Barford carries offensive load
Jaylen Barford’s in-air acrobatics are truly special.
The senior finished with three incredible scores at the rim against Ole Miss on Saturday, including a sweet and-1 after gathering a loose ball at midcourt and wrapping the ball around his back between two defenders.
The Rebels’ Marcanvis Hymon, who committed his fifth turnover on the play attempting a dribble handoff, could do little else other than foul Barford on the other end. Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy described the sequence as a “winning play.”
"That’s an upperclassmen, a guy that is an all-league caliber guard making a play against one of our seniors,” he said. “We’re loose with the ball and Barford made a play."
Barford made a number of them last week, leading the Arkansas offense in both games. He recorded back-to-back 20-point games for the second time this season and matched a career-high with 28 points in Gainesville. The most impressive part was how efficiently he did it.
The 3-point shot was not in his repertoire a season ago, but he’s using it as a weapon this year. Barford derives 43 percent of his positive scoring value from the 3, according to HoopLens, which speaks volumes to his offseason improvements in that area in comparison to a junior season in which he was prone to inefficient midrange Js and shot 27 percent from distance.
He connected on a sizzling 8 of 10 from deep — career-best five at Florida — and 18 of his 26 shots, showing the ability to score at all three levels. He was also the beneficiary of the seldom used Daryl Macon/Daniel Gafford pick-and-roll action once as the freshman’s rim run attracted help from KeVaughn Allen, who sunk from the left wing to the middle of the lane. It left Barford all alone on the left wing for an open triple.
What I found to be a prime example of how tough a check Barford can be came when guarded by Florida’s Chris Chiozza. The smaller, quicker guard cut off a driving lane going right, but, in rhythm, Barford used his strength to create separation, working himself into his patented stepback jumper just above the free throw line.
Gators coach Mike White came away very impressed with the progression of Barford’s game, and credited his growth to Mike Anderson and his staff’s player development.
"I thought he was a very good player last year, and the jump he’s made from last year to this year in terms of his poise, his shot selection, his 3-point percentage is pretty significant," White said. "He’s one of the best guards in our league, for sure."
After Saturday’s win, Barford looked up from his seat at the Bud Walton Arena press room dais wide-eyed and with a disbelieving smile on his face.
He had just finished stressing what a win at Georgia on Tuesday would mean considering the game coincides with his 22nd birthday and Arkansas is yet to win on the road this season.
“Who is doing that?” Barford asked as Raydio’s ‘You Can’t Change That’ inadvertently began playing from a media member’s tablet. “Look at him!”
He had plenty of reason to be in high spirits.
Defensive breakdowns
Florida essentially ran a layup line early on against Arkansas last week.
Arkansas’ guards haven’t shown consistent discipline on the defensive end this season, particularly in SEC play, and Gators coach Mike White found the holes and put his team in position to take advantage.
It’s no secret the Razorbacks struggle to contain quicker, smaller guards, and Chris Chiozza is that. He's also one of the best in the conference at creating for teammates, assisting on one-third of the Gators scores coming into the game. And right away, White placed his senior guard in a situation to create off the dribble using guard-to-guard screening up top with KeVaughn Allen.
Florida ran this action on its first two possessions, and Chiozza got into the lane both times with ease. Daniel Gafford remained in solid enough help position to force a kickout on the first drive, but not the second.
The freshman strayed too far away from the rim at the top of the key while Dustin Thomas clung to Keith Stone (20 of 40 from 3) in the near corner. Not to mention Daryl Macon failed to move his feet and essentially waved the senior through for an easy bucket.
Allen is an important piece to this set. Sure, he entered the game in a three-week shooting slump, but Arkansas still had to respect him as a scorer and perimeter threat. It should be a simple switch, but his gravity creates a driving angle for Chiozza, who then has a number of options to work with.
Minutes later, Arkansas gives up another open layup in the halfcourt after Beard and Trey Thompson trap Allen off a ballscreen 25+ feet away from the basket. Florida forward Dontay Bassett does a great job coming back to the ball and finding a diving Jalen Hudson for a score. Again, Macon reacts too late. The Gators picked on him regularly.
The first half at Florida was among the ugliest defensive halves we’ve seen from this team all season. The Gators averaged 1.455 points per possession before the break, and scored on 17 of their first 22 possessions.
Some of that is great shot-making, while a good bit is the familiar breakdowns that fueled blowout losses to Auburn and LSU.
