Riches not Gafford's driving force

GAFFORD PUTS NBA ON HOLD, RETURNS FOR SOPHOMORE SEASON

Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford celebrates a shot and foul during a game against Colorado State on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- While NBA teams were in the midst of the opening week of their seasons Oct. 17, Daniel Gafford sat in a ballroom at a posh hotel in Mountain Brook, Ala., answering questions.

It was SEC media days, and Gafford was representing the University of Arkansas along with teammate Adrio Bailey and Coach Mike Anderson.

Arkansas Razorbacks 2018-19 Schedule

Date^Opponent^Time^Media

Nov. 9^vs. Texas&^TBD^ESPN

Nov. 12^UC Davis^7 p.m.^SECN+

Nov. 18^Indiana^2:30 p.m.^ESPN

Nov. 21^Montana State^7 p.m.^SECN+

Nov. 23^UT-Arlington^7 p.m.^SECN+

Dec. 1^FIU^7 p.m.^SECN+

Dec. 5^at Colorado State^9 p.m.^CBS SN

Dec. 8^Western Kentucky^2:30 p.m.^SECN

Dec. 15^UT-San Antonio%^7 p.m.^None

Dec. 22^Texas State^1 p.m.^SECN

Dec. 28^Austin Peay^7 p.m.^SECN+

Jan. 5^at Texas A&M*^5 p.m.^SECN

Jan. 9^Florida*^7:30 p.m.^SECN

Jan. 12^LSU*^5 p.m.^SECN

Jan. 15^at Tennessee*^6 p.m.^ESPN TBD

Jan. 19^at Ole Miss*^Noon^SECN

Jan. 23^Missouri*^8 p.m.^SECN

Jan. 26^at Texas Tech$^5 p.m.^ESPN/ESPN2

Jan. 29^Georgia*^6 p.m.^ESPNU

Feb. 2^at LSU*^5 p.m.^SECN

Feb. 5^Vanderbilt*^8 p.m.^SECN

Feb. 9^at South Carolina*^2:30 p.m.^SECN

Feb. 12^at Missouri*^8 p.m.^SECN

Feb. 16^Mississippi State*^7:30 p.m.^SECN

Feb. 20^at Auburn*^7:30 p.m.^SECN

Feb. 23^Texas A&M*^7:30 p.m.^SECN

Feb. 26^at Kentucky*^8 p.m.^ESPN TBD

March 2^Ole Miss*^Noon^SECN

March 6^at Vanderbilt^*7:30 p.m.^SECN

March 9^Alabama*^5 p.m.^SECN

March 13-17^SEC Tournament#^TBD^SECN/ESPN

  • — SEC Game

& — Armed Forces Classic at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas

$ — Big 12/SEC Challenge

% — at Verizon Arena, North Little Rock

# SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.

SECN — SEC Network

SECN+ — SEC Network Plus

ESPN TBD — ESPN family of networks

CBS SN — CBS Sports Network

…..

2017-18 Arkansas Razorback Schedule

RECORD 23-10

SEC RECORD 10-8

Date^Opponent^Result

Nov. 10^Samford^W 95-56

Nov. 12^Bucknell^W 101-73

Nov. 17^Fresno State^W 83-75

Nov. 23^vs. Oklahoma^W 92-83

Nov. 24^vs. N. Carolina^L 87-68

Nov. 26^vs UConn^W 102-67

Dec. 2^at Houston^L 91-65

Dec. 5^Colorado State^W 92-66

Dec. 9^Minnesota^W 95-79

Dec. 16^Troy^W 88-63

Dec. 19^Oral Roberts^W 104-69

Dec. 27^CSU Bakersfield^W 95-68

Dec. 30^Tennessee*^W 95-93 (OT)

Jan. 2^at Mississippi State*^L 78-75

Jan. 6^at Auburn*^L 88-77

Jan. 10^LSU*^L 75-54

Jan. 13^Missouri*^W 65-63

Jan. 17^at Florida*^L 88-73

Jan. 20^Ole Miss*^W 97-93

Jan. 27^Okla. State^W 66-65

Jan. 30^at Texas A&M*^L 80-66

Feb. 3^at LSU*^L 94-86

Feb. 6^South Carolina*^W 81-65

Feb. 10^Vanderbilt*^W 72-54

Feb. 13^at Ole Miss*^W 75-64

Feb. 17^Texas A&M*^W 94-75

Feb. 20^Kentucky&^L 87-72

Feb. 24^at Alabama*^W 76-73

Feb. 27^Auburn*^W 91-82

March 3^at Missouri*^L 77-67

March 8^vs. South Carolina#^W 69-64

March 9^vs. Florida#^W 80-72

March 10^vs. Tennessee#^L 84-66

March 16^vs. Butler$^L 79-62

  • — SEC Game

# SEC Tournament Game

$ — NCAA Tournament Game

AT A GLANCE

DANIEL GAFFORD

HEIGHT 6-11

CLASS Sophomore

POSITION Forward

NOTABLE Averaged 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 blocked shots as a true freshman last season. … Helped lead the Razorbacks to the NCAA Tournament. … Was a projected first-round draft pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, but decided to return to Arkansas to improve his game. … Had a double-double in SEC Tournament win over Florida with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Gafford, a 6-11 sophomore from El Dorado, could have been on one of those NBA teams.

