Anderson on Miles: ‘He can lock down’

Keaton Miles, right, fouls Iowa State's Will Clyburn in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va., Saturday, March 9, 2013. Miles transferred to Arkansas and will officially begin class July 1. (AP Photo/David Smith)
Keaton Miles, right, fouls Iowa State's Will Clyburn in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va., Saturday, March 9, 2013. Miles transferred to Arkansas and will officially begin class July 1. (AP Photo/David Smith)

— West Virginia transfer Keaton Miles and freshman big man Moses Kingsley are scheduled to arrive in Fayetteville this weekend to attend the second session of summer school and fill out Arkansas’ basketball roster for the 2013-2014 season.

Miles, a versatile 6-7, 207-pounder, announced earlier this week his intention of transferring to Arkansas after visiting the campus last weekend. He’ll enroll in classes beginning July 1, as will Kingsley, but Miles will have to sit out the season per NCAA transfer rules before being eligible as a junior in 2014-2015.

Miles told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette after he and his family visited with Coach Mike Anderson and the Razorbacks’ team that he thought it was a “perfect fit.”

Anderson said a season of practice and observation of Arkansas’ style of play will be good for Miles, a graduate of Dallas Lincoln High School.

“He’s a guy we looked at when we were at Missouri," Anderson said. “He certainly fits what we’re doing. He’s 6-7, athletic, and he’s really worked on his body. He’s strong. He plays with the aggressiveness that I love. I think his body means nothing to him. He really runs the floor. He’s really super athletic.”

Miles, who averaged 18 points and 13 rebounds per game as a high school senior, started 30 of 32 games as a freshman at West Virginia, where he made his mark as a defensive stopper while averaging 1.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 13.1 minutes per game.

His production went up slightly to 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game while averaging 11.5 minutes last year, but he started 2 of 29 games for Coach Bob Huggins and decided to transfer.

“You’re talking about an experienced guy who started quite a few games for them his freshman year,” Anderson said. ”I just think with up-tempo basketball, now you’re going to see him out on the open floor. You’ll see him have some highlights like Mike Qualls. He’s that kind of athlete.

“But I think the thing about it, he can really defend. He can lock down on people, whether it be a guard or a forward, a center, it doesn’t matter.”

Miles was an all-state selection as a senior at Dallas Lincoln, and following the season he was selected MVP of the Texas vs. Oklahoma allstar game.

Miles and Kingsley join Little Rock’s Bobby Portis as the Razorbacks’ signing class for 2013. Manuale Watkins, the son of Arkansas assistant coach Melvin Watkins, enrolled at Arkansas earlier this summer and will be a walk-on in the fall.

Portis, the reigning Mr. Basketball in Arkansas wholed Little Rock Hall to four consecutive state championships, has been on campus since the first session of summer school.

Miles won’t be eligible until 2013-2014, but Alandise Harris, a transfer from Houston who redshirted last season, is expected to be eligible to play in the fall.

The Razorbacks, coming off a 19-13 year in which they did not qualify for a postseason tournament, will look to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since a second-round elimination by North Carolina in 2008.

Sports, Pages 19 on 06/29/2013

Upcoming Events