FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Mike Anderson compared highly touted freshman Daniel Gafford to a gazelle Thursday when describing the way the 6-foot-11 forward can get up and down the floor.
Gafford isn’t the only athletic freshman on the roster. Far from it.
Arkansas targeted length and athleticism in its 2017 recruiting class, traits each of its four incoming freshmen possess.
Gafford is 6-11 with a 7-2 wingspan and can play above the rim with ease. Gabe Osabuohien is 6-8 with a reported 7-1 wingspan. Darious Hall is 6-6 with a 7-foot wingspan. Khalil Garland is 6-5 and made his name as a top-60 recruit based largely on his athletic play.
Gafford will play big minutes as a freshman. A top-50 recruit, he and senior Trey Thompson are the only players 6-9 or taller on the roster.
The other three freshmen will give Arkansas a much-need infusion of positional versatility, athleticism and length, qualities the coaching staff has seen up close and personal this summer during workouts.
“I think they’re versatile players,” Anderson said. “I think Gabe can probably play a 4/3, kind of a versatile player. Darious is a wing, big guard kind of player. Khalil is a guard who can play multiple positions. I think he can play 1 through 3.”
Last year, Arkansas pressed opposing teams just 18 percent of the time, according to Synergy Sports tracking data, the second-lowest number in Anderson’s six years at the program. They forced turnovers on 18.5 percent of opponent possessions, the lowest number in his tenure and just the second time it dipped below 20 percent, with the first instance being the previous year.
The defense had its moments but also often struggled, especially against better opponents. The added length should help rectify some of the past defensive issues.
“This team should be a fun team,” Anderson said. “I think we can play a lot faster than we did last year. I think we can really put (in) a lot of the defensive things we want to, whether it be extending the floor with the length and athletic ability we have and also from an attacking standpoint.”
The freshmen aren’t the only versatile underclassmen on the roster.
Sophomore guard C.J. Jones is 6-5, can play multiple positions and is one of the best athletes on the team. He’ll be counted on to provide scoring and help fill some of the perimeter shooting void left by the graduation of Dusty Hannahs.
“We’re looking forward to him really stepping out and really helping this basketball team with the scoring, his athletic ability,” Anderson said.
Sophomore forward Adrio Bailey is 6-6 and arguably the best athlete on the roster. He played almost exclusively at the 4 last year, but vowed in March to work on honing his ball handling and shooting ability in the offseason to enable himself to slide between positions and play more on the wing after making just 3 of 9 jumpers and 6 of 19 free throws as a freshman.
“He’s got to put some time in and he did this summer and he’ll continue to have to,” Anderson said when asked if Bailey had improved in those areas. “… We’ll see if those things that he talked about improving, have they come to fruition when we actually go to work out.”
Arkansas has six seniors on its roster, but the freshmen and sophomores give Anderson a roster more able to play the “Fastest 40” brand he preaches.
“I think those guys are very athletic,” Anderson said. “Hopefully we’ll be a lot more athletic team.”