Thomas a fit next to Kingsley

Arkansas forward Dustin Thomas goes through practice Monday, July 25, 2016, in Fayetteville.

— Jay-Z, Kanye West, J. Cole and Migos are all regulars on Dustin Thomas’ gym playlist when he’s in Arkansas’ Basketball Performance Center.

The junior forward has other artists on the playlist, to be sure. That's a necessity, because, over the course of the last year, Thomas has spent hours listening to music and shooting in the gym outside of practice. Those solo sessions essentially took the place of games for the 6-foot-8, 225-pounder while he sat out a year after transferring from Colorado.

“I’ve been shooting pretty much every day, getting thousands of shots up,” Thomas said.

But Thomas wasn’t just shooting aimlessly, killing free time in the gym while waiting for his chance at a fresh start. He changed his shot over the course of the last year, putting in ample time working on keeping his feet square and going straight up with his shot instead of kicking his legs out, two areas he struggled with at Colorado. He put in the time to hone a more consistent, repeatable jumper.

“I just shoot ‘till I’m tired,” Thomas said.

The rewards of that dedication, those long hours, are finally set to be reaped.

Thomas hopes he’s come a long way. He was a poor to average shooter his two years at Colorado, even while improving dramatically from his freshman to sophomore seasons, jumping from 18 to 32 percent from 3-point range (albeit on small sample sizes both years) and 55 to 68 percent from the foul line.

He still slips into old habits at times, kicking his feet out in exaggerated fashion on contested jumpers, a natural reaction to shooting over an outstretched hand. But his shot looked markedly better in Arkansas’ practices leading up to its current trip to Spain. On balance and squared up, Thomas was as good as anyone on the team, including sharpshooting guards Dusty Hannahs and Daryl Macon, from mid-range in shooting drills, effortlessly swishing shot after shot. He was solid from 3-point range, too, while displaying a confidence to put up open shots in live action.

If that is in fact the real, new-look Thomas, Arkansas has found the answer to its biggest question entering Mike Anderson’s sixth season: Who plays next to Moses Kingsley?

That was a constant issue that hounded the Razorbacks throughout a disappointing 16-16 finish last season. Keaton Miles, a West Virginia transfer, started 24 games but only averaged 15 minutes per because of his lack of an offensive game. Per 40 minutes, he averaged just 7.7 points while shooting a measly 34 percent from the floor. With Miles on the court, Arkansas averaged just 79.4 points per 100 possessions, far and away the worst number on the roster and light years from the team average of 107.5. And while he didn't lack for defensive want-to, his production on that end of the court couldn’t come close to making up for the offensive shortcomings. As a result, Trey Thompson and at times even Manny Watkins became the Razorbacks’ best options next to Kingsley, even though neither were great fits.

That’s why Thomas is so vital to this year’s team. The Hogs have other options (more on those in a bit), but he fits the mold of an Anderson 4. The coaching staff embraces positionless basketball, but Thomas will be the smaller of two frontcourt players in most lineups, a skilled combo forward with the ability to score in a variety of ways and some playmaking acumen in the same vein as DeMarre Carroll, Coty Clarke and Alandise Harris.

Thomas wouldn’t shy away from admitting that wasn’t the type of player he was at Colorado, which is why Arkansas’ staff banking on the new environment and up-tempo style of play re-energizing his game. At Colorado, Thomas only averaged 2.2 and 1.4 assists per 40 minutes in his two seasons. Harris averaged 2.5 and 2.8 his final two seasons at Arkansas, while Clarke (2.2 and 4.3) and Carroll (2.1 and 3.1) were also better in their final two collegiate seasons.

Arkansas hopes those numbers are misleading for a former top-150 recruit who arrived in Boulder with a reputation as a skilled athlete. His projected athleticism and playmaking were rarely on display in two seasons of playing at a middling pace. The Buffalos ranked 178th and 129th in the nation in pace, averaging 66.3 and 65.7 possessions per game in 2014 and 2015, respectively. That kind of halfcourt game wasn’t conducive to allowing Thomas the freedom to put his skillset on display.

Arkansas, on the other hand, differed. No surprise there. The Hogs ranked fifth with 72.8 possessions per game in 2014 and 13th with 69.7 possessions in 2015. Their possessions were also quicker than Colorado’s, averaging 15.3 and 15.7 seconds in the two-year period, compared to 17.8 and 18 — hefty differences.

“I wanted a better fit,” Thomas said. “I came down here and met with coach (Anderson) and he said they’d let me play my game. They play fast and that’s just something I wanted to change.”

Thomas showed a knack for passing and setting the table for others during pre-Spain practices. He was comfortable handling the ball in the open court off misses and turnovers, but also made plays in halfcourt settings.

