Hannahs shoots for strong debut

Dusty Hannahs (3) of Arkansas drives past Collin Jennings (22) of Southwestern Oklahoma State Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015, during the first half in Bud Walton Arena.
Dusty Hannahs (3) of Arkansas drives past Collin Jennings (22) of Southwestern Oklahoma State Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015, during the first half in Bud Walton Arena.

FAYETTEVILLE -- It's been 1 year, 8 months and 2 days since Dusty Hannahs played in a college basketball game that counted on his team's record.

That will end tonight when Hannahs, a 6-2 junior guard from Little Rock, makes his Arkansas debut in the season opener against Southern University.

Tipoff is 7 p.m. in Walton Arena.

Hannahs, who redshirted last season after transferring to Arkansas, last played in a college game when he came off the bench for Texas Tech in the Red Raiders' 80-62 loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament March 12, 2014, in Kansas City, Mo.

"I'm definitely very excited," Hannahs said. "Any time you can suit up for the Razorbacks, it's a very exciting day."

Arkansas has lost six of its top seven scorers from last season's 27-9 team, and Hannahs is being counted on to help fill the offensive void.

In the Razorbacks' exhibition victories against Southwestern Oklahoma State (103-58) and Delta State (74-40), Hannahs averaged 14.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 23.5 minutes. He hit 12 of 23 field-goal attempts, including 5 of 10 three-pointers.

Hannahs averaged 7.2 points and 22.1 minutes in 62 games during his two seasons at Texas Tech while hitting 36.5 percent [84 of 230] on three-pointers.

Some of Hannahs' three-point baskets in Arkansas' exhibition games were well beyond the 20-foot, 9-inch arc.

"Dusty is a long-range bomber," said senior guard Anthlon Bell, the Razorbacks' leading returning scorer who averaged 7.9 points last season and hit 65 of 185 three-pointers. "He can walk in the gym and he's in range already.

"We're going to need that this year."

Hannahs said he's shooting better than ever thanks to workouts with Lee Mayberry, a former all-conference point guard for the Razorbacks who played seven years in the NBA and is a special assistant for Arkansas.

"I just lucked out with them putting Coach Mayberry on the staff and being able to work out with him every day," said Hannahs, who played at Pulaski Academy. "He has really professional-based shooting workouts."

Hannahs said he's probably taken 100,000 or more shots in working out with Mayberry for several months.

"The more shots you get up, the better you get at shooting," he said. "So I think it helped a lot."

Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson has no doubts about Hannahs' confidence on offense.

"Dusty's a guy that's never seen a shot he didn't like," Anderson said. "But he knows he's got to do more than shoot the basketball."

Hannahs said redshirting and practicing with the Razorbacks helped him gain strength and expand his all-around game. He said he's improved his ball-handling, passing and defense.

"A year like that really gets you to another level, practicing with these guys," he said. "As a competitor, you want to play, but I think I got more positives out of the year than cons."

Anderson said he's looking for consistency.

"Being tagged as just s jump shooter, every time he catches it people are going to say, 'Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!' " Anderson said. "But there's a lot of things Dusty can do.

"He can play defense. He's going to have to play defense if he's going to be out on that floor. He can play the passing lanes. He can rebound because he's got size. He can put the ball on the floor and get in the lanes and make plays not only for himself, but the other guys as well.

"I want him to be a guy that plays efficient minutes. He has gotten better and is getting a little bit more familiar with what we're asking of him and getting more familiar with his teammates."

Hannahs played in Europe for USA East Coast Basketball the previous two summers against national and pro teams. He averaged 11.3 points in four games in 2014 and 13.0 points in four games last summer.

"Getting to play in Europe and get some games under me there and these two exhibition games with our guys helped me put away the rust," Hannahs said. "I'm just ready to go."

Sports on 11/13/2015

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