Courtney Fortson had no idea what kind of gaudy numbers he was putting up by halftime of his debut with the Razorbacks on Thursday.

But he was certain his first game as a Razorback wasn’t as special as it could have been, even if the point guard dished out nine assists in the first half of the Razorbacks’ 108-80 exhibition win over Dillard University.

“ To tell you the truth, I thought I had like four [assists ], ” Fortson said.

That definitely wasn’t the case, though. Fortson finished the game with a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. However, he still wasn’t that impressed with his debut.

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“ I’d give it an 8 [out of 10 ], ” Fortson rated his performance. “ I could have done better, but we won. That’s all that matters. I could have rebounded better. I’ll work on that. ”

Fortson sat out Arkansas’ Red-White exhibition Oct. 24 and its first exhibition game of the season Monday due to a suspension for unspecified reasons. He said he learned from his mistake and has grown as a person.

“ It was a very anxious wait, ” Fortson said. “ It felt good to be out there with my teammates, sharing the ball and making them better. ”

Fortson also only committed two turnovers in 26 minutes, one of which came 30 seconds into the game after he battled for a loose ball and had it knocked away from behind as he ran up court.

“ It’s great, no matter who you’re playing, ” UA head coach John Pelphrey said of Fortson’s assist-toturnover ratio. “ Obviously, with Court, we have a comfort level with him. We believe he’s got a chance to help us get in situations to win games. ”

The energy exuded and the chemistry built by Fortson and freshman shooting guard Rotnei Clarke was very apparent Thursday night. And Fortson also made nice, sharp passes under the basket to the Razorbacks ’ big men. In fact, Fortson found his frontcourt teammates for back-toback dunks in the final 44 seconds of the first half.

Arkansas’ last five field goals in the first half were the result of Fortson assists. Some were no-look passes, and others were skipped across the court with relative ease.

Simply put, Clarke said, the presence of the Montgomery, Ala., native was huge Thursday.

“ It really felt different, even in the beginning in the locker room, ” Clarke said. “... It didn’t feel like we had any pieces missing. ”

Clarke hit 4 of 6 three-pointers in the first half and finished the night with a team-high 20 points. Clarke’s first two treys were the result of Fortson assists.

“ Being able to play with him is a really good feeling, especially when I’m standing wide open in the corner, ” Clarke said.

Fortson was just as high on Clarke, whose five field goals were all 3-pointers Thursday night.

“ One-two combination, ” Fortson said. “ You don’t help, I’m going to the rack. If you help, 3-pointer. ”

When asked how many more assists he could have this season with Clarke consistently hitting shots in the backcourt, Fortson shook his head.

“ Infinity, ” Fortson said. “ Infinity. ”