Hogs thrive on Barford's drives

Arkansas' Jaylen Barford drives around Vanderbilt's Luke Kornet during an SEC Tournament game Saturday, March, 11, 2017, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Arkansas beat Vanderbilt 76-62 and will play Kentucky in the tournament championship game on Sunday.

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Get Jaylen Barford the basketball in the open court and good things happen for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The junior guard is shooting 58.9 percent (63 of 107) in transition, according to tracking by Synergy Sports, a service used by many college teams that breaks down video to chart performance.

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"You can see that he's one of those guys that can go downfield north and south and get in the lane and finish," Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. "That's something we missed last year.

"Our guards could get in there, but they couldn't finish. This guy, he has the athletic ability. He has the agility."

Barford, 6-3 and 202 pounds, has the upper body strength to score inside while drawing contact. He also has the agility to avoid being called for charges.

"He can be coming at you full speed and just stop and contort his body and have a real soft touch in getting the ball up there," Anderson said. "You don't teach that. That's God gifted."

Barford's shooting in transition puts him in the top 25 percent nationally, according to Synergy.

"The way that we play, Jaylen's perfect for the system," Arkansas junior forward Trey Thompson said. "How he goes to the basket, he takes it to another level."

Barford is averaging 12.7 points in his first season at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville after transferring from Motlow (Tenn.) State Community College, but he's played an increased offensive role down the stretch.

Over the past nine games, Barford is averaging 16.8 points and hasn't scored fewer than 13. His high was 23 at South Carolina.

"Most people can't keep him in front of them," Arkansas senior center Moses Kingsley said. "He uses that attack mode every time to try to get a bucket."

Barford's strong play down the stretch helped the Razorbacks earn a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They play Seton Hall at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the South Regional.

"Jaylen brings a toughness to the game, and he's not backing down from anybody," Arkansas senior guard Dusty Hannahs said. "I've always liked to have that in a teammate. He brings that to the table.

"He's a great slashing guard. If he's getting a head of steam, you're not going to be able to do much with him."

Barford is at his best in transition when he's the ballhandler, shooting 61.1 percent from the field (33 of 54), according to Synergy.

That shooting percentage puts Barford in the top 10 percent of transition ballhandlers nationally.

"He's aggressive, he's assertive, and he's very confident," Texas A&M Coach Billy Kennedy said. "I think he's really helped make Arkansas who they are."

Sports on 03/16/2017