Highly recruited combination guard Jimmy Whitt signed a national letter of intent to play at Arkansas on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, during a ceremony at his school.
The signing gives Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson his most heralded guard recruit since arriving in Fayetteville in 2011.
Whitt, 6-2, 170 pounds, of Columbia (Mo.) Hickman, signed with the Razorback over 25 scholarship offers, including ones from Missouri, Marquette, Illinois, SMU, Memphis, Oklahoma and others. ESPN rates him the No. 9 point guard in the nation, the No. 68 recruit overall and the top prospect in Missouri.
Van Coleman of The Basketball Channel said he believes the Hogs got an elite prospect that can play both guard positions.
"Jimmy Whitt is a big-time recruit for Arkansas," Coleman said. "He has the potential to be a star in the SEC. He could be the one or the two, depending on what their needs are. He has the ability to be the point guard. I saw it in the summer at different events. He's probably one of the 10 best potential point guards in the class of 2015."
As a junior, Whitt averaged 22.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 4.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game and helped Hickman to a 27-3 record and to the Missouri Class 5 state title game.
During the spring and summer, he averaged 17.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for KC Run GMC.
"He's an amazing offensive talent," Coleman said. "He can be a 20-point-a-game guy if he swings to the two. He gives them all kinds of different looks and is a great nucleus player to build around for the future in the backcourt."
Coleman said he sees Whitt being a big piece of the puzzle for Anderson and the future of the Razorbacks program.
"The backcourt is the most important thing in college basketball," Coleman said. "Regardless of what may be said, it all starts with the point guard and his ability to get the ball to people and the second most important player is the guy that can make shots. Jimmy can do both of those things."
The Hogs also are awaiting word from power forward Ted Kapita, 6-9, 222, of Huntington (W.Va.) Prep. It's uncertain whether he'll sign during the early signing period that runs until Nov. 19 or wait until the spring.
Kapita officially visited Arkansas on Oct. 24-26. He has also visited West Virginia and Memphis.
Arkansas women's Coach Jimmy Dykes has announced five signees, including three in-state prospects -- 6-1 guard/forward Bailey Zimmerman of Wonderview; 5-5 guard Malica Monk of North Little Rock; and 5-7 guard Jordan Danberry of Conway.
Dykes also signed 6-1 forward/guard Keiryn Swenson of Wichita (Kan.) Maize and 5-9 guard Briunna Freeman of Pelham, Ga.
"It was a big day for us," Dykes said. "Five young ladies chose to be an Arkansas Razorback today, three of those from the state of Arkansas. So the 'Be Arkansas' thing stuck the first night [when he was hired]) and resonated across the state. I'm very, very proud of that. Very pleased with our staff and how we dug into the recruiting trail. I think those five young ladies coming in next year will be a boost to our talent."
Sports on 11/13/2014