FAYETTEVILLE — Season No. 8 officially began for Arkansas basketball coach Mike Anderson on Monday with a pair of practices inside Bud Walton Arena.
This season brings quite a few unknowns and a number of question marks with a majority of the roster having little to zero game experience in a Razorbacks uniform. But it's also one that excites him and his coaching staff thanks to a solid freshman class surrounding a centerpiece like Daniel Gafford, who in the eyes of many is a lottery-pick type prospect.
After speaking with Anderson and his players at Arkansas' annual basketball media day on Monday, here is what we know and don't know about the Razorbacks roughly one month from the start of the season:
Khalil Garland and Jordan Phillips
It is still unclear if Garland will ever suit up for the Razorbacks. Late last week, Garland tweeted that he would be seeing a doctor in hopes of being cleared of an ongoing, undisclosed medical condition. When asked of Garland's status early in his press conference, Anderson quoted a statement in front of him that read the Little Rock native, after undergoing a series of thorough tests, has not been cleared to practice or play.
Garland watched Arkansas' second practice of the day on Monday from the sideline with assistant coaches and team personnel.
Also of note, 6-7 swingman Jordan Phillips, a three-star prospect out of Fort Worth who averaged better than 21 points per game at Cedar Hill High School in Texas, will not factor in for at least the opening month and a half of the season after undergoing offseason knee surgery to repair his meniscus. During Monday afternoon practice on the Bud Walton Arena floor, Phillips was with a team trainer running the steps of the lower bowl in a knee brace. Phillips' presence would certainly add length on the defensive end of the floor and create matchup issues on the other end.
Anderson wants defensive-minded team
How does Anderson and his staff replace a pair of 1,000-point scorers in one offseason? They don't. Few programs can. Instead, they have placed a big emphasis this offseason on being a well-rounded defensive team. Anderson said he hopes this team can hang its hat on defense, something his 2017-18 team was unable to do.
The Razorbacks finished last season 12th in the SEC in defensive efficiency, allowing nearly 110 points per 100 possessions, and defending the 3. A repeat effort would spell disaster for a team that looks, at least on paper, to have less offensive firepower.
With a largely new cast of players and unproven college scorers, the Razorbacks must be able to defend in big early season tests against Texas and Indiana while the offense meshes and players identify and understand their roles. The good news is, Gafford returns as one of the conference's premiere rim protectors, freshman Reggie Chaney brings physicality and rebounding prowess around the rim, and Anderson has described freshman Desi Sills as a rugged defender with a "Doberman mentality."
"I just want a team that’s going to be kamikazes and just get after it," Anderson said. "And I want it be more than two or three or four guys. I’m hoping, that’s my mindset, that we’re going to have a team that’s going to really defend, they’re going to fight, they’re going to compete each and every night out."
Chaney ready to produce at the 4
The Razorbacks, over the last several seasons, have seen a severe lack of production from the power forward spot on the offensive end. Arkansas ranked 346th in the country last season in terms of percentage of team points stemming from the 4, according to KenPom figures. In fact, an Anderson team has not finished in the top 100 in that regard since the days of Marshawn Powell and Coty Clarke back in 2013.
That can change this season, and Reggie Chaney is the reason why. New Mexico transfer guard Jalen Harris described Chaney as "a man-child" on the glass and in the way he operates around the basket. Anderson is also a firm believer in Chaney's scoring ability, adding that he believes the Findlay Prep alum can step away from the basket and make defenders honor his jumpshot, too.
Chaney also runs the floor well, Anderson said, which suits Harris' desire to push the pace. Should defenses throw added bodies his way, Anderson added Chaney is more than capable of distributing the ball. We will eventually see if Chaney is capable of bringing some much-needed scoring to pull defenders away from Gafford and give him space to operate. But he certainly has the frame and skillset to be a major piece offensively.
Gabe Osabuohien and Ibby Ali
Gabe Osabuohien had his moments in limited playing time as a freshman, leaving many hopeful for a significant leap from Year 1 to Year 2. He brought little in the way of offense last season, averaging just more than one point per game, but Anderson liked his toughness on the glass on both ends and the fact he would do the dirty work defensively – box out, draw charges, etc.
The hope for Osabuohien is that the game will finally slow down for him. If that is the case, and his offensive game continues to develop, he could be a big bright spot.
"You know, hopefully, Gabe has seized the opportunity to get more minutes. I thought the minutes he played for us he was very, very effective," Anderson said. "Now, hopefully the game can slow down for him even more as he gets an opportunity to play more. But I think he’s one of those guys that is in the trenches. Going to do all the little dirty work. When you think about a guy like Coty Clarke. Coty was really, really big for us. Even a guy like Jacorey (Williams).
"They do all the little things that add up to be big things and Gabe is one of those guys at 6-8. He’s very, very versatile."
The same can be said for Ibby Ali, the 6-11 forward from Maumelle that Anderson added this offseason. From the open portion of practice on Monday, it is apparent Ali is still very raw and needs to hone in on footwork. Once he grasps the little things and grows more accustomed to the speed of the college game, Ali possesses a high ceiling, Jalen Harris says.
Joe, Sills leading by example
With just four returning players and three with meaningful game experience, Arkansas is in need of leadership from wherever it can find it. And Anderson appears to have found just that in freshman guards Isaiah Joe of Fort Smith Northside and Jonesboro's Desi Sills, both players with state championship pedigrees.
Joe and Sills, who played together and formed a tight bond on the AAU circuit in recent years, led all players during conditioning, attacking the infamous Cleveland Hill run side by side and in record time, Sills said. If Cleveland Hill is an audition for Anderson to better understand who he can trust in key situations, the two freshmen certainly made their cases.
Joe, who burst onto Arkansas' radar with an impressive sophomore season at Northside, possesses a high basketball IQ and smooth perimeter jumper to go with an improving defensive skillset. And Sills is Anderson's favorite kind of player, one that will do anything and everything in his power to win and relish being thrown into the fire early.