The Recruiting Guy

Arkansas keeping eye on 3 at Little Rock private school

Avery Benson (21) of Springdale Har-Ber attempts to drive past Payton Willis of Fayetteville Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, during the second half of play in Bulldog Arena in Fayetteville.
Avery Benson (21) of Springdale Har-Ber attempts to drive past Payton Willis of Fayetteville Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, during the second half of play in Bulldog Arena in Fayetteville.

Arkansas basketball Coach Mike Anderson and the staff hosted three seniors from Southwest Christian Academy in Little Rock for unofficial visits on Thursday.

Coach Charles Baker said he believes forward/center Mladen Armus, guard/forward Gabe Osabuohien and shooting guard Avery Benson are under recruited.

"Time is the ultimate truth teller, time will show that all three of these kids can play effectively at a high level," Baker said. "I don't think there's any doubt about that."

Southwest Christian defeated Mount Mission of Virginia 54-44 to win the National Association of Christian Athletes national championship on Feb. 24. The team also featured Oral Roberts signee Emir Ahmedic and several other talented prospects, including junior point guard Shakur Daniel, who's being recruited by Arkansas, Arizona State, LSU and several others.

Armus, 6-10, 215, of Belgrade, Serbia, is drawing interest from Arkansas, Iowa State, South Florida, East Tennessee State, Memphis and St. Bonaventure.

"He can carve out space in the low post and has moves like Kevin McHale in the low post and can score," Baker said. "He rebounds as well as any kid in the country for his size, but here's what they don't know: He's played his whole life as a face-up 4 and I played him on the low block because he was so unstoppable."

Osabuohien, 6-8, 219 pounds, of Toronto has scholarship offers from Murray State, East Tennessee. State and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock while drawing interest from Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa State, Tennessee- Martin and others.

"Gabe can literally play on offense and defense at four different positions," Baker said. "You could put Gabe at the 4 and run your offense through him. He can handle the ball like a guard and he can pass it like a guard. He has a 7-1 wingspan. By the time he's a sophomore in college, people will say where in the hell did he come from."

Benson, 6-4, 175, of Springdale, has interest from Arkansas, Iowa State, South Florida, Texas Tech and Louisiana-Monroe. Benson is a sharp shooter with an all-around game.

"He can make shots and he can get out on transition," Baker said. "He's the ultimate team guy. Any team he's on, the coach is going to be happy like him."

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