Hogs carry muscle from sand to court

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman speaks to his players Wednesday, July 27, 2022, during practice in the Eddie Sutton Men’s Basketball Practice Gym on the university campus in Fayetteville.
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman speaks to his players Wednesday, July 27, 2022, during practice in the Eddie Sutton Men’s Basketball Practice Gym on the university campus in Fayetteville.

The Arkansas Razorbacks' pregame preparation for Tuesday's basketball exhibition in Valencia, Spain, was a little different.

"I've never been to the beach before a game," University of Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile said. "So that was new for me."

The Razorbacks did a walk-through on a beach.

"In the sand," Brazile said. "We tried to draw a little basketball court, but that thing disappeared really quick."

Arkansas also made Valencia Seleccion, its opponent on Tuesday, disappear rather quickly.

The Razorbacks beat Valencia Seleccion 108-59 after jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the first two minutes.


"Our hotel is across the street from the beach, so of course we're going to have a little fun," said freshman guard Nick Smith, who led Arkansas with 17 points and had 6 assists and 4 rebounds, according to unofficial stats. "But at the end of the day when it's time to play, this team has a quick enough switch to where we can lock in and focus on what we were here to do."

Since arriving in Valencia late Saturday night, the Razorbacks have gone sightseeing, played football and volleyball while splashing in the Mediterranean Sea and played dodgeball on the beach.

"It's really interesting, with six freshmen, with only two returners, I was not worried," Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said of his team being ready to play Valencia Seleccion. "We had a team meal at 2 o'clock, and they got a little bit of rest, and they came out and played like they should play.

"We are having fun, but we are focused. We ran through all of our sets on the beach. We ran through some defensive coverage out on an outdoor court.

"So we're working over here, as well, but we certainly are having a lot of fun, I can promise you that."


Smith showed no ill effects from missing several practices last week after suffering a deep bruise on his left index finger.

"I thought Nick did a really good job," Musselman said. "He got a little bit careless with the basketball, as our whole team did. We had 11 turnovers.

"But I thought we shared the ball, and Nick provided a real scoring punch for us as well."

Smith, USA Today's national high school player of the year at North Little Rock, scored in a variety of ways with three-pointers, drives and dunks.

"Ever since we got on campus, I've thought the same thing about Nick. He's definitely a pro and he showed that tonight," said Brazile, a sophomore transfer from Missouri. "Coming off the pick and roll. Playing defense. He's active. He's talking. Nick Smith is definitely a pro."

Senior forward Kamani Johnson had 12 points and a team-high 9 rebounds for the Razorbacks.

"I thought Kamani did a fabulous job for sure," Musselman said. "He played hard. He came off the bench and played with great energy. I thought he played really, really well, which is what we need from a returning player."

Brazile scored 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting and hit both of his free throws. He scored eight consecutive points to start the third quarter -- under international rules the game has four 10-minute quarters -- and finished with three of the Razorbacks' 17 dunks.

"Everybody was just going in there with an aggressive mindset," Brazile said. "We wanted to get some steals and get out in the open and run.

"During the season, we're going to have to be more disciplined. It's not going to be that easy playing different teams ... But we just wanted to get some dunks in and have some fun."

Musselman was called for a technical foul with 1:02 left in the second quarter and Arkansas leading 53-29.

At that point, the Razorbacks had yet to attempt a free throw, while Valencia Seleccion had shot 12.

Musselman was asked if he drew the technical complaining to the officials in English or Spanish?

"Started off in English," Musselman said. "Ended up in Spanish."

Senior guard Ricky Council, a transfer from Wichita State, scored 11 points for the Razorbacks and had eight rebounds. Freshman guard Barry Dunning had 10 points and freshman forward Jordan Walsh had 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Freshman guard Anthony Black had 8 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds.

"Anthony Black in the middle of the zone is really, really effective," Musselman said. "Because he's got such great court vision."

Senior forward Makhel Mitchell had eight points and his twin brother, Makhi, had four. Both are transfers from Rhode Island.

Senior forward Jalen Graham, a transfer from Arizona State, had eight points. Junior guard Davonte Davis and freshman guard Derrian Ford each scored four points.

Freshman guard Joseph Pinion didn't score, but he passed up an easy shot for a behind-the-back assist to Graham. Johnson could have dunked on a breakaway, but instead passed to Ford for a basket.

"That just goes to show everybody on the team wants to see each other win and everybody is so unselfish," Brazile said. "It's just a great environment to be around."

Arkansas led 35-17 after the first quarter.

"Our athleticism was obviously too much for our opponent," Musselman said.

Musselman praised the Razorbacks' effort but said they need to be more disciplined on defense.

"I thought defensively we just gambled way too much," he said. "We have to become way more solid."

The game was played using a 24-second shot clock.

"They were playing crazy fast," Smith said of Valencia Seleccion. "I've never experienced anything like that. We would get the ball and score it and they would just throw it across the court. But that's what we expected.

"I feel like I got my wind out of me that game. I was tired as heck, but Thursday is going to be better for us."

The Razorbacks' second of four exhibition games will be against Barcelona Todo-Estrella on Thursday.

"I feel like the whole team played good," Smith said. "I feel like the whole team can play better as well, and it was just the first game.

"So hopefully Thursday we'll be better, and later down the line we'll be better for sure."

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Razorbacks in Europe

m The University of Arkansas’ exhibition basketball games in Spain and Italy are available for viewing via a $29.99 subscription to FloSports. Games will be streamed live on FloHoops.com and archived to watch on demand on the website or app. Arkansas beat Valencia Seleccion in its first exhibition game on Tuesday.

Here is the schedule for the remaining three games:

All times Central

THURSDAY

vs. Barcelona Todo-Estrella, 1:30 p.m. (Barcelona, Spain)

SATURDAY

vs. Orange 1 Basket Bassano, 12:30 p.m. (Como, Italy)

MONDAY

vs. Bakken Bears, noon (Como, Italy)

 


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