FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson and his staff made guard Khalil Garland feel at home long before he pledged to the Hogs on July 16.
Garland, 6-6, 190 pounds, of Little Rock Parkview picked the Razorbacks over scholarship offers from LSU, Memphis, Alabama, Connecticut, Baylor, Oregon, California, Arkansas- Little Rock and others.
“Before I visited or committed, they took me in like I was already a Razorback,” Garland said. “They love me, and the fans love me. You can’t do anything but enjoy while it lasts.”
ESPN rates Garland the No. 15 small forward and No. 61 overall prospect in the nation. Anderson likes Garland’s versatilely.
“He wants to see me at the one guard or big guard,” Garland said. “That’s where I see myself making my money at in the league.”
With his college decision out of the way, Garland is excited about the future.
“It feels great because my mom and dad can come see me,” said Garland, who played for Memphis-based Team Penny in the spring and summer. “It’s not too far away from home, and it’s not that close to home. Bud Walton will be packed every game. Coach Anderson and Coach [Melvin] Watkins and the team, I’m ready.”
Garland, who averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds a game as a junior, made the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All Preps second team.
He along with Razorback center commitment Daniel Gafford and Arkansas senior center Moses Kingsley took part in the prestigious Nike Skills Academy in Los Angeles on July 24-28.
“It was a great experience,” Garland said. “Going to Cali and being able to say you’ve been to Cali. The academy was great, you had all the NBA players come out and the future top players in the league and all the old school people showing us what to do.”
Garland plans to utilize some of what he learned this coming season at Parkview.
“I really picked up a lot,” he said. “I learned to put my face to the basket more and how to get low when small guards guard me.”
He and the other campers were able to mix and mingle with numerous NBA players, including LeBron James of the NBA champion Cleveland Cavilers.
“I was nervous, especially when I took a picture with LeBron, because that’s the best player in the league right now, and you're taking a picture with him,” Garland said. “It just motivates you because I want to be where he is when I go to the league, if I go to the league.”
Garland received a lot of positive feedback at the camp along with some constructive criticism.
“They said I play with a high motor and I have a good handle on the ball and I’m energetic player and I can rebound for my size and I’m a big guard,” Garland said. “They said I could improve on my handle a little more and my jump shot.”
It makes him proud to see two fellow Parkview Patriots, guards Anton Beard and Daryl Macon on Arkansas’ roster.
“It does because you see them and they went to the same high school I went to, and you see what they’ve accomplished and just seeing I could follow their footsteps,” Garland said.
There’s a possibility of adding another Patriot to the Razorback roster. Parkview and 16-under Arkansas Hawks junior forward Ethan Henderson is a major Arkansas target for the 2018 class.
“That’s my boy,” Garland said. “I’ll work on him.”