Arkansas basketball

2018-19 season review: Keyshawn Embery-Simpson

Arkansas guard Keyshawn Embery-Simpson looks to shoot during a game against Vanderbilt on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Fayetteville.

The fourth in a nine-part series reviewing Arkansas basketball in 2018-19.

KEYSHAWN EMBERY-SIMPSON

Note: Embery-Simpson announced on April 1 that he will be transferring to Tulsa, roughly two hours away from his hometown of Midwest City, Okla.

Position: Guard

Class: Freshman

Height: 6-3

Weight: 202

Stats: 4.1 points, 1.2 rebounds, .6 assists, .7 turnovers, .7 steals

34.6 percent FG, 47.1 percent 2-point FG, 27.1 percent 3-point FG, 69.2 percent free throws

Per 40: 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.8 turnovers, 2.0 steals

SEC stats: 3.9 points, 1.2 rebounds, .7 assists, .7 turnovers, .8 steals

33.8 percent FG, 48.3 percent 2-point FG, 25 percent 3-point FG, 77.8 percent free throws

Best month: December - 5.6 points, 1.1 rebounds, .6 assists, 1.0 turnovers, .7 steals

46.7 percent FG, 58.3 percent 2-point FG, 38.9 percent 3-point FG

Worst month: January - 3.9 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, .5 turnovers, 1.0 steals

23.7 percent FG, 38.5 percent 2-point FG, 16 percent 3-point FG, 81.8 percent free throws

Strengths

• Microwave shooter. Embery-Simpson's freshman season can best be characterized as up and down. A four-star recruit out of Midwest City High School in Oklahoma and IMG Academy in Florida, he scored in double figures only four times in 33 games - at Colorado State, Austin Peay, at Ole Miss and at LSU. December was his best month of the season, scoring 14 points in wins over the Rams and Austin Peay. His performance at Colorado State was viewed at the time as something of a breakout game, but he scored just four points over the next four games before being the difference-maker from 3-point range against the Governors to close 2018.

In his four double-figure scoring games, he shot 12-of-20 from distance. In all other games, he was 11-of-65 beyond the arc. Embery-Simpson hit four 3s at Colorado State and matched that at LSU, tying a career-high with 16 points in the thrilling 90-89 win. When he was on, Embery-Simpson was fun to watch. When he wasn't, it was a struggle.

According to shot chart data collected throughout the season with the exception of the Texas-San Antonio game in North Little Rock, Embery-Simpson was best beyond the arc between the elbows, knocking down 4-of-9 attempts. However, he most favored the right side of the floor (47 attempts).

• Hit big shots in key moments. Embery-Simpson will be remembered most fondly for knocking down a few key shots in Arkansas wins. Down two in the final 30 seconds to a winless Vanderbilt team in Bud Walton Arena, the freshman calmly sunk a 3 from the right wing to lift the Razorbacks and avoid what would have been a disastrous loss just three days after winning in Baton Rouge. As mentioned earlier, he played a big role in upsetting the eventual SEC regular-season champs despite injuring his shoulder during the game.

Against Austin Peay, Arkansas' offense was largely flat, but he exploded for 12 points in less than five minutes to pull the Razorbacks out of a two-point hole and into an 11-point lead ahead of the final media timeout.

• Fairly solid defensively. Mike Anderson often said that while Embery-Simpson struggled to find his shot, he was on the floor because he could be a plus on the defensive end. When he was on the floor this season, Arkansas turned opponents over at a 24.2 percent rate, which would be good for fourth-best nationally. On top of his 14-point night at Colorado State, he finished with a career-high three steals as well, and finished with two apiece against LSU at home, Texas Tech, at Kentucky and at Vanderbilt. He held a defensive rating of 104.2, according to SportsReference, which ranked seventh among Arkansas' nine regulars ahead of Desi Sills and Jalen Harris.

• When defenders overplayed him on the perimeter, Embery-Simpson made a good habit of cutting backdoor and found some success doing so. For the season he finished 17-of-31 shots in the painted area.

Weaknesses

• Couldn't string strong offensive games together. Embery-Simpson's big game at Colorado State was viewed as a breakout performance largely because he had been very so-so in the first six games of the season. He peaked in that span at seven points twice, but also combined for just two points against Texas and Indiana. Following the 14-point outburst, he went 1-of-11 from the floor leading into the Austin Peay game.

Following his second 14-point game, he made just 2-of-17 attempts entering Ole Miss. And again, he struggled over three games prior to adding 16 points at LSU, missing 11-of-13 shots and 7-of-8 3-point attempts. The inability to stack impressive shooting performances in consecutive games even one time ultimately hurt his playing time. He finished the season ninth among rotation players in minutes per game at 14.6.

• Took some inefficient shots. Earlier I mentioned how Embery-Simpson tended to favor the right side of the floor on jumpshots. It isn't unusual for players to find one area of the floor more comfortable than another, but even his most-occupied spot wasn't a strength. He hit just 25.5 percent of his 3s on the right side of the floor and hit 16-of-59 jumpers - midrange and 3s - there.

Somewhat like Adrio Bailey (link to his season review is below), Embery-Simpson was susceptible to taking inefficient long 2s - often with one foot inside or on the 3-point line. He took 13 long 2s this season and made just two, both on the right side of the floor. He was 0-of-5 on such jumpers on the left side of the floor and between the elbows.

Extra points

On floor: Offense - .98 PPP, 19.5 percent TO rate; Defense - 1.01 PPP, 24.2 percent TO rate

Off floor: Offense - 1.07 PPP, 17.6 percent TO rate; Defense - 1.00 PPP, 21.6 percent TO rate

Best Embery-Simpson quote: "The shot clock was going down and I was like, ‘Hey, we gotta get it up.’ I was confident in me shooting it. I felt it coming off my hands and was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s gotta be good.’" - Embery-Simpson following his game-winner against Vanderbilt

Best quote on Embery-Simpson: "He comes in and hits a shot that gets us up in the first half. I mean, it was a banker. I don’t know if he called bank, but it all counts." - Mike Anderson after Arkansas' win over Missouri on Jan. 23

Season review series

Part 1: Jalen Harris

Part 2: Isaiah Joe

Part 3: Adrio Bailey