FAYETTEVILLE — Five observations from Arkansas' 87-60 exhibition win over Central Missouri.
— Bad perimeter shooting night
Arkansas didn’t craft a strong follow-up to an encouraging 18 of 40 3-point shooting performance Sunday in the Red-White game. The Razorbacks were 1 of 11 from 3-point range in the first half, then missed all seven of their 3s in the second half to finish 1 of 18 despite the majority of attempts coming on open looks.
Hannahs had an uncharacteristic 0 of 2 night from 3-point range and — even more shockingly — only hit 3 of 6 at the line. He did score in other ways and finished with a game-high 17.
Anton Beard, Jaylen Barford and C.J. Jones combined to go 0 of 9. Hannahs and junior Daryl Macon (1 of 5) will be reliable perimeter threats, but how that trio shoots will go a long way toward determining how well Arkansas can space the floor.
Friday wasn’t a good showing, but the Razorbacks did shoot it well in several of the games in Spain and in the Red-White game. The jury is still out.
— Hannahs, Kingsley show off newfound passing chops
Central Missouri was determined to make it tough on Moses Kingsley, often doubling down on the 6-foot-10 senior on catches on the block. The lack of outside shooting did nothing to discourage the double teams.
The approach paid off, with Kingsley finishing with a quiet eight points on 2 of 5 shooting. But it allowed him to flash what may be some growth in his game as a passer. On one double, Kingsley patiently waited for the defender to sink in, surveyed the options without panicking and found a cutting Macon for a layup. The read and decision were a show of progress from a player who averaged just 1.7 assists per 40 minutes last year. He made another impressive first-half play after receiving a nice slip pass from Dusty Hannahs, who was double-teamed on the wing after a pick-and-roll with Kingsley. Kingsley caught the ball at the elbow, took one dribble and snaked a nice bounce pass across the paint to a cutting Beard for another layup.
Hannahs’ pass to set up Kingsley’s assist was one of several nifty dishes for a guard who averaged just 1.3 assists per 40 minutes as a junior. He had two assists Friday, one on a nice middle pick-and-roll with Kingsley. The PnR was a welcome alternative the Razorbacks went to with some success in the latter stages of the first half, mixing it up after the motion-based curls off pin downs and pass-screen away/cut through actions didn't lead to a ton of great movement early. Hannahs' second assist came in the early stages of the second and was his most impressive pass of the night, a deft feed to a rolling Dustin Thomas for an easy layup.
Hannahs and Kingsley will almost certainly lead the Razorbacks in scoring this year, but their improved passing and willingness to do so was an encouraging sign that will aid the offensive flow if it becomes a trend.
— JUCO guards key transition
Barford only finished with one assist, but routinely put pressure on Central Missouri’s defense by bolting into the frontcourt and barreling toward the rim, creating a transition-like setting out of thin air at times. He dished a few nice passes, including a wraparound that wound up being a turnover but was a good idea.
He pushed the pace with his speed and will. Macon did it with great outlet passes. On back-to-back possessions early in the second half, he lobbed pinpoint dimes three-quarters of the court to set up Barford and Hannahs and-1s that they converted as Arkansas stretched its lead to 18.
The offense stagnated at times in the first half. Spacing was off and there was a little too much one-on-one at several junctures. But the ball popped around more in the second half as the Razorbacks pulled away, in no small part because of Barford and Macon.
— Shaky 3-point defense
With Arkansas going through the motions on offense in the first few minutes, Central Missouri built an early lead by getting into the lane to break down the Razorback defense and then kicking out to open shooters when help defenders collapsed to the paint.
The Mules hit 9 of 25 3-pointers, a solid 36 percent showing, the same percentage Arkansas gave up last year while ranking 242nd in the nation in 3-point defense. Missed rotations were also issues at times. Arkansas has a better collection of defenders than it did a year ago, but the defense is still a work in progress, as Mike Anderson has said several times.
The Razorbacks did up the intensity in the second half, holding Central Michigan to 36 percent shooting after the break.
— All-bench unit struggles
Arkansas built an 18-10 lead in the first half, but then went more than three minutes without scoring after Anderson inserted an all-bench unit of Beard, C.J. Jones, Manny Watkins, Brachen Hazen and Trey Thompson.
The group mostly just passed the ball around the perimeter, failing to generate many good looks as the lead evaporated and Central Missouri rallied to tie the game. It was an exhibition and likely doesn’t reflect any semblance of a real rotation, but illustrated why it may be prudent to stagger the rotations in a way that two of Barford, Macon and Beard are on the court at all times, providing the Hogs with multiple primary ballhandlers who are capable of making plays off the bounce.
That said, Watkins showed signs of being able to do that as the game worn on…
BONUS — Watkins shows off all-around game
Watkins shot a corner 3-pointer off a nice feed from Dustin Thomas with no hesitation in the first half. The senior guard, who is 0 of 8 for his career from 3-point range, missed. It was a rare blemish on an otherwise strong, well-rounded night for Watkins, who finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Seven of Watkins’ rebounds came on the defensive end and he didn’t hesitate to grab the ball off the glass and push the pace into the frontcourt. Doing so allowed him to set up several teammates with impressive passes for easy transition scores, part of a three-assist night for Watkins. Oh. And he played really good on-ball defense, to no surprise.
His well-rounded, “glue guy” game will keep him firmly in the rotation. He served as the small-ball four next to Kingsley in an intriguing lineup rounded out by Beard, Hannahs and Macon. If his improved playmaking is for real, his versatility — like Thomas’ — can unlock a lot for the Razorbacks.