Thomas likely won’t be the ballhandler on too many pick-and-rolls this season, but that play showcases his ability as a passer. Not a ton of 4s can 1) navigate a pick-and-roll at the right pace, 2) maintain their dribble keeping their head up and patiently surveying options and 3) whip an on-time, on-target pass to a moving teammate.


On both of those, he creates a passing lane and just dumps it off to teammates for easy looks. Simple plays, but ones that many bigs don’t have the wherewithal to make in tight spaces in split seconds.

Thomas plays with a confident air and a bit of a brash flash to his game. He doesn’t lack for assertiveness — he takes open shots without hesitation and uses his athleticism to win 50-50 rebounds and at the very least attempt to dunk on others. If he can play in control and harness his skills, Arkansas has a complimentary talent to play next to Kingsley for 25 minutes a game.

The Razorbacks also have other options, a welcomed difference for Anderson from last year’s ill-fated roster.

Thompson shed additional bad weight in the offseason and appears to have more burst than he did a year ago. He regularly dunked in drills where most of the roster laid the ball up to conserve energy. He also showcased a soft jumper with range out to the 3-point line and a willingness to put shots up. That mid-range jumper — any shot, really — was nowhere to be seen his first two years. Last season, he averaged less than five shot attempts per 40 minutes, easily the least on the team. To put it in perspective, Dusty Hannahs averaged a team-high 17.6, Kingsley 14.1 and Miles 8.6. Thompson shot better than 60 percent from the floor, but rarely looked to score unless it was a no-brainer shot, which made it easier for teams to help off him and either collapse on Kingsley or strangle spacing in the lane. If Thompson can carry over his assertiveness once real games begin, he becomes much more playable from a spacing standpoint with Kingsley and his passing, likely the best on the team, can be utilized in new spaces and more often, which seems smart on a team without a pass-first guard on the roster.

The downside to playing them together is that Kingsley is far better-suited of the two to guard the opposition’s quicker frontcourt player. Since the smaller, quicker player in most lineups will possess some semblance of a perimeter game, it could lead to Kingsley — far and away the team’s best rim protector — being sucked away from the lane. The pairing isn’t mandatory like it was last year, but the lineup, even with its flaws, is definitely worth tinkering with in November and December at the least.

The fourth big at this point is likely Arlando Cook, a JUCO transfer with two years of eligibility remaining. Cook seems to project as an energy big, providing defense and rebounding off the bench. He shot 70 percent from the foul line last season, but is a hit-or-miss jump shooter who cocks the ball over his head. He may have trouble garnering the respect from defenses to stretch the floor well enough to be as effective playing next to Kingsley as others, but he’ll get some run in nonconference. His ceiling doesn’t appear to be as high as the two true freshmen bigs on the roster, but he is the safest option at this point. His hustle should earn him a place in the rotation at least early in the season.

True freshman Adrio Bailey is a top-flight athlete who plays with aggression. That unbridled energy led to him playing of control at times in pre-Spain practices, but he should have a good chance of cracking the rotation as the game slows down and he adjusts to collegiate ball. His jumper is a work in progress but appears promising after he didn’t really focus outside of the paint in high school. His tenacity attacking the rim was routinely on display in practices. His activity on defense could also help get him on the court.

The ability to anticipate and time the entry pass and reach around Kingsley to knock it away was commendable, but his recovery to get back in the picture and block what momentarily looked like a wide-open layup was probably even more impressive.

He and Manny Watkins, one of the two best defenders on the team, thwart a fastbreak going one way and then convert a 2 on 1 the other direction. If Bailey can learn the rotations and play within the system while still exuding the aggressive mentality, he seems like a good bet to earn minutes similar to how Michael Qualls got on the court and wowed with his raw athleticism and activity as a freshman. Bailey could be a good one going forward.

Brachen Hazen has the makings of a good stretch 4, but isn’t quite there yet. Like Bailey, the speed of the game is still a bit much for the 6-8, 202-pounder. Unlike Bailey, Hazen was more prone to hesitate at times during pre-Spain practices. It was evident he was thinking through his options rather than reacting, which is natural and to be expected. He may not be ready to be a rotation player in year one, but the potential is apparent. Defense is a struggle for him, as is putting the ball on the floor. Strength and lateral quickness are weaknesses. But there’s a lot to like moving forward as he develops. He has a sound, smooth jumper and is a very good leaper — he supplied several of the week’s biggest highlights by finishing alley-oops, including an especially impressive one over guard Jaylen Barford.

“This team’s got a chance to have some depth, have options” Anderson said. “We didn’t have many options last year.”

That’s what it boils down to. Thomas has put in the time, listened to hours upon hours of Jay-Z and J. Cole in preparation for his chance to be the man next to Moses Kingsley.

He appears to be a clear-cut Option No. 1 at this point. The good news for Mike Anderson is he also has options 2, 3, 4 and 5 this year.