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Lot for NBA scouts to digest in Hogs' game

Daniel Gafford goes in for a dunk during a game against Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, in Fayetteville.
Daniel Gafford goes in for a dunk during a game against Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, in Fayetteville.

When Arkansas and Ole Miss were a combined nine of what seemed like a million shots in the first half Tuesday, it looked like it might be a very long game determined by who made the most free throws.

The Rebels were leading the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville 15-13 with 9:11 to play in the first half. Good high schools score more than that, but the Hogs found the range, got some big rebounds by Daniel Gafford and Darious Hall, and eased out to a 34-23 lead.

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Arkansas' leading scorers Daryl Macon and Jaylen Barford were a combined 3 of 10 from the field and 1 of 8 from behind the arc in the first half. It would have been worse, but Macon quit looking for his jumper, and when the Hogs were pulling away the senior had four of his six assists.

That was huge, and it probably didn't go unnoticed by the NBA scouts who were on hand. Some were there to scout Gafford, the 6-11 freshman from El Dorado who on Saturday enjoyed a surge in his NBA stock when he blocked a shot on one end and raced down to dunk it on the other end.

Not comparing him to the great Hakeem Olajuwon, but he made a career out of doing that.

While there is no official talk about Gafford declaring early for the NBA, some mock drafts have him going in the first round. If asked, the NBA will share with him whether he is likely to be drafted in the first round; if the answer is no, he needs to stay put.

In fact, the NBA is making it smarter to stay for another year if the player can improve his position in the draft.

For example, the No. 14 pick -- the last of the lottery picks -- will make $2,075,300 his first season, but the guaranteed three-year contract is worth $7,416,900. Compare that to the 19th pick, who will start at $1,614,100 but make more than $1.6 million less by the end of the guaranteed three-year total of $5,768,800.

Wait one year, and you could make millions more over the course of the contract.

Anyway, those scouts who were there may have seen something in Macon, too.

All season the Razorbacks have played point guard by committee with Anton Beard, Barford and Macon sharing the duties, and while all three have scoring mentalities, their chances of playing professionally would improve drastically if they could reinvent themselves like Patrick Beverley and become a point guard.

NBA teams all want someone like Stephen Curry who can distribute and score.

Back to the win over Ole Miss, with 8:00 on the clock the Rebels had closed to within 53-52, but that's when Mike Anderson knocked the wind out of the home team by putting his team in a zone.

The Razorbacks went on an 18-1 run and got out of town with its second road win, its third win in a row and staring five critical games in the eye to end the regular season.

Anderson has done a nice job with this team, although it opened a few eyes when in the middle of the season -- before this winning streak -- it was announced he had gotten a raise and contract extension.

Whether you agree with that move or not, this was not a brash move by new Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek, who in a one-on-one interview with Tom Murphy said the contract was drawn up in November, meaning Jeff Long wanted to get Anderson a better deal, just as he did Bret Bielema and himself before he was fired.

Still, the Razorbacks won a road game, their RPI edged up to 33, and every win now will help that number even more. February's feeding frenzy is headed straight into March Madness.

Sports on 02/15/2018

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