The sixth in a nine-part series reviewing Arkansas basketball in 2018-19.
REGGIE CHANEY
Position: Forward
Class: Freshman
Height: 6-8
Weight: 222
Stats: 5.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, .7 assists, 1.4 turnovers, .6 steals
55.3 percent FG, 0 3-point attempts, 51.5 percent free throws
Per 40: 13.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 1.8 assists, 3.3 turnovers, 1.5 steals
SEC stats: 4.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, .9 blocks, .8 assists, 1.1 turnovers, .7 steals
50.7 percent FG, 0 3-point attempts, 61.1 percent free throws
Best month: December - 7.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, .9 assists, 1.4 turnovers, .9 steals
62.5 percent FG, 3-of-6 free throws
Worst month: November - 4.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, .2 assists, 2.0 turnovers, .2 steals
50 percent FG, 1-of-7 free throws
Strengths
• Potential to be great defensively. After the second month of the season, which I deemed to be the best of Chaney's freshman year, we saw the potential he had on both ends of the floor, but especially defensively. Chaney blocked a season-best 14 shots in December and turned in five multi-block performances in seven games, including three each against Colorado State, UTSA and Georgia Tech.
According to KenPom, which requires players to play a minimum of 40 percent of their team's minutes to qualify for a national ranking, Chaney finished the season with the 24th-best block rate in the country at 10.16 percent. That means Chaney swatted 1 in every 10 2-point shots opponents put up when he was on the floor. It's pretty impressive. As a team, Arkansas ranked No. 8 in the country in block rate, and Chaney played a big part in the best shot blocking Razorbacks team since Stan Heath's final season in Fayetteville - 2006-07.
Chaney turned in a handful of great all-around performances this season, most notably, I think, at Providence in the first round of the NIT when he scored 14 points, blocked seven shots and grabbed five rebounds. He was only the third player in program history to reach those marks in a game alongside Darian Townes and Daniel Gafford, who did it twice in a two-week span in February 2018. He's in good company there. He blocked five shots against Georgia, too, and had a pair of four-steal games as well. When Chaney was engaged defensively, he really stood out. For the season, he finished with the second-best defensive rating (97.5) - points allowed per 100 possessions - among Arkansas' rotation players behind only Gafford.
• Will grow with more opportunity. Chaney played more than 20 minutes in only eight games this season. To me, it's one of the more interesting figures to come out of the most recent season because Chaney has the highest upside of any of Arkansas' forwards moving forward. In those eight games - UTSA, Georgia Tech, Austin Peay, vs. LSU, Tennessee, vs. Missouri, Georgia, Providence - Arkansas was 5-3 and strong on both ends of the floor with Chaney in the lineup, according to HoopLens. The Razorbacks' offense scored at a 1.13 point-per-possession rate over Chaney's 363 possessions, shot 55 percent on 2-point field goals, which would rank 24th nationally, and 40.2 percent from distance - fourth nationally
Defensively, Arkansas allowed .96 PPP in his 362 possessions. The aforementioned teams, in that span, made 46.1 percent of their shots inside the arc, 27 percent beyond it and turned the ball over 84 times. Granted, Gafford's presence alongside Chaney had a little bit to do with those figures, but they're impressive nonetheless, especially for a first-year guy. Heading into his sophomore season, Chaney is unquestionably a key part of Arkansas' core and should see his role expand in the future.
Weaknesses
• A bit turnover prone. Chaney clamped down on this issue a bit in the final month of the season, but throughout the year he displayed some happy feet with the ball in his hands in a halfcourt setting. At one point, he was whistled for traveling eight seconds after checking into a game. Despite being seventh in minutes among Arkansas' rotation players, he was fifth in turnovers with 46. For perspective, Isaiah Joe, who played nearly twice as many minutes as Chaney, turned it over four fewer times. Chaney finished with three-plus turnovers four times, granted two of those games came in his first month of college ball. His roughest stretch actually came in his first career start agains Texas State when he coughed it up five times in just 12 minutes. But, in true Chaney fashion, he also scored seven points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked a couple of shots in the three-point win.
• Can finish better at and around the rim. Only two Arkansas forwards shot better than 50 percent from the floor this season - Chaney and Gafford. Gafford was super efficient more often than not around the rim, and Chaney showed he could be, too. But, he had his stretches in which he missed bunnies that he's probably accustomed to getting to drop. Chaney shot 62.7 percent at the rim, and when factoring in dunks, he finished at a 69.6 percent clip.
His jumpshot is another aspect of his game that with improvement can take him to another level as an offensive threat. Chaney took just 28 midrange jumpers this season, and made seven. He shot 3-of-8 on the left side of the floor, 2-of-13 between the elbows and 2-of-7 on the right side of the floor. Chaney hit 2-of-4 midrange attempts this postseason, including a long 2 from the left corner at Indiana.
Extra points
On floor: Offense - 0.96 PPP, 20.4 percent TO rate; Defense - 0.98 PPP, opp. 2FG 47 percent
Off floor: Offense - 1.08 PPP, 17.1 percent TO rate; Defense - 1.02 PPP, opp. 2FG 50.1 percent
Best Chaney quote: "I just come with the same energy and be a nuisance on defense. Offense is going to come. I just worry about defense and playing hard and getting rebounds – being the aggressor." - Chaney after finishing with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks against UTSA
Best quote on Chaney: "When Reggie comes in he's nothing but another warrior on the glass. He comes in and he can bang with the post players, guard 1-5 basically, and I just like his game all the way through because he can basically do it all." - Gafford on Chaney after Arkansas' win at Colorado State
Season review series
Part 1: Jalen Harris
Part 2: Isaiah Joe
Part 3: Adrio Bailey
Part 4: Keyshawn Embery-Simpson
Part 5: Mason Jones