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Posted on 11/4/20 at 3:12 pm to piggilicious
My god the 247 rankings update today the State of Arkansas with some JUMPS.
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Nick Smith Jr. Smith has seen his stock rise as much as anyone in the country in the past few months. He was one of the standout performers at the Wooten 150 event a couple weeks ago. He has moved from the No. 52 overall prospect in the nation all the way up to No. 25, just one spot shy of 5-star status. According to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Smith is now the No. 32 prospect in the nation.
As the highest ranked prospect in the state and a top five shooting guard in the country, Smith is certainly one that the Hogs covet. The competition will be stiff. In addition to Arkansas, Smith boasts an offer list that includes Auburn, Florida, St. John's, Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Baylor and others.
Kel'el Ware, the versatile 6-11 center out of North Little Rock (Ark.), made the most significant leap of any instate prospect and was one of the biggest stock risers in the country. Ware has jumped from No. 100 in the country all the way up to No. 32, putting himself with reach of obtaining 5-star status as well if he puts together a strong junior campaign. As it stands, he rates as a high 4-star prospect and has moved up 14 spots in the composite rankings to No. 67 overall.
Ware, the No. 5 center in the nation, obviously has no shortage of suitors himself. Along with Arkansas, he is being courted by Kansas, Illinois, Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, TCU, Virginia Tech and Hampton.
Magnolia (Ark.) native Derrian Ford received a significant bump in his ranking as well. The physical, 6-4 combo-guard jumped up 34 spots from No. 86 to No. 52 nationally. His overall rating jumped from a 92 to 95, solidifying his status as a strong 4-star prospect. Ford also moved eight spots in the composite rankings and now sits at No. 72.
Arkansas has put the full-court press on Ford as of late. Just last week the Hogs held a phone call and Zoom meeting in back to back days with Ford, who has been enjoying the relationship building that comes with the recruiting process. Ford has also been offered by the likes of Baylor, Kansas, Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and numerous others.
Posted on 11/4/20 at 3:20 pm to UltimateHog
Trey Alexander announcing Nov. 10
Posted on 11/4/20 at 3:32 pm to UltimateHog
LINK
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Nick Smith
Previous: 52 New: 25
Recruitment: Smith has landed offers from the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, DePaul, Florida, Georgetown, Kansas State, Mississippi, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, and more.
Why he rose: One of the most explosive backcourt players in the country, Smith has grown a little and become much more confident as a ball handler and creator for others. He’s a creative scorer off the bounce, is capable of getting hot from deep and still has lots of room to grow into his lean and wiry frame.
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Kel'el Ware
Previous: 100 New: 32
Recruitment: One of the most heavily recruited big men in the class, Ware has offers from the likes of Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech.
Why he rose: Make no mistake, Ware still needs to become more consistent and keep adding strength. However, his game grew by leaps and bounds during the summer. He moves like a wing player, blocks shots, runs the floor, does good work on the glass and is starting to show some offensive game out to 15 feet. The goods are all there.
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Derrian Ford
Previous: 86 New: 52
Recruitment: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Florida, Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and others have offered scholarships.
Why he rose: Ford looks to have all of the tools to be an outstanding college player. He’s skilled, he’s tough and he is a versatile guy who makes shots from deep. Ford is a winner and a competitor.
Posted on 11/5/20 at 1:31 pm to RazorHawg
LINK
More from 247 on 2022:
More from 247 on 2022:
quote:(perhaps they mistyped charging)
If you are looking for a few schools that could surprise, one could be Arkansas.
The Razorbacks started off their Joseph Pinion who is a top 150 prospect, but the state has more than just him.
In-state, the Razorbacks have top 55 players Nick Smith, Kel'el Ware, and Derrian Ford in the class. If the Hawgs can get two of those three, let alone all three, they would be a school changing (?) for a top five class in the country.
Posted on 11/5/20 at 1:57 pm to RazorHawg
Surprising? We just had the #8 class doing the same thing...
Posted on 11/5/20 at 2:01 pm to UltimateHog
I guess because we aren't top 5-10 year in and year out like Duke and Kentucky but I was a big surprised by the wording as well.
Also noteworthy how the Collins kid from Atlanta, TX that recently committed to Kentucky is now a top 10-15 national prospect.
Also noteworthy how the Collins kid from Atlanta, TX that recently committed to Kentucky is now a top 10-15 national prospect.
