Going whole Hog

Arkansas has 11 newcomers and perhaps its best team in nearly 30 years. Plus, injuries to note, the best power forwards, and more.

Author

Tristan Freeman
October 28, 2022

We're at the second-to-last weekend before college basketball's return. And the drama and news around the sport refuse to settle down. But hey, we certainly aren't complaining. To round out the week, we have to talk the Hogs, coaches who stayed around forever, hurt players, and Kayne West ... a perfectly normal lineup.

Let's get to the news.

1. More important for Arkansas: frontcourt or backcourt?

After back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman may have his best roster yet. They're a preseason top-10 team with 11 newcomers comprised of a mix of freshmen and transfers. It was almost divided evenly between the frontcourt and backcourt, with a trio of 5-star freshmen on the perimeter, as well as four forwards coming via the portal.

Rightfully so, all of the hype has been with the high-profile freshmen. Nick Smith is a projected NBA Draft lottery pick, while fellow 5-star prospects Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh are also set to have prominent roles. They should be able to replace the production left behind by leading scorers JD Notae and Stanley Umude.

Arkansas will also need to replace Jaylin Williams, an All-SEC center who was arguably the best and most important player for most of the season. The Hogs didn't add a player as individually good as Williams inside, but the Razorbacks could collectively pull it off. Trevon Brazile was a freshman starter at Missouri and is an elite athlete, while Jalen Graham is the top post scorer and a veteran coming over from Arizona State. And brothers, Makhi and Makhel Mitchell offer massive size at around 6-10 and 250 pounds each.

In an SEC that features bigs such as Oscar Tshiebwe, Colin Castleton, Johni Broome, Tolu Smith, and Charles Bediako, Arkansas needs the frontcourt to collectively play well in order to compete for a regular-season title. Considering this is the "Year of the Big," the Razorbacks' chances of making a Final Four run will ultimately depend on what this group of transfers does.

Yes, that's another "Year of the Big" reference, which means it's that time for us to mention The Almanac, a fully comprehensive preview of the upcoming season. For just 20 bucks, you can dive into a 1,300-word preview on Arkansas, compare it to the rest of the SEC, and all the other 363 schools. Makes for perfect weekend reading.

2. Injuries to note from the week

As the next round of preseason scrimmages and exhibitions continues this weekend, there are some more reports regarding key players that are currently out for their respective teams.

  • Texas transfer Tre Mitchell remains out for West Virginia with a foot injury, with his status to open the season now in genuine question. Out of the seven Mountaineer transfers this offseason, the 6-9 forward is the most notable, averaging around 18 and 8 in two years at UMass. It's not viewed as a long-term issue but something to monitor.

  • Bradley will be without Preseason All-MVC forward Rienk Mast for indefinite period of time after suffering a knee injury in practice. Mast, a 6-9 forward who averaged 11.6 ppg and 8.4 rpg last season, is the best player for a Braves team picked to finish 2nd behind Drake in the Missouri Valley. The hope is that he's back for league play.

  • Illinois wing Luke Goode suffered a broken foot in last week's scrimmage with Kansas and is out indefinitely. He reportedly started in that game and coach Brad Underwood was set to make him a key part of the rotation because of his shooting.

  • Alabama's already dealing with Jahvon Quinerly's absence, but two more players may be out to open the season as well in sophomore center Charles Bediako, and Nimari Burnett, who is still recovering from an injury that took him out for all of last year. Both are questionable for the Nov. 7 opener against Longwood.

3. Does Drew Timme have a lock on the Karl Malone Award?

The preseason contenders for the Karl Malone Award are out, given to the top power forward in the nation. The instant reaction, of course, is to dispute the position designations of some of these guys. But in fairness, Dayton and Duke are essentially playing two bigs in their lineups this season, as well as Indiana and Auburn. So maybe we'll overlook that there's like 4-5 actually power forwards on this list.

On paper, Drew Timme is the front-runner. Gonzaga's All-America gets to avoid National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe and Armando Bacot for the top center award. Other favorites to watch are Trayce Jackson-Davis and Azuolas Tubelis, but if I was a betting man, I'd say that the senior Zag is in a good spot.

4. Donda closure leaves top prospects in limbo

The ongoing saga with Ye (Kanye West) has now reached the sports world. Stars Jaylen Brown and Aaron Donald cut ties with his sports agency and now, Donda Academy, the school he founded, has closed for the 2022-23 calendar year. That leaves several top 2023 prospects looking for a new place to play this season.

