Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1181012
Sunday, November 3, 2019 7 Northwest Arkansas Basketball FAYETTEVILLE — New Universi- ty of Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman would love to have added a big man in the recruiting class he and his assistant coaches quickly put together after being hired last season. Ke r r y B l a c k s h e a r, a 6 - fo o t-10, 250-pound senior graduate transfer who averaged 14.9 points and 7.5 rebounds for Virginia Tech last season, included Arkansas among his five recruiting visits. But Blackshear, the preseason pick for SEC player of the year, chose Florida over Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas A&M. "When you get a job and it's your first year, there's a small pool of who's avail- able," Musselman said when asked about a lack of big men on his roster. "It's real small. Then you've got to make a deci- sion: Do you want to take somebody you don't think is really skilled but has size? "So we did as best we could in a very short time. We were on some really good kids but didn't get one. It is what it is, and you just have to play with who you have. "I think that's the job of any coach, regardless of sport, is figuring out a way to maximize the talent that you have on your roster." While the Razorbacks are short on big men, they are loaded with quality guards led by 6-5 sophomore Isaiah Joe, who hit an Arkansas record 113 3-point baskets last season in 273 attempts for 41.3% to lead the SEC. "Great shooter. Deep range," Mus- selman said of Joe. "Good ball-handler. Good passer. High basketball IQ." Joe, who averaged 13.9 points last sea- son, figures to play an even bigger role in the offense with the loss of 6-11 Daniel Gafford, a first-team All-SEC pick last year who averaged 16.9 points and 8.7 rebounds and was a second-round se- lection by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Draft. The NCAA has moved the 3-point line back 1 foot, 4¾ inches to 22-1¾, but Joe said he didn't expect the longer dis- tance to affect him. Joe certainly looked comfortable shooting behind the new line when he hit 8 of 17 3-pointers and scored 26 points in Arkansas' 79-64 exhibition game vic- tory over the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Hogs plan to play small ball Arkansas short on big men but loaded with quality guards BOB HOLT ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/ANDY SHUPE Arkansas guard Isaiah Joe (left) looks to pass around Alabama guard Herbert Jones on March 9 during the first half in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. Joe hit an Arkansas record 113 3-point baskets last season. See GUARDS, Page 8