NWADG Basketball

6 NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BASKETBALL | 11.22.2020 do with his teams and his players. He's big on player development, and that was something I was looking for." Musselman said Smith can play shooting guard, small or power forward, has a nice mid-range jump shot and should draw a lot of fouls. Smith's defense also drew Musselman's praise. "When you watched him play last year, he can guard so many different people," Musselman said. "He can guard perimeter guys — because he can move his feet — and he's got the strength to guard bigger guys. He also has really good anticipation. "Offensively, he's an incredible finisher in transition. He's a guy that can get out and run the wing." Smith averaged a team-high 30.3 minutes at Indiana as a junior. "You're talking about a player that led a Big Ten program in minutes," Musselman said. "Which kind of tells you the value that Indiana [put on Smith]. "He's a proven player in arguably one of the best conferences in college basketball. And he's a high, high character guy, with a high basketball IQ." Mississippi State Coach Ben Howland said he contacted Smith after he entered the transfer portal. "That kid is really, really talented," Howland said. "We tried to get involved with him. I actually spoke to him on the phone when he went into the portal and didn't really get any traction with him. "But I'm really impressed with him. He started the majority of the games at Indiana. I was kind of questioning, 'Why are you leaving? It's not like you're not getting playing time and not getting shots.' "I didn't really understand it, but I can tell you this, he would start at the vast majority of Division I schools across the country with his skill package. "He'll be an immediate impact guy at Arkansas that is going to be a huge boost for their program, no question." Smith said he felt he'd done about everything he could at Indiana and needed a change. "I enjoyed my three years there and I made a lot of good memories," he said. "But it was time for me to move on." Smith described himself as an athletic, savvy player who is ready to put his Big Ten experience to good use in the SEC. "I'm really coachable," he said. "I'm ready to do whatever Coach Muss wants me to do." Musselman previously was an NBA head coach with Golden State and Sacramento and an assistant with several other teams and his three Arkansas assistant coaches all have NBA experience. David Patrick was a scout for Houston; Corey Williams played with Chicago when the Bulls won the 1993 championship; and Clay Moser was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers and scout for Cleveland, Orlando, Sacramento and Golden State. Earl Boykins, the Razorbacks' director of student-athlete development, played 13 seasons in the NBA. "Everybody who plays basketball growing up wanting to play in the NBA," Smith said. "So playing for a staff with so much NBA experience and knows what it takes to get there, is definitely a big draw for a lot of guys." Jackson said Smith's versatility on offense and defense is a huge plus. "Justin just brings that all-around game that every team needs," Jackson said. "He does everything, and he's explosive." Tate played in 93 games at Northern Kentucky with 83 starts. He averaged 13.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals last season when he also was the Horizon League defensive player of the year. He made the all-defensive team three consecutive seasons. "Jalen's got really good length," Musselman said. "He should be one of our premier defenders. "He's a very unselfish player. He looks for his teammates first. His own shot is the last option for Threats n Continued from Page 5

• Cover