Forward Michael Sanchez of Springdale Har-Ber and Forrest City guard Marcus Britt became a part of Arkansas Razorback basketball history Tuesday.

The two Arkansans became the first players to sign under new Arkansas coach John Pelphrey. They join shooting guard Nate Rakestraw, inked during last November’s early-signing period by former Razorback coach Stan Heath, as Pelphrey’s first scholarship Razorback recruiting class.

Sanchez, 6-8, 230 and Rakestraw, 6-5, were high school teammates at Springdale Har-Ber and also played AAU ball together for the Arkansas Hawks while Britt, 6-3, 180, played AAU ball for the Arkansas Wings.

Britt and Sanchez both had also been recruited by Heath at Arkansas. Heath years ago offered a scholarship to Sanchez and then, as South Florida coach, recruited Britt after Britt was released from his November early signing with Louisiana Tech.

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Britt was granted a release after the season when Tech fired coach Keith Richard.

Sanchez, plagued by tendinitis in his knees two years ago, originally intended to attend Findley Prep in Las Vegas next year to catch up on time missed from his injuries before entering college. However, his banner prep season, 15. 8 points, 13. 8 rebounds and 7. 0 assists for Class 7 A runnerup Har-Ber, compounded by going strong for the Arkansas Hawks, including averaging 21 points and 13 rebounds at the Real Deal on the Hill in Fayetteville, changed his mind with Kentucky and new coach Billy Gillispie and Arkansas and new coach Pelphrey among others, pursuing him.

Sanchez has always considered Arkansas and has UA family ties. His mother, the former Kim Bunge, was a Lady Razorback center. His father, Bert Sanchez, ran Razorback track under John McDonnell.

“ It made sense for me to follow in their footsteps and be a Razorback, ” the younger Sanchez said Tuesday. “ It made a difference. My mom talked about ‘ Arkansas this and Arkansas that’ all the time. I was brought up a Razorback. That was a big part of my decision. ”

He also is elated to continue being a teammate with Rakestraw.

“ It was really emotional thinking about not being able to play with him again, ” Sanchez said of when their Har-Ber careers concluded. “ Now we’ll be together another three or four years. ”

Sanchez said his knees are “ 100 percent. ”

Pelphrey foresees big things from Sanchez, particularly down the road with Razorback big men Steven Hill, Charles Thomas, Darian Townes and Vincent Hunter all seniors.

“ Michael is an outstanding basketball player, ” Pelphrey said. “ He has a lot of Godgiven athletic ability and has great leadership qualities. Michael is the type of player we want to be around on a daily basis. He is going to be a big, big part of the future of Razorback basketball. ”

Numerically, Britt and Rakestraw have enhanced chances to figure early because junior reserve point guard Sean McCurdy and senior reserve shooting guard Preston Cranford are transferring.

Britt was a combo guard for 6 A East Conference champion and state championship game runner-up Forrest City but seems likely to begin at Arkansas as the backup point guard to senior returning starter Gary Ervin.

He averaged 18 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds as a Forrest City senior including 27 points in the 6 A state championship loss to Jonesboro.

“ He had a tremendous prep career, ” Pelphrey said, “ and will have the opportunity to compete as a freshman in our backcourt. Anytime you ask anyone about Marcus Britt, they tell you how hard he competes and that he’s a winner. ”

Though it took a fall and then a spring signing to complete his odyssey to his home state school, Britt left no doubt Tuesday that this fulfilled a long-held hope.

“ It was hard to go through the recruiting process twice, ” Britt said, “ but I’m just glad it’s over. I’ve always wanted to be a Razorback. I’m going to work hard on my academics to make sure everything is in order. I know there will be some opportunity. I’m going to work hard to get some playing time as a freshman even if it’s just here or there. ”

Rakestraw, solidly remaining a Razorback through the coaching change, averaged 19. 4 points for Har-Ber this past season and hit 41 percent of his 3-pointers (78 of 181 ).

Last summer he averaged 27 points for the Arkansas Hawks. He is formerly from Siloam Springs and played his sophomore season there before moving to Springdale.