Saturday, Terence Davis was Ole Miss’ primary option on offense. He poured in a season-high 30 points — the second straight game Arkansas' defense surrendered a season high — after struggling from the field much in the same way KeVaughn Allen had. Davis had 17 at the half, yet Arkansas still didn't account for him at times.
You have to be aware of shooters on the floor and, with under three to play and Arkansas up eight, Beard isn’t. He loses track of Davis and gives up a 3 following a long cross-court pass. Rather than remaining on the help line, he takes a false step toward Breein Tyree, Macon’s man, then the rim and gets lost.
A big key on Tuesday will be limiting the quality looks of Georgia's role players. Forward Yante Maten, the SEC's leading scorer (19.9) and rebounder (9.1), will attract a lot of attention, and it'll be on Arkansas' help defenders to not get caught flatfooted and ballwatching.
The Bulldogs don't shoot the 3 well - 12th in the SEC at 28.4 percent - but their strength is on the glass, outrebounding opponents by an average of 6.4 per game. We'll also see a contrast of styles, so Arkansas' defense will have to grind out possessions, defend late into the shot clock and create havoc, forcing Georgia play at an uncomfortable pace.
C.J. Jones resurfaces
Welcome back, C.J. It’s been a minute.
Jones got back to his non-conference ways a bit last week, knocking down 5 of 10 3-pointers. He especially gave Arkansas a lift against Ole Miss with 11 points in 15 solid minutes.
Arkansas scored at a 1.29 PPP clip and had an effective field goal percentage north of 80 percent in Jones’ 31 offensive trips on Saturday. Yes, 80 percent. The Hogs shot 62.5 percent from inside the arc and 61.5 beyond it during his run.
The Hogs also held Ole Miss to a single point per possession with Jones in the lineup versus 1.41 PPP in his 44 possessions on the bench.
Jones finally snapped his five-game run without a 3-pointer in conference play at Florida, burying his first 3 in SEC play in more than a calendar year while adding his eighth double figure outing of the season later in the week.
More impressively, I thought, Jones didn’t settle for the 3. Yeah, he did pull once from the tusk of Arkansas’ midcourt logo against the Rebels, so maybe he’s not that back yet. But after seeing his first 3 fall from well behind the line on Saturday, he played with a bounce in his step.
Here, he reads Ole Miss’ zone perfectly and got a pull-up jumper to go.
C.J. looked confident and decisive. Mike Anderson, who predicted a breakout game from Jones on his pre-game show on Wednesday, hopes last week will serve as a turning point for the sophomore and help get Arkansas' offense back in gear.
Lack of scoring at the 4
Arlando Cook found himself open for a midrange jumper last Wednesday at Florida after an entry feed to Daniel Gafford drew a pair of extra defenders.
The freshman made the right play kicking the ball out to Cook as pressure approached. Cook caught the pass in good shooting position but didn't to pull the trigger. The Gators were daring him to shoot, and he didn't want to.
Output from Arkansas’ 4s — or lack thereof — has been a concerning trend over the last three seasons. Alandise Harris, a bully on the interior with a satisfactory enough jumper to pull defenders away from the rim, is the last true scoring threat Arkansas has had at the position.
Since drawing 19.4 percent of team points from the 4 in 2014-15, the Hogs have ranked near the bottom nationally in that regard. In fact, Arkansas has fallen inside the top 100 in power forward production just once under Mike Anderson (2012-13).
Here are the scoring figures at the 4 by year under Anderson:
2011-12: 16.8 percent - 304th nationally
2012-13: 23.8 percent - 58th
2013-14: 21.6 percent - 122nd
2014-15: 19.4 percent - 210th
2015-16: 12.6 percent - 348th
2016-17: 13.4 percent - 347th
2017-18: 13.8 percent - 337th
Cook, Dustin Thomas and Adrio Bailey aren’t exactly a scary group on the offensive end of the floor. They’ll knock down the occasional short corner jumper or, in Thomas’ case, bank in a 3, but teams will live with that.
Bailey (3) and Thomas are the only 4s with double figure scoring nights this season, and none have come in the last four games.
Perhaps help is on the way in the form of Reggie Chaney (6-8, 230) and Ethan Henderson (6-9, 190). Arkansas could definitely benefit from the floor spacing a 4 with an offensive mindset brings to the table.