SPRINGDALE — Northwest Arkansas is a frequent destination for Division I college football recruiters, but the traffic slows considerably for coaches searching for men’s basketball talent.
There are at least 15 players from Arkansas currently playing men’s Division I basketball and only three are from Northwest Arkansas. Former Fayetteville guards Kikko Haydar and Fred Gulley both play for the Razorbacks, but Haydar joined the team as a walk-on and Gulley is a transfer from Oklahoma State.
The vast majority of players from Arkansas currently on Division I rosters are from the Little Rock area, including Archie Goodwin (Sylvan Hills/Kentucky), A.J. Walton (Little Rock Hall/Baylor), and David Rivers (Little Rock Hall/Nebraska). Former Springdale High center Michael Sanchez (6-foot-9, 235 pounds) had limited success at Arkansas while battling injuries, and former Van Buren center Hooper Vint (6-10, 220) has played in only six games at Texas-El Paso this season after he missed most of his freshman year with an injury to his back.
Northwest Arkansas should better represented on the college level next season with a handful of big men who are dominating the 7A/6A-West Conference. That group is led by 6-10 Fayetteville center Tyler McCullough, who has signed with Missouri State. Payton Henson of Siloam Springs will head to Tulane after this season, and Bentonville 6-8 center Nick Smith will join Belmont, a Division 1 program in Nashville, Tenn. that leads the Ohio Valley Conference with an overall record of 17-4 and 8-0 in the league.
Darian Harris, a 6-6 senior combo guard from Shiloh Christian, will play next season at Creighton and guys like 6-5 Dashaun Starks of Springdale and Fayetteville’s Manuel Watkins could earn a college scholarship to a Division I school with a strong finish this year.
“There’s some tremendous talent in the league, moreso than I can remember with this many kids,” said Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams, who has coached in Northwest Arkansas for 31 years. “Tyler is the only true (post player) of that group, but Nick Smith and Payton Henson are big guys who are also great perimeter shooters.”
Fayetteville has four players on its roster who are at least 6-foot-4, including McCullough, and that makes the Bulldogs tough defend. That depth prevents opposing teams from ganging up on McCullough, who is averaging 10.8 points and 8.2 rebounds with just under 3 blocks per game.
“Your margin for error is very small when you are playing against guys who can finish with a bump around the basket and play above the rim,” Springdale Har-Ber coach Adam Simmons said. “Most of them can shoot the 3-ball, too.”
Har-Ber couldn’t contain Smith, who averages 20.3 points and 9 rebounds per game and set a career-high with 44 points in his last game against the Wildcats. His versatility and ability to stretch the defense is similar to Henson, who averages 25 points per game to lead the 7A/6A-West in scoring.
Harris is a 6-6 guard who averages 23 points and 10 rebounds while playing all over the court for the Class 5A Saints. He and Smith put on a show when the two combined for 64 points at the Citizens Bank Classic at Van Buren earlier this season. Smith scored 29 points and Harris had a career-high 35 as Bentonville defeated the Saints 75-70 in overtime.
“Any time you get two top athletes like that on the same court, it’s going to bring out the basketball junkies,” Shiloh Christian coach Brent Hester said. “Nick Smith is a threat any time he touches the ball, and both he and Darian had great games that day.”
HEADED TO THE BIG TIME
The following Northwest Arkansas players have signed college basketball scholarships with Divison I programs:
NAME SCHOOL HEIGHT WEIGHT COLLEGE CHOICE
Tyler McCullough Fayetteville 6-10 230 Missouri State
Payton Henson Siloam Springs 6-8 205 Tulane
Nick Smith Bentonville 6-8 210 Belmont
Darian Harris Shiloh Christian 6-6 190 Creighton