NWADG Basketball

10 2022 NWA COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW | 11.6.2022 BRAZILE EAGER TO START SEASON FOR RAZORBACKS ARKANSAS SPOTLIGHT SCOTTIE BORDELON WHOLEHOGSPORTS.COM FAYETTEVILLE — Toward the end of a Zoom press conference in Como, Italy, Trevon Brazile was asked if he was ready to return to Arkansas after the Razorbacks' extended August stay overseas. A promising and talent-rich forward transfer from Missouri, Brazile answered in the affirmative. He added that he got more than a touch homesick and missed American food and missed his close friends and family. What he did not miss during Arkansas' 11-day run through Spain and Italy was many shots. Over the Razorbacks' four exhibitions, Brazile made 29 of 34 field goal attempts, including 13 of 15 in a 28-point outburst in the finale against the Bakken Bears, a professional team from Denmark that featured players in their late 20s and early 30s. He averaged a team-high 15.8 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and came away with 2.3 steals per game. "I know it's exhibition games and all that, but he played as well as any guy that I've seen play over a four-game stretch," Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. "I mean, if you look at his numbers, they're absolutely insane what he's done. He's just so quick to the ball, he's so long. "He runs the floor. He can play facing the basket, he can play with his back to the basket. I thought he was just unbelievable. He's got an incredible, incredible future ahead of him." That seems to be the consensus on Brazile when speaking with his current head coach, opposing coaches and teammates past and present. Now under the guidance of Musselman, who had high praise for the forward prior to the Razorbacks' meetings with the Tigers last season, Brazile could see his potential unlocked by Arkansas' staff. The Razorbacks are projected to finish second in the SEC this season and are a top-10 team entering the Nov. 7 season opener against North Dakota State. Should Arkansas live up to its preseason hype and replicate — or surpass — the postseason success of the last two years, Brazile's play will likely be a key reason why. "He's uber-talented," Musselman said at SEC Basketball Media Day in late October. "He can probably play three positions. It's interesting that we never played him at the 3 until the Red-White Game. With the makeup of having four true bigs, we slid him down to the 3 spot. I don't know if we'll do that in-season, but we are starting to have him execute some at the 3. "He's got great versatility, can shoot the ball. He's a guy that's looking forward to a game. We've had a lot of practices, and I think right now he wants a game and wants to play." In 21.5 minutes per game as a freshman at Missouri, Brazile averaged 6.6 points on 53.4% shooting, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He started 23 of 25 games played for the Tigers, who finished the season 12-21 overall and 5-13 in SEC play. The 6-10 forward was a true bright spot for Missouri. According to data on KenPom.com, Brazile recorded the nation's No. 28 block rate, rejecting 10.1% of opponents' two-point attempts when on the floor. The only SEC player with a better mark in that category was Auburn's Walker Kessler (19.1%), who won the league's defensive player of the year award. In conference play, Brazile's block percentage fell to 8.4%, but the mark still placed him third in the SEC. He blocked multiple shots 14 times in conference play and 17 times overall. Brazile's best shot-blocking effort last season came against Illinois and All- America forward Kofi Cockburn on Dec. 22. He blocked a season-high 6 shots in the Tigers' 88-63 loss and posted a block rate of 30.6% in the game, per CBB Analytics. As a freshman, Brazile averaged 1.5 Trevon Brazile File Photo

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