably have more personal knowledge. Phillips, from everything I've read and seen on videos, does't seem to be a pure shooter. Like Iceman said, a Darious Hall type player. Honestly I think Phillips is more of a question mark than any of the others. Came from a small school, didn't have any big offers. I just think he's probably going to be last man off the bench next season.

So, Joe is an inch taller than I thought. If Garland doesn't play, we're still not really substantially longer than this year, except that our point guards will be 2 or 3 inches taller than Beard.

[#1 STUNNA]

I found a couple of places that listed Joe at 6'3, but Kevin did list him at 6'4, so I'll defer to you guys who probably have more personal knowledge. Phillips, from everything I've read and seen on videos, does't seem to be a pure shooter. Like Iceman said, a Darious Hall type player. Honestly I think Phillips is more of a question mark than any of the others. Came from a small school, didn't have any big offers. I just think he's probably going to be last man off the bench next season.

So, Joe is an inch taller than I thought. If Garland doesn't play, we're still not really substantially longer than this year, except that our point guards will be 2 or 3 inches taller than Beard.

We will be alot more athletic next year regardless if we are taller or not.

[Pinto]

I found a couple of places that listed Joe at 6'3, but Kevin did list him at 6'4, so I'll defer to you guys who probably have more personal knowledge. Phillips, from everything I've read and seen on videos, does't seem to be a pure shooter. Like Iceman said, a Darious Hall type player. Honestly I think Phillips is more of a question mark than any of the others. Came from a small school, didn't have any big offers. I just think he's probably going to be last man off the bench next season.

So, Joe is an inch taller than I thought. If Garland doesn't play, we're still not really substantially longer than this year, except that our point guards will be 2 or 3 inches taller than Beard.

Joe is a lot longer though; it's not all about height. I love Dayday but Phillips is a better all around basketball player than he is. I don't see the comparison besides the same height. He had some solid offers, he just didn't play for an elite AAU team to get better exposure

[The_Iceman]

Joe is a lot longer though; it's not all about height. I love Dayday but Phillips is a better all around basketball player than he is. I don't see the comparison besides the same height. He had some solid offers, he just didn't play for an elite AAU team to get better exposure

How did you come to that conclusion on Phillips and Hall?

[Pinto]

How did you come to that conclusion on Phillips and Hall?

Grace Prep streamed a lot of their games. Phillips is a better ball handler, shooter, and passer and isn't too far off athletically than Dayday. He isn't a tenacious defender or rebounder like Hall is nor will he bring the same amount of energy night in and night out like Dayday brings...

[ballinhog]

I think to get our best 5 on the floor next year we will have to use D Hall at the 4 most of the time. He's the type of 4 Mike usually seems to like anyway. I know Mike has always been big on experience but he will have to change that next year to get the best 5 out there. I could see our lineup looking something like this, or this is how I think it should be. Maybe not what Mike will do tho

PG- J Harris
CG- Garland (assuming he's cleared)
CG- I joe (could see Phillips here as well)
F- D Hall
C- Gafford (praying he gives us one more year)

Bench should be

CG- Embery
CG- Sills/ SG- Jones
G/F- Phillips (could also start in place of Joe)
PF- Chaney (could start before it's  all said and done) Bailey/Gabe O
F/C- Henderson


With Mike it may look nothing like this but from the little I know and few clips I've seen of new guys this is how I see it as of now

[The Hogfather]

How did you come to that conclusion on Phillips and Hall?

What I was wondering.  Goodness.  I think Hall was good for us this year and will be a very, very good player in the future.