FAYETTEVILLE -- It's taken two radio shows to fully realize both what has happened to Moses Kingsley's game and how far he's come.
Named by SEC media as this season's SEC Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds for last season's 16-16 Razorbacks, it seems even with Arkansas starting 11-1 that Arkansas' 6-10 senior center from Nigeria has been the subject of what is wrong with him speculation.
Kingsley's scoring and rebounding averages are down, 11.3 and 8.3. So scrutiny goes up going into Arkansas' SEC opener against the Florida Gators at 8 p.m. Thursday at Walton Arena.
Theories abound.
Of all the theories, former Nolan Richardson era Razorback Blake Eddins nailed it on radio in two words: Jabril Durham.
Last season's senior point guard, Durham scored little but assisted plenty, 6.3 a game, to Kingsley inside and outside to guards Dusty Hannahs and since graduated Anthlon Bell.
New junior college transfer guards Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon are not selfish but they also are true scorers. Add them and forwards that Arkansas didn't have last season to Kingsley and Hannahs leaves many scorers but still only one basketball.
"We are going to feed him the ball whenever he wants it," Macon said. "He's the best big man in the SEC. At the same time when you've got guards that are known scorers there's going to be times he doesn't get it. Moses just can't let that get to him and let the game come to him."
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson also has said all that many times many ways.
Kingsley increasingly obliges. He only scored seven points in the 77-74 victory over Texas in Houston, but Arkansas doesn't win without him blocking five shots and grabbing 10 rebounds and drawing the extra attention freeing Macon, Hannahs and Barford to combine for 49 points.
His rebounding average was down in part because the whole team rebounds better than last season freeing him to block more shots.
Last season Kingsley averaged 2.3 blocked shots. He's averaging almost 3.0 now, 35 for 12 games.
Regarding how far he's come, an anecdote Kingsley related on Anderson's radio show tells the story. Kingsley recalled his basketball introduction in Nigeria at an age when most American boys had long played the game.
"I played soccer growing up," Kingsley said. "But one day my older brother came back from work and he said his friends told him 'Your brother is getting tall. He should try playing basketball.' I said OK, and one Saturday I was on an outdoor court. I was kind of shy and just watched and I liked it. I went out and bought shoes and I was so happy. But then I got to the basketball court and they told me, 'That's no basketball shoes. Those are running shoes.' I couldn't take them back."
He quickly proved it's not the shoes.
"The older guys started picking me for their team," Kingsley. "I blocked shots. They like that."
They still do.
Sports on 12/28/2016