Posted on 11/9/20 at 5:16 pm to RazorHawg
Well, looks like Trey is going to Auburn. Didn't think it was looking good for us but sucks to lose him to another SEC school
Posted on 11/11/20 at 12:28 pm to RazorHawg
Unless we get a surprise looks like Musselman will fill the remaining spots with transfers/grad transfers, which I think we can all trust him on
Posted on 11/11/20 at 12:45 pm to rockiee
With everyone getting a year of eligibility back plus the upcoming 2022 in-state class they need spots to open so look for graduating seniors or transfers who can help create depth within the program.
Posted on 11/11/20 at 4:13 pm to RazorHawg
LINK
The Razorbacks signed 6-foot-5 small forward Chance Moore and 6-foot-9 forward Akol Mawein on the 11th, the first day of the early signing period, and according to Musselman, that's a wrap as far as non-transfer additions go.
On Moore:
on Mawein:
The Razorbacks still have another spot they could fill (and likely more with natural attrition) for next year's roster. Musselman isn't counting on this year's seniors to return–even though they technically could if they wanted to. Biggest need will probably be revealed during the season.
The Razorbacks signed 6-foot-5 small forward Chance Moore and 6-foot-9 forward Akol Mawein on the 11th, the first day of the early signing period, and according to Musselman, that's a wrap as far as non-transfer additions go.
quote:
"I think from a high school standpoint, that’s our class," Musselman told the media Wednesday. "It’s going to be Chance. Then from a junior college perspective, I’m pretty sure it’s just going to be AK. Then I think the way we’ll build out our roster moving forward will be with transfers. There’s not going to be an surprises over the next three or four weeks. This is kind of where we are and we’ll have patience moving forward with how we build the roster out from this moment on.
"I'm real excited about both guys because Chance fits what we want on the wing, so to speak, and obviously AK with his versatility up front. Both guys can make threes and also beat people of the dribble. I think from a scheme standpoint, they fit in what we’re trying to do."
On Moore:
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"Number one, he's a great athlete. I think he's going to continue to get better as a three-point shooter," Musselman said. "He's got length and athleticism to play the way we want on the defensive end, meaning he can switch. He's got enough strength to battle people down low. He's got quickness on the perimeter to be able to defend someone. I think he fits in really well with a transition offensive team that likes to get out and try to score baskets in the flow of the game. All those reasons have us really excited."
on Mawein:
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"You talk about a 6-foot-10, 240-pound (listed as 205) player who’s got really, really good versatility playing inside and out," Musselman said. "I think he’s ranked as the No. 1 power forward by a couple different outlets as far as junior college goes. He’s got the local ties, as well, having played here in the past."
The Razorbacks still have another spot they could fill (and likely more with natural attrition) for next year's roster. Musselman isn't counting on this year's seniors to return–even though they technically could if they wanted to. Biggest need will probably be revealed during the season.
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"I think what you’ll see across the board is very few men’s basketball players coming back, especially guys at a high level. We certainly feel like our three guys that we have now are guys that are going to have an opportunity to play for money beyond college. That’s really not a factor in how we’re building out our roster."
Posted on 11/11/20 at 4:21 pm to RazorHawg
Coach Neighbors signing class.
LINK
Emrie Ellis | F | 6-3 | Ada, Okla. | #48 in Class (ASGR)
Her Signing Story, as Told by Coach Neighbors:
LINK
Ashlyn Sage | G | 6-2 | Weatherford, Okla. | #84 In Class (Premier Basketball Rankings)
Her Signing Story, as told by Coach Neighbors:
(cont.)
LINK
Emrie Ellis | F | 6-3 | Ada, Okla. | #48 in Class (ASGR)
Her Signing Story, as Told by Coach Neighbors:
quote:
Rumors are traditionally associated with negative things. Growing up in a small town, that had certainly been my experience. Someone at church would hear details of something that happened the night before, and that story would be retold by someone at the store onto someone else at the Pizza Barn that night. By Monday at school? It was all over. Well, this rumor ends up with a future Razorback rather than a viral story.
Lacey Goldwire, our former recruiting coordinator, began hearing tidbits of a 6-3 shot-blocking machine in southeastern Oklahoma near where she had attended college. Former classmates of hers at East Central College were telling tales of a walking triple-double who was also blocking 20 shots a game. Rumor had it coaches of the region’s top programs were charting a course to Vanoss High School to see Coach Jon Hurts’ prospect.
Luckily for us, Hurts was one of Lacey’s classmates. Lacey set a September date to evaluate this now somewhat mythical prospect on our recruiting board. We use the term ‘mythical’ because, in 2019, it is unprecedented for a 6-3, extremely skilled, great student with a great family to be an unknown. How could a player like that be a mystery to evaluators across the country? Well, it turns out she had broken her wrist exactly three minutes into her first summer game entering her freshman summer, and she chose not to play the summer after that. Could we really be this lucky?
