FAYETTEVILLE — It's too early understand what the elevation of Arkansas basketball hero Scotty Thurman into a full-time assistant’s spot means for the program longterm, but Razorbacks head coach Mike Anderson has been pleased with the short-term results in recruiting.
“It couldn’t have gone any better,” Anderson said. “It’s a conversation starter already when he walks in the door. I think Scotty has a keen eye for talent. You guys have dealt with him. He articulates really, really well.”
Anderson added Thurman – whose shot was the key one late as Arkansas downed Duke 76-72 to win the 1994 national championship - to his staff in mid-April. Both 2016 spring signee Brachen Hazen and 2017 commit Khalil Garland have talked about Thurman being a factor in their decisions.
“To me it’s all about selling your program, selling your coach and selling yourself,” Anderson said. “I think he will do a great job with that. I think he is learning as he goes. Scotty will be fine.”
Arkansas has replenished its roster with talent this off-season. The Razorbacks used just nine players for most of last season when they went 16-16 and missed the postseason.
“Now we're back on that path and this team's got a chance to have some depth, have options,” Anderson said. “We didn't have many options last year. We went through some games with nine players. It's hard to practice with nine guys.
“So, having more depth for the way we want to play, having more guys that fit what we're doing. I think the incoming guys, they're an exciting bunch coming in. I know we've got a chance to be more athletic. I think a little more talent.
“We'll see how that all pans out as we get ready to go over here to Spain. It'll give me an idea of what we are."
Anderson's staff is coming off a busy July evaluation period. Now the coaches are in the midst of practices for their upcoming exhibition trip to Spain.
The NCAA allows team going on international trips 10 days of practice, which Anderson thinks is even more important than the exhibitions.
“I think that’s more beneficial, especially this time of year,” Anderson said. “We’ve had eight weeks (during the summer) where we have done some two-hour skill development. So now we get a chance to practice where we are actually doing team.
“So we can get a better picture of this team at this point and hopefully then come back in the fall and build on it.”
Arkansas has eight newcomers on its roster this season, so the practices and tour couldn’t come at a better time, Anderson said.
The newcomers include junior college standouts Jaylen Barford, Daryl Macon and Arlando Cook, transfer Dustin Thomas and incoming freshmen Hazen, C.J. Jones, Adrio Bailey and Robert Glasper.
That group joins five returnees in seniors Moses Kingsley, Dusty Hannahs and Manuale Watkins, and juniors Trey Thompson and Anton Beard.
“I think the timing couldn’t be any better,” Anderson said. “The first time I ever did one of these trips was at Missouri and that’s the year we went to the Elite Eight. I thought it was striking similar that we had some seniors coming back and a bunch of new guys coming in.
“Lawrence Bowers and Marcus Denman and guys coming in and that trip to Ontario, Canada, it paid off in a big way. We had one of the most successful seasons, an Elite Eight year at Missouri. And we did it four years ago here and I thought it was beneficial.
“But I think even more so with this team here. Because we have some veteran guys that I think have the opportunity to go blend with the new guys. You talk about the junior college kids, I think this is a real critical time to get acclimated.”
Kingsley, Arkansas' center who was second team All-SEC last season, is at the Nike Skills Academy in Los Angles this week. Kingsley should be back for Friday’s practice and will be able to take in six of the workouts before the trip to Spain.
Anderson is looking forward to seeing what he has in the workouts, which will take place at the team's practice facility and Bud Walton Arena. The team is practicing with international rules, including an international basketball and 24-second shot clock.
“I think I'm going to take a different tack to it,” Anderson said. “ I think we're going to come out and try to get them to emulate what we want to do, but more importantly I want to see what they know in terms of basketball. Get them out and defensively try to defend.
“And we're playing with a 24-second clock. So the pace is going to be really, really fast. We're playing with a different ball. We're playing with a widening of the lane. I'm anxious to see how the pace goes and how hard guys are going to play.
“Again, do we play with that unselfishness that our teams are known for? Do we do the same thing on defense? Who are the guys who are going to make the extra effort? There's a lot of things I'm looking for.
“But more importantly, these games don't count. I want to see these guys in game settings and see what they bring to the table. I want to see what Barford brings. See Macon. How does that translate from junior college to major college and have an opportunity to play?
“Where is Dusty Hannahs from last year to this year? Is he going to be one of those guys who can lead with this basketball team?
“So our practices are obviously going to be with the fundamentals of basketball, but we're going to do a lot of team stuff and see where these guys are.”