Among them are top 10 point guard and Kentucky commit Robert Dillingham and 5-star combo guard prospect AJ Johnson. There's also 4-star forward JJ Taylor and 3-star guard Chuck Bailey, who had actually left the program a week ago.

To some degree, this latest development may have saved these players some long-term headaches. There already was controversy with Donda Academy in that it was not an accredited school with the California Interscholastic Federation. With the existence of Overtime Elite and other prep schools in the area, these prospects should find landing spots.

5. The 7 coaches most identified with a single program

An article from ESPN’s Myron Medcalf discussed the “inevitable retirement from Syracuse” for long-time coach Jim Boeheim. He’s been in the program since 1976 (46 seasons), making the NCAA Tournament for 35 of them and making 5 Final Four appearances, with one ending in a national title in 2003. (Throw in another 11 as a player and an assistant coach.)

That's an incredible amount of time with a single program.

This has me thinking: Who are the most notable coaches who only coached at one place? You’d be surprised how many would be ineligible for this list, such as Coach K, Gene Keady and even John Wooden. The following is a list of 7 coaches that would be considered the face of their respective programs in history. There are three active coaches who could’ve made the cut (Mark Few, Tom Izzo, and Jim Boeheim) but I wanted to go back in time.

Denny Crum: Louisville Cardinals - 1971-2001 (30 years)

Between 1970-1990, the Cardinals were arguably a top-5 program. They were an NCAA Tournament mainstay (23 out of 30 years) and made the Final Four on six occasions. And Crum ended up winning two of Louisville's three total national titles in 1980 and 1986. Career record: 675-295

Guy Lewis: Houston Cougars - 1957-1986 (30 years)

Lewis (who also played at Houston and was a Cougars assistant) was a multiple-time National Coach of the Year winner and made the NCAA Tournament 14 times. On five of those postseason trips, the Cougars made the Final Four and made the title game in 1983 and 1984, but never ended up cutting down the nets. Career record: 592-279

Bob McKillop: Davidson Wildcats - 1989-2022 (33 years)

The recently retired McKillop spent 33 years at Davidson and made them into one of the sport's top mid-major programs. Between their days the Big South and Atlantic 10, McKillop made the NCAA Tournament 10 times, including an Elite 8 appearance in 2008 led by Steph Curry. Career record: 634-380

Ray Meyer: DePaul Blue Demons - 1942-84 (42 seasons)

There was a time when DePaul was a competitive program. Meyer ended up making the NCAA Tournament 13 times and made two Final Four appearances in 1943 (his first season as a head coach) and 1979 and also has an NIT title in 1945, which remains the lone championship in Blue Demon history. Career record: 724-354

Adolph Rupp: Kentucky Wildcats - 1931-1972 (41 years)

The man who created Kentucky basketball, Rupp took the program to 20 NCAA Tournament appearances and six Final Fours. The Hall of Famer has four national championships on his resume, including three in a four-year stretch from 1948-51. His Kentucky teams also were ranked No. 1 in the country in nine different years. Career record: 876-190

Dean Smith: North Carolina - 1961-97 (36 years)

Smith is just one of three coaches with 10+ Final Four appearances. His incredible run as the leader of the Tar Heels includes national championships in 1982 and 1993. He ended his career with 23 straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, with 27 total in 36 years. Career record: 879-254

John Thompson: Georgetown Hoyas - 1972-99 (27 years)

A figure that still looms large over the Hoyas program, Thompson took the team to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. That includes a trio of Final Fours sandwiched around a national championship in 1984 over Guy Lewis and Houston. The multi-time Big East and National Coach of the Year put the program on the map as perhaps the most influential program of the '80s. Career record: 596-239

Links as you figure out how to order the pay-per-view to watch Gonzaga vs Tennessee

THE DTF PODCAST

Trayce Jackson-Davis looks to win big with Indiana

Karl Malone Award candidate and All-Big Ten big man Trayce Jackson-Davis joined AJ Guyton in the latest episode of "House of Hoosier" to talk about his NBA Draft process, adjustments Indiana is making ahead of this season, and what he's working on himself to better his game.

Also, check out which freshman has impressed the veteran forward the most.

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Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend everyone.