FAYETTEVILLE - Moses Kingsley came to Arkansas with a reputation for blocking shots and rebounding, but the 6-10 freshman is showing some offense, too.
That includes hitting a three-point basket in the Razorbacks’ 72-60 victory over South Alabama last week.
Kingsley found himself with the ball on the perimeter in the first half and the 35-second shot clock about to expire, so he fired up a three-pointer to tie the score 10-10. It was his first - and so far only - three-point attempt of the season.
“How about that, Moses’ first three as a collegiate player,” Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said after the game. “And the good thing about it … the clock was running down and he had the awareness.”
Anderson joked that perhaps he should let Kingsley shoot more three-pointers.
“Nah, don’t write that.
Don’t write that,” Anderson said, laughing. “But I tell you what, Moses just continues to amaze me when he goes out there. His temperament, the way he’s picking up the game.
“He’s picking up a lot of things as we go, and that tells you he wants to be a tremendous player.
He’s certainly making an impact on our team.”
Kingsley is averaging 5.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots in 10.3 minutes over 10 game while shooting 64.3 percent from the field (18 of 28) and 65.3 percent from the free-throw line (15 of 23). He didn’t play in the Razorbacks’ Maui Invitational opener against Minnesota, but in six games since then is averaging 6.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots in 12.7 minutes.
“I think he’s becoming one of the crowd favorites,” Anderson said.
Chasing perfection
Arkansas is 17-0 in Walton Arena during the 2013 calendar year, including a 10-0 record last season and 7-0 this season. The Razorbacks will finish 18-0 at home in 2013 if they beat High Point (N.C.) College tonight.
Arkansas twice has gone unbeaten in Walton Arena during calendar years. The Razorbacks were 16-0 in 1994 and 15-0 in 1998.
Arkansas has won 21 consecutive games in Walton Arena, which is tied with Florida for the fourth-longest home winning streak in the nation. Missouri has the nation’s longest home winning streak at 25 games, with Duke and Stephen F.
Austin tied for second at 23 each.
Syracuse was the last team to beat the Razorbacks in Walton Arena, 91-82 on Nov. 30, 2012.
Fill them up
Arkansas has a paid average attendance of 12,122 for seven games in Walton Arena this season, but the average announced attendance - people actually at the game - is 7,381 according to figures supplied by the university.
In an effort to get more fans to the games, Razorback Foundation members are being offered discounted tickets to two home games, against Texas-San Antonio on Jan. 4 and Alabama on Feb. 5.
Upper level Walton Arena tickets for those games will be $10, according to correspondence sent to Razorback Foundation members. Tickets are listed at $25 on a single-game basis by the UA ticket office and for $20 through season ticket sales.
The discounted tickets may be bought through the Razorbacks’ website and include a $5 handling fee per ticket.
Arkansas’ season-high announced crowd for a game in Walton Arena this season is 9,042 against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Clemson game probably would have exceeded that, but the crowd of 7,432 was held down because of a winter storm.
Arkansas’ high this season was the announced crowd of 10,113 against Alabama State at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
Sports, Pages 28 on 12/28/2013