The practice we attended started at 3:30. By 3:45, I got the following message: Rumors aren’t right. Dreams of a future Hog shot-blocker sank. Then, a second message: She’s even better than everyone said. That second text led to a visit to campus for a football game with her family and friends. Our luck continued – her family loved the Razorbacks, and she even drove a Razorback red car. Before they left, she had a full-ride offer. Two months later, while attending the Arizona State game in Bud Walton Arena, Emrie committed.
LINK
Ashlyn Sage | G | 6-2 | Weatherford, Okla. | #84 In Class (Premier Basketball Rankings)
Her Signing Story, as told by Coach Neighbors:
quote:
We are accustomed to phone calls from players’ coaches. We are accustomed to phone calls from area alumni. We are accustomed to phone calls from family members. But a high school teammate of mine, turned pastor? Now that is something I didn’t have a lot of experience with. So, I made a mental note of her name – Ashlyn Sage – and finished the phone call. I then promptly forgot to write her name down. Did I mention my age? It happens.
Fast forward to the next summer, where we are in a suffocatingly hot gym in Frisco, Texas, perched in folding chairs along a baseline to catch Rylee Langerman and her Oklahoma Swarm team play. Rylee, who was also a recruit at the time, was playing point guard, and she had a special connection with one of her teammates. The duo kept finding each other open for threes, kept playing the give-and-go game. They also helped each other defensively. As a result, their team pulled a major upset. Since Rylee was already in our sights, I hadn’t though to look at the names of other players on the roster. So, while at lunch that day, I kept asking Coach Love to find out more about Rylee’s teammate. I told her she simply made everyone on the court better. She cared about winning. She listened to her coaches. She had great length on the perimeter, and I swear, every time she shot the ball, I thought it was going in, even from long, long range. After lunch, we went to separate gyms, but I told Coach Love to check her roster for the name. At about the halfway point of my next game, I got the text: Ashlyn Sage. Turns out Pastor James had an eye for talent after all.
I immediately called Rylee’s parents, RJ and Melissa Langerman, to confirm my suspicion – that Ashlyn was just as good of a kid as she was a basketball player. A few phone calls with Ashlyn and a family trip over the border for a football game later, and we were convinced. Ashlyn needed to be a Razorback.
(cont.)
Posted on 11/11/20 at 4:21 pm to RazorHawg
LINK
Samara Spencer | G | 5-9 | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | #72 In Class (BlueStar)
Her Signing Story, as told by Coach Neighbors:
LINK
Jersey Wolfenbarger | G | 6-5 | Fort Smith, Ark. | #7 In Class (ESPN) | Five Star Recruit (ESPN)
Her Signing Story, as told by Coach Neighbors:
Samara Spencer | G | 5-9 | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | #72 In Class (BlueStar)
Her Signing Story, as told by Coach Neighbors:
quote:
Ever since the events of 9/11, we have noticed that most recruits sign with schools that are either a tank of gas or a direct flight away from home. Like all things in recruiting, it’s not an exact science. One thing that becomes an absolute if you recruit out of your area, though, is that it’s 100 percent due to a strong relationship. One that is built over time, and full of trust. Fortunately for us, that is exactly what we have with Obel Cruz, Miguel Diaz, and Paul Torres of the Miami Suns, one of the original grassroots girls summer programs built to focus on growing opportunities for aspiring hoopers.
Prior to the spring evaluation period of 2019, Associate Head Coach Todd Schaefer got a phone call from Diaz about a new player in their organization. We had always told them to call us on players that fit our system and might be open to leaving the south Florida area. The Miami Suns coaches felt strongly that this player and her family would strongly consider Arkansas. Coach Schaefer arranged his fall evaluation schedule to see her at the Nike EYBL event. It was immediately evident that 20 years of friendship had helped develop a sense of what were looking for: a threat to score from deep, from the midrange and at the cup; the ability to guard four positions; a family support system that stressed academics; and the ability to be coached.
Through a series of spring phone calls, we turned a relationship with her coaches into a relationship with her and her family. After a summer of following her all over the country, we offered her. With that, her mom arranged a visit to campus for a September football game. There was an instant connection between her and our program. With that comfortable feeling, and having been to Fayetteville, Samara Spencer committed to being a Razorback.
