FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas junior Michael Qualls still plays above the rim, as evidenced by his 19 dunks this season and Twitter handle of @Mr_WalkOnAir.
"This has been the first time I've had a guy where I knew I could just throw it up and he can go get it from anywhere," Razorbacks guard Anthlon Bell said. "It's a good thing to have, especially for broken plays. With his athletic ability, Mike can turn broken plays into spectacular plays."
Michael Qualls glance
COLLEGE Arkansas
POSITION Guard
HEIGHT/WEIGHT 6-6, 205
CLASS Junior
AGE 21 (born Jan. 20, 1994)
HIGH SCHOOL Shreveport Huntington
NOTEWORTHY Averaging career highs of 16.1 points and 5.2 rebounds. … Shooting career-best 47 percent from the field, including 36.1 percent on three-pointers, and 83.1 percent on free throws. … 19 dunks this season. … Averaging 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in SEC play. … Scored 20 or more points seven times this season with a career-high 28 against Northwestern (La.) State. … Scored 20 or more points nine times in his past 26 games after doing it once in his first 55 games (21 vs. California at the Maui Invitational last year) for the Razorbacks. … Career-high 11 rebounds against Tennessee when he was a freshman. … Played at the LeBron James and Kevin Durant skills camps last summer. … Arkansas is 12-2 when he has at least two dunks in a game.
MICHAEL QUALLS SEASON-BY-SEASON STATS
SEASON;G-S;MPG;FG-FGA(%);3PT-3PTA(%);FT-FTA(%);PPG;RPG
2012-13;31-5;15.6;55-137 (40.1);6-27 (22.2);28-46 (60.9);4.6;3.4
2013-14;33-17;24.7;129-301 (42.9);42-120 (35.0);83-122 (68.0);11.6;4.5
2014-15;17-17;29.6;85-181 (47.0);30-83 (36.1);74-89 (83.1);16.1;5.2
Totals;81-39;22.2;269-619 (43.5);78-230 (33.9);185-257 (72.0);9.9;4.2
G-S Games-starts
MPG Minutes per game
PPG Points per game
RPG Rebounds per game
Along with being able to sky high, Qualls has shown this season he can go wide, too.
SEC coaches agree the 6-6 Qualls has expanded his game to an impressive level since arriving at Arkansas in the fall of 2012 from Shreveport Huntington High School.
Qualls has scored 20 or more points in seven games this season, most recently 22 against Ole Miss last Saturday night when he hit 7 of 14 shots, including 4 of 10 three-pointers.
"I think he's an all-league player," Rebels Coach Andy Kennedy said. "He's a special athlete, as good as there is in college basketball.
"His shot-making has gotten so much better. His ball skills have gotten so much better. He's got the physical potential to be a lockdown defender. I think he's terrific."
Qualls had 20 points and six rebounds in the Razorbacks' 82-70 victory over Vanderbilt this season after hitting a game-winning three-pointer to lift Arkansas past the Commodores 77-75 last season.
"I just think that he's gotten better in every way," Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings said. "He's a guy that was blessed with great athleticism to begin with, but his skill level is starting to equal his athletic ability.
"He's always played hard and he's still able to get to the basket and finish, but now he shoots the ball better, he's got more game off the dribble. Defensively, he seems to be more consistent, in the right place more frequently."
Going into Arkansas' game against Alabama at 6 tonight at Walton Arena, Qualls is averaging career bests of 16.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and is shooting career bests from the field (47.0 percent), three-point range (36.1) and the free-throw line (83.1).
Qualls is averaging 18.5 points in SEC games to rank second behind teammate Bobby Portis, who leads at 23.3.
His improved play across the board, Qualls said, is part of his focus on being consistent.
"I used to have some games where I'd just sit back and disappear," Qualls said. "I want to be engaged the whole game."
Arkansas sophomore guard Manny Watkins said Qualls won't be outworked.
"You're not going to meet a hungrier guy than Mike," Wakints said. "He just wants it so bad."
Bell said Qualls has taken on more of a leadership role this season by example with his constant hustle or being more vocal.
"When things break down, he'll bring us together and say that we need to pick it up," Bell said.
There are only two games this season Qualls has scored fewer than 10 points. He had a career-high 28 points against Northwestern (La.) State.
"When Mike first got here, he was just a raw athlete," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "Now the development has taken effect. That's through repetition and competition, day in and day out, the competition in practice and the opportunity to go out and play in games and get better at what you do."
Anderson said Qualls often has been able to provide energy on offense or defense when the Razorbacks need a spark.
"He's one of those guys that can ignite our team at any point, and we've seen that through the course of this year," Anderson said.
Qualls' teammates said he brings energy in practice as well as during games.
"The fire in his eyes, he brings every day," Watkins said. "In practice, Coach has to be like, 'Calm down, it's your teammates.'
"It's not that he hurts somebody, but he just gets fired up because Coach doesn't call a lot of fouls. It will happen a couple of times and Mike will be like, 'All right, that's a foul.'
"He has to kind of calm himself down. You don't want him to get bad because he's coming at you the next 10 times -- fast and hard."
Qualls smiled when he heard about how intense he gets in practice. He credited Anderson's tough workouts for improving his game.
"It's adversity," Qualls said. "Coach gives a lot of that, especially towards me, because he knows -- and I know -- that I have to be there for the team when adversity hits.
"There will be times I'll go in there and just get hammered, and he's like, 'Keep playing, move on.' To be honest, that's really helped me. A part of the consistency that's there, it's because of practice.
"You go on the road and play through a foul. You just keep going."
Anderson said he's been pleased with Qualls' improved all-around game but isn't satisfied.
"I think Mike's better," Anderson said. "I still think there's another level he can go to."
Sports on 01/22/2015