Zhaire Smith

[navyhog24]

All we need is a servicable big to backup for Gafford and/or Perry. It could be Armus or any other big.

[batmanfan]

I'm on the Darrington bandwagon at this point.

[Pinto]

I'm going to try to stay positive. I always try to remind myself that we signed Coty Clarke in May. There could be a guy out there that we don't even know of yet that will be a good player for us. It just sucks to not really hear about any definite targets. Good thing is that we aren't relying on a signing right now.

Coty took a while to get going though. I pray that Dustin and/or Arlando improves as much as Coty did over the summer. That would be huge...

[ShadowHawg]

What is "dominant" at the high school level?

If you saw Trey Thompson play in high school, would you say he was dominant? I wouldn't. I know Armus picked up a bunch of double doubles against some very good prep competition. Could use a workman-type big man for depth. Why does he need to unseat Gafford or Perry for "big minutes?"

TT was dominant in HS. Not talking summer circuit but actual high school games. He played hurt in the state tournament in Alma and was still putting up double doubles with more than an average number of blocks in each game. He took over the championship game and took Forrest City home down the stretch to win the game.

I remember seeing Vincent Hunter at the state tournament and he wouldn't even put up double digit rebounds at 6'10". People were mad because Nolan wasn't that interested. I saw why.

I have looked at SCA's schedule and it is beyond weak. Reminds me of the competition Ty Storey was putting up big stats against. He doesn't block enough shots at his height against that competition to make a believer of me. I know that some of the teams he plays against don't have guys over 6'3" on their roster and only practice 3 times a week.

In college he won't be the tallest guy on the floor anymore with all star teammates compared to the other team. He's had games where he didn't even hit double digits in any category and he's had games where he went for 20/20. Just leary of 6'9" guys who can disappear in a hs game.

[Birminghog]

Same. I think it will balance the roster well. With Macon, Barford and Beard all seniors next year, he and Garland would have a year under their belts the following year with all c/o 18 coming in. If we landed a freshmen forward for instance, he would be behind Gafford, Trey, Cook and Thomas, and most likely Bailey as well. Hazen is still a question mark, but would expect him to contribute more. Then when Perry and Henderson came in, with a possibility of Brown, I would expect them to make an impact pretty early and not as much time to acclimate as the freshmen this year. Taking Darrington would then open another scholarship for c/o 2019. #13 ranked JUCO and has high major offers.

For any of us questioning Hazen, etc., let's remember that Barford said that he was going make sure that they were "ready". There's something about Barford that makes me believe that, and believe that if he is on you and you aren't getting "ready", it isn't going to be pleasant.

[HogFoo]

Itd be nice to get a big or a pg.  The only prob i have with getting a juco is that normally, and you can go back in history, from football to basketball, it normally takes the a year to accilimate for the juco until they are the sametype talent in Div-1 as they were back in juco and the reason for them being recruited.  Now,  Maco and Barford did transition better than most, but look at Cook.  He looked great in juco's but not so much for us this season.  He'd show hints of what he was , but nothing like he will next season.  I expect him to make a big improvement along with Macon and Barford.   Thats why i personally hoped both had no intentions of going anywhere because they could both make All SEC next year if both come back and i expect Macon too(barford already is).   If we were indeed going to go after a pg though, i think id still take a shot on a juco pg.  He may not show out for us next season, but hed be showing his step forward when the 18' class got here and itd put less pressure on Justice ( if he does reclassify), and if Justice doesnt come, then we'd have a pretty good PG ready to dish it when Henderson, perry, desi, joe get here.   So, with that said , i think i just convinced myself we need a Juco PG.  The problem now is if we'll be able to jump on one this late in the game. 

Oh well, i'm not gonna worry about it.  I had hopes we get ZS.  But,  it does no good to worry about it now.  Best to just sit back and relax and let the  cards unfold the way they will.  Now hopefully when the coaches get back to recruiting they can hit it hard.  I'm sure they have something figured out on what direction to go.

[Pinto]

Itd be nice to get a big or a pg.  The only prob i have with getting a juco is that normally, and you can go back in history, from football to basketball, it normally takes the a year to accilimate for the juco until they are the sametype talent in Div-1 as they were back in juco and the reason for them being recruited.  Now,  Maco and Barford did transition better than most, but look at Cook.  He looked great in juco's but not so much for us this season.  He'd show hints of what he was , but nothing like he will next season.  I expect him to make a big improvement along with Macon and Barford.   Thats why i personally hoped both had no intentions of going anywhere because they could both make All SEC next year if both come back and i expect Macon too(barford already is).   If we were indeed going to go after a pg though, i think id still take a shot on a juco pg.  He may not show out for us next season, but hed be showing his step forward when the 18' class got here and itd put less pressure on Justice ( if he does reclassify), and if Justice doesnt come, then we'd have a pretty good PG ready to dish it when Henderson, perry, desi, joe get here.   So, with that said , i think i just convinced myself we need a Juco PG.  The problem now is if we'll be able to jump on one this late in the game. 

