FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas men's basketball Coach Mike Anderson and his staff hosted about 75 athletes for the Hogs' Elite Camp on Monday.
Center Daniel Gafford, who has committed to the Razorbacks, was one of the standouts for the camp.
Gafford, 6-11, 223 pounds, of El Dorado, was also showed well at the Nike Skills Academy in Los Angeles on July 24-28, which featured 60 of the top high school prospects in the nation and 21 of the top college players participated.
Arkansas guard commitment Kahlil Garland of Little Rock Parkview and Razorbacks senior center Moses Kingsley also attended and were able to work with current and former NBA players.
"That was a good experience," Gafford said. "I got to work with a lot of good post players. I got to work against Jahlil Okafor from the [Philadelphia] 76ers, and I got some tips from Rasheed Wallace."
Gafford, who averaged 14 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks per game as a junior, said he he plans to use some of the knowledge he learned this season with the Wildcats.
"They pretty much said to work on my footwork, and another college coach said to finish higher," Gafford said. "He said I finish with the ball close to me and I need to finish with my arms straight up on the air and lock my elbows."
He had a very good spring and summer with the 17-under Team Portis Wings and could improve on his national ranking. ESPN rates Gafford the No. 10 center and No. 52 overall prospect in the nation.
Gafford said he received positive feedback from his performance at the Nike camp.
"When I got evaluated, they said they like the way I play and how hard I played," he said. "They said the only thing I need to do is get my footwork better and finish higher when I'm going to the rack."
He said Kingsley performed well at the camp.
"It was real good to see him work," Gafford said. "He was working against some of the best big men in college. He was putting it on them."
Gafford said there was no fun and games during the academy.
"In that atmosphere, it's nothing but work," Gafford said. "They don't play."
Like Moses?
Freshman forward Geodsgift Ezedinma was one of the more impressive performers at Arkansas' Elite Camp.
Ezedinma, 6-7, 190, of Brashear, Texas, arrived in the United States from Nigeria eight months ago and is familiar with Arkansas senior center Moses Kingsley, who is also a native of Nigeria.
"I've been watching Kingsley that plays for Arkansas," Ezedinma said. "I've been watching him during the season and I was happy. I was really happy."
Ezedinma and Kingsley are both originally from Abuja, one of 36 Nigerian states.
"He's from my state, too," Ezedinma said. "I talked to him in the gym."
Ezedinma said it's a plus for the Hogs that Kingsley is at Arkansas.
"They've showed him a lot of love," he said. " I know if I come here, I think there's a going to be a lot of love, too."
Ezedinma has also visited San Diego State, but he said Arkansas caught his attention.
"It's a big school and a good school for basketball," he said. "It's a great place, man. This is like the biggest school I've been to so far."
On the short list
Central Arkansas Christian junior guard Christyn Williams has narrowed her lengthy list of scholarship offers to eight, and Arkansas is one of them.
She narrowed her list to Arkansas, Baylor, Connecticut, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and UCLA on Sunday. ESPN rates her the No. 1 guard and the No. 2 overall prospect in the nation for the 2018 class.
Williams averaged 29 points, 11 rebounds and 7 steals per game last season and was named the Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year.
E-mail Richard Davenport at [email protected]
Sports on 08/02/2016