After a freshman season in which he showed off an impressive mixture of size, athleticism, speed and skill -- along with a 7-4 wingspan -- Gafford was projected to be a first-round draft choice by virtually every website that covers the NBA.

Among the questions Gafford answered at SEC media days was:

Daniel, what in the heck are you doing here instead of playing for an NBA team and making $4 million to $5 million over the next two years?

Gafford chuckled and said he's never had any second thoughts about turning down the NBA and returning to Arkansas for his sophomore season.

"I made the decision; it was final, and I'm here now," he said. "I'm 100 percent behind it.

"I'm all in at Arkansas."

Gafford could have entered his name into the draft, attended the NBA scouting combine, gotten feedback from professional scouts and team executives, and still retained his college eligibility by not signing with an agent. He didn't even take those steps.

When the first day of classes resumed at Arkansas after spring break, Gafford told Anderson he'd be sticking with the Razorbacks.

"I wasn't worried about testing the waters," Gafford said. "I just wanted to come back so I could get my mind ready to focus on maturing and being a leader of the team and worrying about this season.

"Because of the way I work, if I work hard enough, I can be a great player here and then have a career in the NBA. I can have all of that."

Anderson said there's no doubt Gafford would have been a first-round pick after last season, but he knows he needed to work on his game.

"That's a testament to the kid and his family," Anderson said. "He wants to get better, and he understands he's got to improve. He came to that realization, and I'm happy he did."

South Carolina Coach Frank Martin applauded Gafford's decision to stay in college for at least one more season.

"Some people are like, 'Why didn't he go to the NBA?' " Martin said. "I'm happy that young man is at a place where the culture around him is so good that he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay there and continue to grow, because I saw the growth as an opposing coach.

"It's a credit to Mike Anderson and his staff, the way Daniel kept getting better as the year went on. When the year started, he was just kind of a guy that ran the floor and rebounded. By the end of the year, he had become an offensive problem for you to deal with, too.

"Whenever January gets here and we're starting to work on conference play, I'm going to lose a lot of sleep when I know we've got to line up and play against him."

Alabama Coach Avery Johnson played point guard in the NBA for 17 seasons and was an NBA head coach for seven years with the Dallas Mavericks and Brooklyn Nets.

"Daniel has lottery-pick talent, and he fits the profile for a lot of the big guys playing in the NBA right now," Johnson said. "He's very competitive on both ends of the floor with the way he can run and jump and screen and move, switch on pick-and-rolls. You can utilize him in so many ways."

Alabama's John Petty and Herbert Jones were among 25 college players along with Gafford who participated at the Nike skills camp last summer in Los Angeles.

"Daniel looked like another Anthony Davis out there," said Petty, referring to the former No. 1 overall pick from Kentucky who now stars for the New Orleans Pelicans. "Daniel is a tremendous player and freakish athlete.

"What impresses me about him is how well he can move to be 6-11. He can run the floor, shoot the ball and protect the rim. He can do it all."

Jones said he was impressed by Gafford's all-around skills, especially the range he showed on hitting jump shots.

"I love Daniel's game, just how hard he plays offensively and defensively," Jones said. "He competes really well, and he showed he can stretch the floor by hitting some mid-range jumpers -- and even some three-pointers -- along with scoring inside.

"Arkansas is really lucky to have him back. He's going to be a big piece for their team."

Jay Bilas, the longtime ESPN analyst who played at Duke, said if Gafford is able to show an improved perimeter shot it will help open up the floor for him.

"It's not like he has to be Klay Thompson or Steph Curry," said Bilas, referring to the Golden State Warriors' star guards. "But just showing the ability -- the threat -- to make a perimeter shot keeps defenders off balance and gives Daniel a better opportunity to score from more spots on the floor."

Kentucky Coach John Calipari has coached 34 first-round NBA Draft picks with the Wildcats and at Massachusetts and Memphis since 1995, so his opinion on Gafford's skills carries a lot of weight.

"He's a special player," Calipari said. "He has some things that the normal human does not have."

Gafford made a big impact on an Arkansas that featured six seniors, led by All-SEC guards Daryl Macon and Jaylen Barford.

In 35 games, including 26 starts, Gafford averaged 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots in 22.6 minutes as the Razorbacks went 23-12 and played in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons.

Gafford is one of just three returning scholarship players for the Razorbacks, along with Bailey and Gabe Osabuohien, so he'll need to put up bigger numbers if Arkansas is to make another trip to the NCAA Tournament.