Oh well, i'm not gonna worry about it.  I had hopes we get ZS.  But,  it does no good to worry about it now.  Best to just sit back and relax and let the  cards unfold the way they will.  Now hopefully when the coaches get back to recruiting they can hit it hard.  I'm sure they have something figured out on what direction to go.

Cook looked absolutely awful the game I went to watch him in JUCO. The kid Simms(Arkansas State) that was on his team looked a lot better and confident. If I didn't know who Cook was, I would have thought he was going to Henderson State or somewhere. He was getting outrebounded by a 6'4" guy and not impacting the game like a top 10 prospect should have regardless if he wasn't scoring the basketball. Hopefully he improves...

[navyhog24]

Chris Darrington would be a nice Juco PG to get to bridge the gap between losing Barford and Macon to the 2018 freshman class or when Justice Hill gets here. He could have that year to acclimate behind Barford and then take over in 2018.

[tophawg19]

a big would also be nice to help with practice as well

[King Kong]

If Beard can return to freshman year form, the juco point guard would not be as critical. If, however, Beard coasts through the summer and fails to recommit himself, we will wish the juco was on the roster.

Beard was in every way better last year than his Freshman year and that is despite him fall off the last month after that 'illness' around the South Carolina game. His drop off was actually similar to the one he had late in his FR year .

Just judging by the type of Guards our coaches are following in twitter for this class (mostly transfer that would sit out next year) they are more concerned about having an guard experienced in our system for the 2018-2019 season. As we will lose Macon, Beard and Barford. With Garland being the only candidate that looks to have lead guard skills

[NWAHog479]

I think Beard can more than handle the PG duties next year with Macon and Barford both bringing the ball up whenever they grab a rebound of it they are the open outlet man.

[Hawg Red]

TT was dominant in HS. Not talking summer circuit but actual high school games. He played hurt in the state tournament in Alma and was still putting up double doubles with more than an average number of blocks in each game. He took over the championship game and took Forrest City home down the stretch to win the game.

I remember seeing Vincent Hunter at the state tournament and he wouldn't even put up double digit rebounds at 6'10". People were mad because Nolan wasn't that interested. I saw why.

I have looked at SCA's schedule and it is beyond weak. Reminds me of the competition Ty Storey was putting up big stats against. He doesn't block enough shots at his height against that competition to make a believer of me. I know that some of the teams he plays against don't have guys over 6'3" on their roster and only practice 3 times a week.

In college he won't be the tallest guy on the floor anymore with all star teammates compared to the other team. He's had games where he didn't even hit double digits in any category and he's had games where he went for 20/20. Just leary of 6'9" guys who can disappear in a hs game.

You make a fair point about guys disappearing in certain games, though I haven't put the research into SCA's schedule that you have. However, I know they played some pretty good teams this season. Nationally ranked teams, and I know Armus did well. I would be curious to see how many shots attempts Armus got in the games where he had single digit points and his minutes played.

Hamilton Heights, West Oaks, and Southwest Christian (34-2) have all been ranked in MaxPreps Indpendent Schools Top 10 this season, and I expect SWChristian to be back in that poll this week after winning the NACA natty. Potters House beat Reggie Perry and his Thomasville (GA) team earlier in the season, and SCA beat Potters House handily in the NACA quarterfinals.

Mladen Armus won MVP in the NACA national tourney, and he's been a double-double machine since mid-way point in the season. I saw SCA play Hamilton Heights at the Hotbed Classic in MS last month. Unblievable talent on the floor in that game. Shai Alexander who is headed to Kentucky, his cousin who is headed to VaTech. Gabe and Mladen both played well in that game, both had double-doubles. HH beat SCA by 12, 84-72, that night.

Armus would definitely be a project, but I think there is some developing talent there. He's just one of those players that I just "like" for whatever reason. Seems like a big man that will end up in like the Horizon league or somewhere and have an all-conference career. Would be nice to have a big like that on our bench backing up our big dogs.

I was not impressed when I saw Trey Thompson in high school, though, to be fair, it was just one game and it was a pre-conference game in Maumelle. He played very apathetic and half-hearted, though I was surprised to see the boxscore and he had like 27 and 12. Couldn't believe it. That game left a very sour taste in my mouth for him. He's since washed that taste out, but I still do have reservations about how much he'll be able to carry his weight next season. But he's not what I would have considered a dominant high school player.

[ShadowHawg]

27 and 12 isn't out of this world for the biggest guy on the court in a hs game for sure but it is still pretty good.

It's not Gafford good though. TT averaged a double double in both his junior and senior seasons. That shows me he knows he's big and how to use it.

