NWADG Basketball

11 2022 NWA COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW | 11.6.2022 Insured by NCUA. we're your home team Rick, member since 2020 Become a Member today! (888) 982-1400 UnitedFCU.com blocks per personal foul committed. According to CBB Analytics, that number placed him in the 99th percentile nationally. "He got a lot tougher over the year," Missouri forward Kobe Brown said at SEC Basketball Media Day. "He came in really skinny, gained a lot of weight, gained a lot of confidence. His confidence was kind of low at first, but now he plays with his chest, and that's all we used to could ask for. "I'm happy for him. He definitely deserves (recognition). He works hard. I used to see him come in all the time and work hard. He put the work in to get the results." In a pair of games against Arkansas last season, Brazile put up 5.5 points on 45.5% shooting, 8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Because of the Razorbacks' in-depth game plan and the in-game execution of that plan, Arkansas forward Kamani Johnson said the team was able to limit his effectively offensively. Now that Johnson and Brazile are on the same side, Johnson is a believer in the transfer's abilities. He added that Brazile consistently impresses behind closed doors. "Man, TB is a unicorn," said Johnson, one of Arkansas' two returning scholarship players from 2021-22. "I mean, I guess we didn't really notice it playing Missouri last year. But when you see some of the stuff he does in practice, he's freakishly athletic, he has a great shot. "I think he's going to be really big for us this year, a key piece for us this year, and most definitely he's a pro in my eyes." NBA draft analysts are beginning to come around on that idea, too. In early October, Brazile appeared on a Bleacher Report mock draft for 2023 as the No. 34 overall pick. He noted during the summer that as a freshman he drew comparisons to the Orlando Magic's Jonathan Isaac, a 6-10 forward from Florida State who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Brazile is driven by a want to be among the select few who not only make it to the NBA, but have a long career in the league. "I want to be one of those 1% guys," Brazile said. "When guys make it to the league, it's two or three years. It's hard to be in the NBA, you know? That's my end goal, is to be in the NBA. What kind of motivates me is to not be one of those regular guys that just goes through the college process, plays one or two years in the NBA and then you never hear about them again. "I just want to be a long-term guy. I'm just going to try to be the best person I can be, best player I can be and just be aggressive on offense." Brazile closed the 2021-22 season strong. In Missouri's final five games, he averaged 10.4 points on 52.8% shooting, 8.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 2 blocks. And in his final outing with the Tigers he added against LSU a career-high 15 points, which followed a 9-point, 9-rebound, 3-block showing in Missouri's SEC Tournament-opening victory over Ole Miss. As great of an impression as Brazile made on Musselman, he may have jumped out more to the Rebels' Kermit Davis, who is entering Year 5 with the program. Davis' team faced Brazile three times, and he averaged 7.7 points on 72.7% from the floor, 5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in those meetings. "I talked to (former Missouri coach) Cuonzo (Martin) about Brazile when he was there, and I thought maybe he had the best upside of any freshman in our league last year," Davis said at SEC Basketball Media Day. "He played really good against us, as athletic as anybody. "I think he'll probably be one of the guys I'd bet in college basketball that will be a guy that's maybe ranked here and will go up. I don't think he made any preseason All-SEC teams. I'd be shocked if he doesn't make a postseason one." Brown said that he misses playing alongside Brazile, and facing him during SEC play will be odd. He also labeled Brazile as "a real crowd-pleaser." Arkansas got a taste of that overseas. He permanently bent a rim following a dunk attempt in one exhibition, and his one-handed put-back dunk on an interior miss by freshman wing Jordan Walsh was the highlight of the foreign tour. Asked about the dunk following the game, Brazile said he "just grabbed the rebound and the rim was right there." "For a guy that tall to be that explosive and have that high of a vertical and also be able to shoot the ball and put the ball on the floor when he needs to," Brown said, "like, that's not common in most guys."

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