"Daniel's a really good athlete, and he's a tough-minded kid," Bilas said. "I've been really impressed with how well he's played and how he's improved his game.

"He's going to have to be a centerpiece for Arkansas and carry an even bigger load this year, because of the guards they lost. You lose guards of that caliber, it's going to be a little more difficult for him.

"But he's got a lot of game. I think he has the mental makeup to be a star player."

Anderson said a big key for Gafford to take his game to another level is staying out of foul trouble.

"A lot of his fouls were of the high school [type]," Anderson said. "Hopefully, with maturity and experience, he'll know when to go for [a block] and when not to go for one.

"There's no question with him on the floor, we're going to be a much better basketball team."

Another area where Gafford needs to improve is the free-throw line.

Gafford hit 85 of 161 free throws (52.8 percent) last season. That's 76 missed free throws.

"I've challenged him about getting better at the free-throw line," Anderson said. "He lost a lot of points there last season. Now if he's going to be the center of attention even more, he's got to knock free throws down."

Gafford said he has worked hard to improve his free-throw shooting, and his goal is to hit at least 70 percent this season.

"My free throws have come a long way from last year," he said. "I know I'm going to get fouled a lot and be on the line, so getting up more free throws in practice is helping me be more calm.

"Before I had the jitters when it came to shooting free throws, because I always thought I was going to miss. So basically I had to get back to my old self and say, 'I'm going to make every one of them.' That's what I've been doing."

One of Gafford's best games came in Arkansas' 80-72 victory over Florida in the SEC Tournament when he had 16 points 0n 8-of-11 shooting and 12 rebounds.

Gafford punctuated the victory with a windmill dunk with 15 seconds left on a pass from Anton Beard, then sprinted back down the floor to play defense as if it were a tie game.

"I'm sure Coach Anderson is pretty pleased to have Daniel back," Florida Coach Mike White said. "He's one of the best players in our league, which puts him in the conversation to be one of the best players in the country."

Gafford is a projected top-12 pick in several NBA mock drafts. Forbes has Gafford going No. 9 to the Boston Celtics; nbadraft.net has him going No. 10 to the Los Angeles Lakers; NBA Draft Room has him going No. 11 to the Charlotte Hornets; and Bleacher Report has him going No. 12 to the Los Angeles Clippers.

"No pressure at all," Gafford said of the high draft expectations. "I just try to remain as humble as I possibly can, because added pressure can take you out of your game."

ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes, a former Razorbacks walk-on guard for coach Eddie Sutton and former Arkansas women's coach, said the NBA scouts he has talked with have Gafford going in the top 12 of the draft.

"He's a phenomenal athlete for his size," Dykes said. "He can twist and control his body and move like a guard.

"So now Arkansas has to figure out, how do we move him around and keep a defense off of him? Because he's obviously going to be the No. 1, 2 and 3 guy on the scouting report before they start talking about anybody else."

Dykes said Arkansas' newcomers will need to shoot well to keep defenses from collapsing around Gafford.

"If not, I can just see Daniel being swallowed up and surrounded defensively all game long, but hopefully that won't be the case," Dykes said. "He's a rare, rare kid that really can change a game on both ends.

"If you just said, 'Pick one guy in this league to start your team with?' There would be a bunch of coaches -- and probably me as well -- that would say, 'I'll take Gafford first.' "

Bilas said he expects Gafford to be a more efficient player this season.

"Oftentimes when you're older, you pick your spots better and the game slows down for you, and I think that will happen for Daniel," Bilas said. "His leadership is going to be tested because he's dealing with a lot younger team.

"So he's going to have to put his arm around all these young guys and take them along with him, and he's fully capable of doing that."

Anderson said Gafford has become a vocal leader for a team that doesn't have any seniors.

"I've seen a difference in Daniel," Anderson said. "He's more outgoing and talkative now. He's leading by example every day in practice."

Gafford will face plenty of talented big men in the SEC. Among those projected to go in the NBA Draft by various websites include LSU 6-10 freshman Naz Reid; Mississippi State 6-10 senior Aric Holman; Kentucky 6-10 freshman E.J. Montgomery; Auburn 6-11 junior Austin Wiley; Alabama 6-9 senior Donta Hall; and Vanderbilt 6-10 freshman Simisola Shittu.

Western Kentucky, which will play at Arkansas this season, is led by 6-11 freshman Charles Bassey, also a projected first-round pick.

"I know people are going to come at me as hard as they possibly can," Gafford said. "I'm just going to stay calm, cool and collected, and be ready to play every night."

Despite all of the preseason praise and accolades Gafford is receiving, he doesn't see himself as a star player.

"I basically just want to play ball," he said. "People can say I'm the guy and all that, but we're a team.

"So I don't really single myself out at all. Being a team is going to take us a long way this year."

Sports on 11/04/2018