When I see big guys in hs who aren't dominant on the glass.at least, I feel like I am watching a guy that doesn't get it mentally.

If we didn't already have Hazen, I would say bring Armus on. I just don't like the idea of having multiple projects on the roster of a team that needs a deep bench.

[Hawg Red]

27 and 12 isn't out of this world for the biggest guy on the court in a hs game for sure but it is still pretty good.

It's not Gafford good though. TT averaged a double double in both his junior and senior seasons. That shows me he knows he's big and how to use it.

When I see big guys in hs who aren't dominant on the glass.at least, I feel like I am watching a guy that doesn't get it mentally.

If we didn't already have Hazen, I would say bring Armus on. I just don't like the idea of having multiple projects on the roster of a team that needs a deep bench.

Fair point. I guess I'm just wondering when we're going to start hearing more names for big men. And it's not like the Hogs are even actively recruiting Armus because they could not be. They are probably more interested in the combo forward from Canada. Just think they need to get someone with some real size on board for when Trey graduates. Hazen isn't really a big man. Henderson isn't really a big man. We need someone with some real size to being able to play some kind of role down low.

[ShadowHawg]

I would like to see another big as well. MA has been content to only have 2 that are able to contribute. He carried 3 in Portis' sophomore season but only played 2.

If that's how he wants to build is roster his roster then we can't afford to go after project bigs that often.

I could see both Gafford and Perry leaving after Perry's sophomore season. So I am nervous about the post afterwards with few to none guys apprenticing in the system.

[skinnypig]

he has narrowed list to TX and TX Tech will sign Thursday

[Hawg Red]

he has narrowed list to TX and TX Tech will sign Thursday

Totally understandable.

[Kevin McPherson]

I have looked at SCA's schedule and it is beyond weak. Reminds me of the competition Ty Storey was putting up big stats against. He doesn't block enough shots at his height against that competition to make a believer of me. I know that some of the teams he plays against don't have guys over 6'3" on their roster and only practice 3 times a week.

In college he won't be the tallest guy on the floor anymore with all star teammates compared to the other team. He's had games where he didn't even hit double digits in any category and he's had games where he went for 20/20. Just leary of 6'9" guys who can disappear in a hs game.

Just want to clarify some things, not that I totally disagree with you: SCA played 11 games against strong competition in the Texas Chrisitian Athletics League (which they won at 10-1), they played Genesis INt'l (TN) and one of the Tulsa schools (won all those games), they played Hamilton Heights (big, talented, athletic) and I personally saw Armus get a double-double and block shots against HH in a late January loss, and SCA played strong comp at the NACA national tournament that they won, and Armus was getting double-doubles and earned MVP. That's more than half their games against really good to respectable competition, and Armus was consistently getting double-doubles.

Now, he's not a rim-protector, not a leaper, not quick or fast relative to SEC-caliber talent ... BUT, at 6-9 he's on par with Trey Thompson in terms of size and athleticism. He's better at using his body to create space down low for scoring and rebounding. He's agile and skilled enough to play facing the basket, and though he's not the passer Trey is, he's a good passer from both the low and high posts, and he's instinctive enough to go get rebounds out of his area.

Is he a fit at Arkansas? Overall, I'd say probably not. But, he's good enough to play high-major hoops somewhere. Now, he may end up at a mid-major if he likes the fit w/players, coach, system, etc., but he can play high-major.

[ShadowHawg]

I appreciate your take very much. I just don't get the warm fuzzies about him based on his hs production.

I feel like he would be a consolation prize and am not in for the line of thinking that where we take a big just for the sake of taking a big. I just don't see him running the floor good enough or being able to switch on a guard when has to.

[Kevin McPherson]

I appreciate your take very much. I just don't get the warm fuzzies about him based on his hs production.

I feel like he would be a consolation prize and am not in for the line of thinking that where we take a big just for the sake of taking a big. I just don't see him running the floor good enough or being able to switch on a guard when has to.

Yeah, I definitely can understand your reasoning, just wanted to make sure that folks also know that just because he is not the best fit for the Hogs doesn't mean he didn't put up excellent numbers against good competition at SCA, and that he is a high-major caliber player even if he does not end up at one.

[Hawg Red]

Picked Texas Tech.

[The_Iceman]

https://twitter.com/GoodmanESPN/status/852592254850084866


Good for Coach Beard!

[ricepig]

https://twitter.com/ArRecruitingGuy/status/852592254850084866

[Kevin McPherson]

Newest Red Raider ...

https://twitter.com/zhaire_smith/status/852614037363978242

[passinghog]

I couldn't imagine willingly choosing to go to school in Lubbock, Tx if I had other options, even those not Arkansas. Oh well, to each their own.

[Razorod]

Immediate and abundant playing time is all I can figure.

[Pinto]

They just got a damn good player

[duckman]

Playing time....