FAYETTEVILLE — Perhaps the best person to know what it is like to play at both Arkansas and Texas Tech is current NBA G-League player Dusty Hannahs, who played two years at each school.
The Razorbacks (11-7) visit the No. 14 Red Raiders (15-4) today at 5 p.m. in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
“Really the only three college teams I watch are Arkansas, Texas Tech - because I played for both - and Duke because of their talented freshmen. It is going to be weird watching them play."
The last time the two programs met was back on Jan. 26, 2016. Hannahs had a game-high 25 points in Arkansas’ 75-68 overtime win over Texas Tech at Bud Walton Arena.
“The last time it happened I was playing against my old team and I had a good one that day,” Hannahs said. “If I could have stayed hot the second half, I would have had 40.”
Hannahs, a Little Rock native averaging 14.1 points this season for the Memphis Hustle of the NBA’s developmental league, became the organization's all-time leading scorer with 843 points on Wednesday. He will be rooting for Arkansas.
The Razorbacks broke a four-game losing streak on Wednesday by downing visiting Missouri 72-60.
“I have been able to follow them some this season,” Hannahs said. “They are a young team in a tough league, but you can see the potential there. There is still time for them and it would be great for them to get a big win on Saturday.”
Even though the Red Raiders have lost three straight, including 58-45 at Kansas State on Wednesday, Hannahs knows that the 15,908-seat United Supermarkets Arena will be a tough venue for the Razorbacks.
“Obviously they are having a lot more success now than when I was there and I know that it is going to be a very raucous crowd,” Hannahs said. “They get pretty loud there and they are not afraid to yell things at you.
“They can get pretty wild. It’s not like at the football games where they throw batteries at you or stuff like that, but they love the Red Raiders there, so you throw that in with a really tough team that plays great defense and it’s a tough environment to go win in.
“Arkansas will have to have guys create their own shots and make some tough ones because they play really good defense.”
Hannahs spent his first two season at Texas Tech, averaging just over 7 points per game, after not getting an offer from Arkansas after a stellar career at Pulaski Academy.
He jumped at the chance two years later when he decided to transfer, after having three coaches in two seasons, when Arkansas had a spot open up.
It allowed Hannahs, who scored 23 points against Kansas as a sophomore, a chance to join former Arkansas Wings AAU teammates Bobby Portis and Moses Kingsley in becoming Razorbacks.
“I am just so glad it happened because that is where I always wanted to be,” Hannahs said. “It wouldn’t have mattered what was going on, if they only had four people, I would have loved to be the fifth. I just wanted to be a Razorback and I was going to be if the opportunity presented itself.”
Hannahs would go on to score over 1,000 points in his Razorback career, becoming only the fifth player in Arkansas history to do that in only two years.
He was a second team All-SEC preseason selection headed into his senior season where he had 74 3-pointers and led the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game.
“Just to know I got to go up there and play and bring the fans some fun and happiness and being able to win was great,” Hannahs said. “I know so many people in Arkansas dream of that chance in high school and I got to live it out.”
Hannahs is a big fan of Arkansas freshman sharpshooter Isaiah Joe, who enters Saturday leading the SEC in 3-pointers with 68.
“He can really shoot it and he is not gun shy at all,” Hannahs said. “I love his fearlessness. He can obviously shoot it at a high rate, so I have enjoyed watching him. As long as he stays around, he is going to make a lot of threes and as he gets older he is going to be able to add other parts to his game. But he has been special as a freshman.”
He also feels for Arkansas sophomore center Daniel Gafford, who is averaging 16.3 points and 9.4 rebounds and is expected to be a first-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
“It’s tough for him sometimes because of how the defenses are set up and they try to take him out of it,” Hannahs said. “How we play in this league is the same as they do in the NBA and watching the success rim-runners like he is tell me it is going to be a lot easier for him.”