FAYETTEVILLE — The first graduate transfer to commit to Arkansas and coach Eric Musselman this offseason has officially signed with the Razorbacks.
Vance Jackson, a 6-9 forward who began his college career at Connecticut before transferring to New Mexico after his freshman season, chose Arkansas over interest from Memphis, Louisville, Arizona State, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Washington State and other programs.
He entered the NCAA transfer portal on March 30 and committed to Arkansas on April 1.
"I think that he saw the success of the team and the success of some individual players (at Nevada)," Musselman said on a Wednesday afternoon teleconference. "If we had not recruited him at Nevada (when he left UConn) or if we had not had a personal relationship, the process probably would have taken a lot longer.
"I don’t know if we would have gotten a player that is 6-9 with his versatility."
A native of Pasadena, Calif., Jackson sent in his paperwork early Wednesday morning. Musselman joked that he was hardly out of bed when Jackson's signature came through.
"To get a player 6-9 and 230 is interesting because the versatility is the first thing that comes to mind," Musselman said. "He can play the 4, he can play the 3, the 5, the 2. You kind of are who you can guard, and he has the ability offensively and defensively to play four positions on the floor. You’re talking about a player that has made 157 3-balls in his college career."
With the Huskies, Jackson averaged 8.1 points on 41 percent shooting and 3.8 rebounds over 26 minutes per game. He started 44 of 60 career games at New Mexico the last two seasons, averaging 12.2 points on 41 percent from the floor and 6.2 rebounds.
In January 2019, Jackson finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals against a Musselman-coached Nevada team that wound up being a 7-seed in that year's NCAA Tournament. Again, familiarity played a role in the recruitment process.
"Just as an NBA team when they evaluate for the draft, they would much prefer to watch a guy live," Musselman said. "Live eyeballs tell a lot more of the story certainly than watching on tape. Watching on tape you can’t tell how quick a guy is. You're not quite so sure. You can’t tell how tall somebody is.
"I know exactly what Vance Jackson is."
Jackson appears to be a plus in terms of rebounding. In his first three college seasons, he has grabbed at least six defensive rebounds 28 times, finished with 10-plus defensive rebounds three times and had 10-plus total rebounds eight times overall.
"He’s capable of a double-double on any given night," Musselman said. "(We like him) just from an experience standpoint, from a versatility standpoint, the ability to stretch the floor out with shooting and passing. He really wanted to be here. He’s excited."
Jackson told WholeHogSports on Wednesday that he hopes to make a "tremendous" impact at Arkansas in his final season.
"(I want to) help the team scoring and rebounding," he added. "Being positive and the voice for the team to help us win. I'm trying to end my career with a bang and victorious."