LINK
Jersey Wolfenbarger | G | 6-5 | Fort Smith, Ark. | #7 In Class (ESPN) | Five Star Recruit (ESPN)
Her Signing Story, as told by Coach Neighbors:
quote:
Phone Calls to the basketball office about ‘5-6 guards who love the game’ are what we call ’10-12’s – a dime a dozen. So, when this particular call in the summer of 2017 came in, it was a pretty typical day. But, like with all calls that people are kind enough to make, we followed up on it. After some work, we found the team, the Missouri Phenom-SUG, to be playing in Chicago, on court 56 of the Nike event. She was being coached by Fayetteville High School Legend Nick Bradford, so we made arrangements to evaluate this one prospect.
The game began, and our prospect didn’t start. The first round of subs came and went, and she was still on the bench. Pretty typical of a ’10-12' call. Many times, this is where we would find another game to watch. But, we stayed and shortly before halftime, we got our first look at the 5-6, 85-pound guard we had come to see: Jersey Wolfenbarger. And my first note? 5-6?? Maybe! Then, she started playing. She was so fearless attacking the basket, challenging those who had matured earlier than she had. She was relentless as she pinballed off bodies and fought (unsuccessfully) for rebounds and loose balls. She spent more time on the ground than she did on her feet during the first evaluation. My final note from that game read: Colt? Thoroughbred? We watched her the rest of that summer and learned she’d be moving to Fort Smith, Arkansas, and would be playing for Coach Rickey Smith. Having recruited and coached his former players at Tulsa, Colorado, Xavier and a Washington, I knew she would be challenged and developed to her fullest potential.
With the way NCAA rules are, we can see things early, but can’t have conversations or contacts until much later. The Colt/Thoroughbred question was answered the minute she and her family stepped on campus – this girl was a Thoroughbred. Her words were wise beyond her years, as she expressed to our staff her dreams, laying out her blueprint on how to achieve them. In only 15 years, her mothers had raised a young person that was mature unlike anything I’d ever seen. On top of this, Coach Smith told us she worked harder at the game than any player he had ever coached. That, paired with what we had seen on the court, was enough for us – we offered the then-5-9, 98 pound Jersey Wolfenbarger a scholarship to be a Razorback.
Posted on 11/12/20 at 5:35 pm to rockiee
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Well, looks like Trey is going to Auburn. Didn't think it was looking good for us but sucks to lose him to another SEC school
As expected
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Bruce Pearl and Auburn have landed their second commitment in the 2021 class with four-star guard Trey Alexander.
The 6-foot-3 combo guard out of Heritage Hall (Okla.) chose the Tigers men's basketball program over Arkansas and Kansas.
Posted on 11/13/20 at 8:05 am to rockiee
Still grinds my gears he's allowed to coach in the SEC.
Of course its effing Auburn.
Any early indication where those big 3 are leaning?
Of course its effing Auburn.
Any early indication where those big 3 are leaning?
This post was edited on 11/13/20 at 8:08 am
Posted on 11/13/20 at 11:30 am to STLhog
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Any early indication where those big 3 are leaning?
I'd say pretty good with all of them so far. Hasn't been a ton of info on them yet but nothing looks concerning yet that I have seen.
Smith has been one of the biggest risers in the country. Seems like it will be a fight to hold everyone else off of him. I would say that Ford seems the most secure.
This post was edited on 11/13/20 at 11:35 am
Posted on 12/5/20 at 9:17 pm to rockiee
UT-Martin grad transfer Parker Stewart named a top four of Arkansas, Memphis, Indiana and Kansas State.
Posted on 12/18/20 at 6:32 pm to RazorHawg
Tennessee-Martin grad transfer Parker Stewart committed to Indiana. Hogs were in top 4.
Posted on 12/18/20 at 6:34 pm to RazorHawg
LINK
quote:
Austin Nunez's recruitment grows well beyond Texas borders
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Austin Nunez has become a priority recruit for all the top programs in Texas over the past year. Recently, the four-star point guard’s recruitment has expanded to include schools from all over the country as he’s coming off a summer where showed he could not only score at a high level but also create for others in the half-court and in transition.
Oregon and Howard are the most recent scholarship offers for Nunez. Along with those two, he mentioned Arkansas, Purdue, Texas, Texas A&M and Virginia as the schools really prioritizing him recently.
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Arkansas: “I love the way they have been recruiting me. They also like to play fast and push the ball to get easy points. They like to shoot the ‘3’.”
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RIVALS’ REACTION
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Nunez noted that Arkansas and Texas are the two programs recruiting him the most aggressively, but also made sure to mentioned that he’s open to all the schools recruiting him. Texas has an obvious advantage with distance from home and he’s built a strong relationship with Smart. He also likes the approach Arkansas has taken in recruiting him and the NBA-style of coaching from Eric Musselman. Style of play will give Virginia and Oregon a chance in this one as well, but Nunez says he’s in no rush to end his recruitment.
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