Razorback Wednesday Practice Observations

Arkansas' Trey Thompson in pre-Spain practices.
Arkansas' Trey Thompson in pre-Spain practices.

— Arkansas held its third pre-Spain practice in its Basketball Performance Center on Wednesday afternoon.

The first hour of practice was open to media, so here are some observations. As with the first few days, the disclaimer is that it is only a portion of one practice and no one should draw overreaching conclusions from an hour in late July.

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— Arkansas went 5 on 5 in front of the media for the first time this week for the last 15 minutes the practice was open. There’s a link to video of the entire segment in the box to the left.

— Arkansas doesn’t appear to have a point guard, at least not in the sense of a pure point guard, a distributor whose main role is setting up others. No Jabril Durham-type. And that's OK. The Razorbacks do have a lot of primary ballhandlers, combo guards who are comfortable with the ball in their hands and can score as well as pass. Given that, there probably won’t be just one player on the court initiating the offense. Jaylen Barford, Daryl Macon and Anton Beard are guys who’ll be in the rotation who match that criteria. Macon was a willing and decisive passer Wednesday, getting the ball out of his hands quickly and intuitively, generally making the right decision.

He was probably the most impressive in that regard. Beard did slip a nice pass in traffic to Adrio Bailey, but Bailey couldn’t handle it.

— Trey Thompson flashed some impressive range on his jump shot, including a nice turnaround over Dustin Thomas from the mid-post and a deep 2 with his foot on the line.


He’s shown a soft touch from the elbow in past practices, but it didn’t translate to games his first two seasons. Wednesday, he took the shots without hesitation and looked good doing so. If he’s added that to his repertoire, the idea of him and Moses Kingsley playing together is a bit more palatable from a spacing standpoint. Thompson is far and away the team’s best passer for a big, maybe in general. Combining his size, passing and a workable mid-range shot calls for more minutes than 10-12 as Kingsley’s backup. There are definite issues to playing the two together. Thompson isn’t built for chasing combo forwards (Read: a lot of the 4s the Hogs will play) around the perimeter, which means the task falls to Kingsley and sucks the team’s best rim protector away from the basket. But given the uncertainty with the rest of the frontcourt players, the lineup is definitely worth toying with in the nonconference portion of the schedule, with the understanding that Thompson continues to be as confident taking jumpers. Some of his nice passes:


— Thompson is up to 270 after adding muscle mass in the weight room this offseason and is now in the process of trimming down to 260, 265 by November.

— Dustin Thomas is not shy about letting it fly, whether it be around the rim or on the perimeter. If he has a look, he’s going to take it. But he also showed signs of being an adept passer Wednesday, shoveling a few passes in tight quarters in the lane for easy looks.


It would be a big added bonus for the offense if he can consistently provide a semblance of playmaking at the 4. He looked comfortable grabbing a rebound or loose ball and starting the break himself.

— Thomas also had a few notable mid-air meetings with Barford when the stocky guard attacked the basket.


In a game, he would be credited with a block for both plays below (he teamed up with Arlando Cook for the first). In a game, he also might have been called for a foul on the second. But his rotation and ability to contest the shot of the best penetrator on the team was interesting to note.

— Brachen Hazen is the opposite of Thomas right now, in that he appears hesitant to shoot at times. After missing his first corner 3, he passed up a number of open outside looks, the kind of shots he needs to take (and make) if he’s going to play the role of floor spacer well enough to get on the court this year.


The obvious dichotomy between the players is Thomas is essentially three years older and has played two years of college ball. Before practice, Hazen said the speed and physicality of the game are the biggest aspects he’s adjusting to. That’s evident in both of those clips. Not only does he opt against shooting, he’s indecisive with the ball, holding it and then pitter-pattering toward the rim with a somewhat shaky handle. These practices are great for him in that he’s getting a chance to adjust now. His skillset, which begins with his shot but includes a nice ability to find crevices in the paint for offensive rebounds or dishes, is intriguing, but he’s going through a learning process right now, on both ends of the floor.

— Hazen weighed in at 193 and could barely bench press 145 when he reported to campus. He’s up to 202 now and has made strides in the weight room. He has a frame that should allow him to continue to add weight and strength easily.

— Hazen was sporting a beard the first few days this week, but had traded the scruffy look for a clean-shaven one today. The reason: his girlfriend is coming to town for a visit.

— Adrio Bailey has the most upside of any of the 4s. He’s just raw. Aggressive, but still finding his way. His shot isn’t broken, either. He doesn’t look bad shooting in drills. How long it takes for him to be comfortable and successful in a game setting is the question. His athleticism could get him some looks this year.

— Manny Watkins’ defense is superb and it’d be surprising if he isn’t a mainstay in the rotation. But his jumper doesn’t appear to have drastically improved. He’s been willing to take it in live settings this week, but the results haven’t been great. The good news for him is he’s surrounded by more shooters than last year and plenty of offense. He should thrive as a cutter and then lock people up on the other end. That’s all that’s needed in his role. His experience should be a plus.

— RJ Glasper stressed that him averaging 30-plus for Forrest City last year was because the team needed him to be a volume shooter and that his passing and defense were overlooked as a result. With his quickness, he should have the ability to break down defenses and create for others. He may be a few years from contributing just due to the log jam ahead of him, but he is markedly better than an ordinary walk-on.

— Barford has displayed a nice jumper, albeit with a bit of a low release point and something of a leg kick, the first few days. He's certainly a capable perimeter shooter and a very good foul shooter. When he fades and exaggerates the leg kick, he's naturally less consistent. An area of his game to watch.

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