admin 
Another terrific run for Arkansas basketball has come to an end with the Razorbacks advancing to the Elite Eight now for consecutive years. However, there are no brakes on the Muss Bus as the Hogs hit the offseason full steam ahead right away with the intent of reloading for 2022-23.
With great success comes even greater expectations. Eric Musselman has created a monster at Arkansas and has no plans to stop feeding it any time soon. The work for the future has been ongoing, but it went into overdrive the moment the Razorbacks left the Chase Center over the weekend.
“Everybody works so hard. The players buy into everything, and we’ve had two really good years, and I thought even in year one the guys played so hard, incredibly hard, and we internally have high expectations, meaning in that locker room , and we will have high expectations all summer,” said Musselman following Arkansas’ Elite Eight loss to Duke. “As soon as we get out of here I’m going to start working on next year. That’s a definite. Yeah, I guess the bar has been raised.”
Musselman has never signed more than four high school players in a class prior to this cycle. Arkansas inked five Top 100 prospects on early signing day in November. The class includes five-star, No. 6 ranked guard Nick Smith Jr. (North Little Rock, Ark.), five-star, No. 18 ranked Jordan Walsh (Cedar Hill, Texas), four-star, No. 57 ranked combo guard Derrian Ford (Magnolia, Ark.), four-star, No. 85 ranked small forward Barry Dunning (Mobile, Ala.) and four-star, No. 88 ranked small forward Joseph Pinion (Morriton, Ark.).
There’s another on the way as the Razorbacks picked up a massive commitment in five-star, No. 14 ranked point guard Anthony Black on Monday, giving the program three McDonald’s All-Americans in a single class for the first time in program history.
There certainly seems to be a youth movement—albeit an immensely talented one—in Fayetteville (Ark.), but transfer portal season has arrived, and anyone who has a pulse knows this is the time of year Musselman thrives. There has already been some roster movement in and out with plenty more to be expected over the coming weeks.
As things continue to unfold, let’s get caught up with an updated look at the timeline of changes this offseason, examine what needs exist from a roster building standpoint and breakdown the projected scholarship distribution for the 2022-23 season.
TIMELINE
- 3/28: IN – Five-star point guard Anthony Black commits to Arkansas
- 3/29: OUT – Freshman wing Chance Moore enters transfer portal
NEEDS AND ROSTER SPOTS AVAILABLE
At the moment, Arkansas has 14 scholarship players projected for 2022-23, which is one over the NCAA limit. However, there is certain to be a significant amount of addition and subtraction in the weeks ahead. While it is unfair to speculate on who may or may not opt to leave the program, it is worth noting there are some Hogs with decisions to make.
JD Notae and Au’Diese Toney are two who have played four seasons of college basketball, but have one year of eligibility remaining since the 2020-21 season for all intents and purposes became a freebie due to the pandemic. That pair, along with sophomore forward Jaylin Williams, whose name has started to appear on NBA Mock Draft boards, could return, opt to go pro, or declare for the draft while maintaining eligibility. Time will tell.
In the end, Arkansas is likely to make the numbers work to where it adds a minimum of 2-3 players out of the portal. Adding some size and length to a thin front court would appear to be a priority, along with a floor-spacing forward and potentially a veteran ball-handler with three-point shooting prowess.
PROJECTED SCHOLARSHIP DISTRIBUTION
Guards (6)
Wings (3)
Forwards (5)
Walk-ons (2)
- Lawson Blake | 6-10, 225 | 3 years remaining
- Cade Arbogast | 6-3, 170 | 2 years remaining *was on scholarship Spring ’22
Did you know HawgSports.com has a podcast called HawgSports LIVE, along with the popular and occasional Walk & Talk? New episodes are available weekly, bringing you the best Razorback breakdowns and opinions from the top guys in the industry, Trey Biddy, Danny West and Curtis Wilkerson. Catch the latest episode and also subscribe here on itunesor catch the latest episode here on Megaphone or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for HawgSports Live on your favorite platform.
