FAYETTEVILLE — At one point in time, he says, Daniel Gafford was 100 percent ready to enter his name in the 2018 NBA Draft and leave Arkansas after one season.
Gafford added, though, after announcing in late March he would return to school that it was his plan all along to stay in school for two years.
"I pretty much told (Mike Anderson) everything on my mind," he said in April. "I said I was thinking about going. In my mind, I wanted to go, but in my heart I wanted to say."
Continuing to grow - as a player and person - was essential for him, and he has certainly done that this calendar year.
There were questions as to how he would handle his first run through the Southeastern Conference in January. Could he withstand the physicality of opposing forwards like PJ Washington at Kentucky, Kyle Alexander at Tennessee and the Tyler Davis/Robert Williams duo at Texas A&M? The jury was still out after one month of league play.
Daniel Gafford came into his own during the second month of SEC play his freshman season. Stats courtesy of SportsReference.
Gafford was averaging just under 10 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in January. Not bad, just clearly not at the same level he performed at in nonconference. To end the month, he scored a total of 11 points over a three-game stretch at Georgia, Oklahoma State and at Texas A&M. Gafford was held scoreless against Georgia - the only game he hasn't scored in - and missed all three shots over 27 minutes in the double-overtime win.
Following that rough stretch, he found his footing and reached double figures in five consecutive games, including 19 points and six rebounds in only 20 minutes in a win at Ole Miss. The previous night out against Vanderbilt, Gafford's play made waves across the country and highlight reels on national television.
Against the Commodores, he finished with 16 points, a rebound shy of a double-double and a then-career high seven blocks. His seventh and final block jumpstarted what was arguably the play of the year by a Razorback. After denying Vanderbilt guard and Fayetteville native Payton Willis at the rim, Gafford hustled down the floor and threw down a windmill dunk to put Arkansas up 21 and send Bud Walton Arena into a state of delirium.
His play peaked in February, when he averaged 14.4 points, nearly seven rebounds and three blocks per game in helping Arkansas score at a strong 1.13 points per possession clip for the month. He capped February with a monster effort against then-No. 14 Auburn, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks. Only four other players in college basketball - including Mo Bamba of Texas - reached those marks in 2017-18.
In postseason play, Gafford again moved the needle with another windmill slam in the Razorbacks' win over Florida in the SEC Tournament - their first against the Gators since 2013. He totaled 16 points and 12 rebounds and led Arkansas to the SEC Tournament finals. Following a pair of disappointing losses to Tennessee and Butler to end the season, Gafford elected to come back for one more year.
Mike Anderson made sure Gafford knew he would be the centerpiece entering 2018-19 and the sophomore has not shied away from the responsibility that came with his new role. In five games in November, Gafford averaged more than 19 points and eight rebounds per game, spearheading the Razorbacks' best first month of the season in terms of defensive efficiency since 2013. In December, he's arguably been better, averaging a double-double entering the final game of the calendar year - against Austin Peay on Friday.
Daniel Gafford's month-to-month numbers this season. Stats courtesy of SportsReference.
Turnovers, which plagued Gafford early in his sophomore season, are down, rebounds are up and, what Anderson likes most, he's cashing in at the line on more than a semi-regular basis, up from 58 percent last month and 53 percent as a freshman.
"I think he’s been a little bit more consistent this year," Anderson said Thursday. "He started off pretty erratic and now he’s starting to settle down at the free throw line. He’s going to have to be someone we can count on hopefully for a double-double in games and he’s had it here the last few ballgames. He’s going to be that piece we're going to go through to either make plays or get other guys involved.
"I think from a maturity standpoint he’s got a lot coming at him. The teams are getting more physical with him and he’s got to continue to make that adjustment."
Gafford has five double-doubles – two in November, three in December - in 11 games this season after recording just three in 35 games a season ago. He has two in Arkansas' last three games and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds against Texas-San Antonio in Little Rock after matching a previous career-best 12 in three other games this season.
Junior Adrio Bailey said he has seen a great deal of growth in Gafford since January.
"From his freshman year, he didn't know what to expect," said Bailey, who has started alongside Gafford in 10 of 11 games this season. "By him having that year and knowing what the SEC brings ... he kind of knows what he has to do and how he has to approach the game.
"Him having that year under his belt, he knows what he has to do and what he has to bring to the table."