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Sunday, November 5, 2017 13 2017 Northwest Arkansas Basketball the Lobos, including 18 starts, and averaged 20.6 minutes. JONATHAN HOLMES CLASS Sophomore HEIGHT 5-10 WEIGHT 190 POSITION Guard HOMETOWN Columbia, Ill. HIGH SCHOOL Columbia LAST SEASON Averaged 0.3 points. 0.2 rebounds in six games. THE SKINNY Walk-on who adds depth for practice. DANIEL GAFFORD CLASS Freshman HEIGHT 6-11 WEIGHT 234 POSITION Center HOMETOWN El Dorado HIGH SCHOOL El Dorado LAST SEASON Averaged 17.4 points, 16.0 rebounds, 7.7 blocked shots and 2.2 steals. THE SKINNY Athletic big man who protects the rim and rebounds above it. Runs the court like a guard. Mike Anderson has cautioned that Gafford isn't the program's savior — he said the same thing when Bobby Portis was a freshman — but he should be an impact player. KHALIL GARLAND CLASS Freshman HEIGHT 6-5 WEIGHT 198 POSITION Guard HOMETOWN Little Rock HIGH SCHOOL Parkview LAST SEASON Averaged 12.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists. THE SKINNY Had been expected to add backcourt depth, but may not be able to play. Hasn't been cleared to go full speed in practice be- cause of an ongoing medical condition, coach Mike Anderson said. Ander- son has been specific about the medical issue because of privacy laws. DARIOUS HALL CLASS Freshman HEIGHT 6-6 WEIGHT 201 POSITION Forward HOMETOWN Little Rock HIGH SCHOOL Mills LAST SEASON Averaged 14.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals. THE SKINNY Athletic wing player who can score, but this season should contribute pri- marily on the defensive end because of his length. Should help the Razorbacks play more of the pressure defense coach Mike Anderson prefers. GABE OSABUOHIEN CLASS Freshman HEIGHT 6-8 WEIGHT 219 POSITION Forward HOMETOWN Toronto HIGH SCHOOL Southwest Christian Academy LAST SEASON Averaged 11.0 points, 7.0 re- bounds and 4.0 assists. THE SKINNY Late signee in the summer after Brachen Hazen transferred to Ball State. Ath- letic big man who could help off the bench, but likely needs a season to adjust to playing in the SEC. Size will give him a chance to help on defense. v Continued from preceding page FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas wom- en's basketball players and coaches lined up quietly at halfcourt and walked slowly together, collecting their thoughts prior to the start of practice at Bud Walton Arena. New University of Arkansas, Fayette- ville women's basketball coach Mike Neighbors hopes fans will adapt the same side-by-side mentality with his team this season. "Everybody's like, 'Well I want to get behind you,' I said 'Don't get behind us, get beside us,'" the folksy Neighbors said. "Don't get too far out in front, which being a native Arkansan sometimes I'm guilty of doing. Let's just stay side-by- side together. "And that's a perfect visual every day. That everybody's that's at practice that day that's a part of us, that travels with us on a road trip, they are going to be in there side-by-side. The girls tend to stay in the same spots, but I'll go between people now and then. We'll do it before every game." The Razorbacks struggled a year ago, finishing last (2-14) in the Southeastern Conference and closing the season on an 11-game losing streak under former coach Jimmy Dykes. But players have adjusted quickly to the Greenwood na- tive Neighbor's communication style and laid-back personality. "He's very straight up with us, tells us what's on his mind and what we need to do get better and where he sees us at," Junior Keiryn Swenson said. "The com- munication level between us this year, the coaches and the players is great." Senior Devin Cosper, who will play her third season at Arkansas after trans- ferring from Coffeyville (Kan.) Commu- nity College, said the fact Neighbors has children at or near the age of his players fills any communication gap. "He's up-to-date on everything that's going on," Cosper said. "So we relate to that and so it's easier for us to relate to him." Neighbors is a numbers guy. He be- lieves in charting groups to determine the most effective. His staff has begun charting some of those things in practice already. And he stresses, the numbers don't lie. "I love analytics," he said. "I use them as a tool, not the only tool. A lot of people think you have to have a lot of algorithms and all this fancy stuff. It's just simple math. What's the score when you're in the game? "What I can tell you is we'll always have five out there that play well togeth- er. And sometimes it's not you're quote, best five. I think that's where a lot of people are dismissive of analytics. They don't want to see the numbers, because they're wrong." Neighbors looks to build program side-by-side A R K A N S A S W O M E N ' S P R E V I E W NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER Arkansas women's basketball coach Mike Neighbors returns to guide a program where he served as an assistant. The Greenwood native guided Washington to four consecutive postseason berths, including a Final Four before taking the Arkansas job in the spring. PAUL BOYD NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE See WOMEN, Page 14