FAYETTEVILLE — For stretches in Arkansas’ overtime loss at Western Kentucky, sophomore guard Desi Sills was the best player on the floor.
He was for the Razorbacks, anyway. Sills, who has started the last 17 games of his Arkansas career dating back to a Feb. 23 home loss to Texas A&M during the 2018-19 season, finished with a team- and career-high 20 points against the Hilltoppers, mixing in aggressive drives and impressive conversions at the rim with his 3-point shot, which until last Saturday was largely ineffective.
His struggles from 3-point range have been well documented. Sills finished the first month of the season 2 of 30 from deep, including 0 of 15 on the left wing and 1 of 8 on the right. He was a combined 1 of 20 beyond the arc on the left side of the floor alone.
Understanding that, Sills became Arkansas’ biggest threat getting into the lane off the bounce. He closed out November with a career-high seven scores at the rim against Northern Kentucky. Twenty-three of his scores came from point-blank range. Junior guard Mason Jones was second on the team in that area with 17 buckets around the rim.
Since December began, Sills’ fearless play has continued, and he is still finishing at a higher rate than expected for a guard his size. Sills is 5 of 6 inside the restricted area this month after seeing 4 of 5 layups drop against the Hilltoppers.
Without hesitation, he has challenged the likes of Georgia Tech’s James Banks, who entered the Yellow Jackets’ game against Arkansas with 17 blocks in three outings, and Western Kentucky’s Charles Bassey, who ranks just outside the top 100 nationally in block rate, according to Ken Pom, and found success.
The guard noted prior to the season that he and Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman discussed becoming a more effective finisher given that he was a bit shaky there as a freshman. According to shot chart data collected throughout the 2018-19 season, Sills was 23 of 45 at the rim and 3 of 9 on other attempts in the lane.
Back to last Saturday. In the loss, Sills posted his highest personal offensive rating (125) of the season in 36 minutes prior to exiting the game with a shoulder injury. That should not hamper his availability for this weekend’s game against Tulsa, though (he practiced with the team on Monday). Sills got a pair of timely buckets to fall late in the second half, including a corner 3 that put the Razorbacks up 68-63 with 1:39 to play.
He then added a tough score in the lane with 1:03 remaining to give Arkansas a six-point lead. The Razorbacks appeared to be in firm control at that point, thanks to Sills.
On top of his big night on the offensive end, Sills came away with two steals for the third consecutive game. He has four such performances this season. The highlight for Sills was an utter harassment of Hilltoppers guard Camron Justice on the perimeter midway through the first half that resulted in not only a turnover but a foul on Justice.
“You want to pop in your Rick Pitino VHS (on) how to coach defense 101, that was spectacular,” CBS Sports Network analyst Michael O’Donnell said on the broadcast. “Active hands, good feet.”
Sills made great contributions in November despite inaccuracies from distance. He is now 5 of 12 beyond the arc in December. If he can build on his sudden success from the perimeter and continue to impact the game in other areas, Arkansas becomes an even tougher team to beat.
Defending Charles Bassey
Western Kentucky guard Jared Savage caught a pass in the left corner from Camron Justice then floated an entry pass over the head of Arkansas forward Adrio Bailey, who was fronting Hilltoppers star Charles Bassey.
The entry reached the vicinity of Bassey, but the action was disrupted thanks to backside help from Jimmy Whitt, who left his man near the left wing. Whitt prevented Bassey from making a clean catch and deflected the pass into the air. Bassey attempted to corral the ball, but it went off of his fingertips and out of bounds for a turnover.
After officials whistled possession back to Arkansas when the ball hit the stanchion, Bassey took a couple of steps and acted as if he were about to kick the basketball into the crowd. The sophomore, playing before more than one dozen NBA scouts in E.A. Diddle Arena, was growing frustrated.
That meant the Razorbacks were doing their job on the interior and following Eric Musselman's gameplan.
Entering the game averaging nearly 16 points and 10 rebounds per game, Bassey finished last Saturday's win over Arkansas with just 10 points and six rebounds. He was 4 of 6 from the field, but each of his scores came either in transition or on scramble plays.
Two of Bassey's buckets, both dunks, came on the break. Arkansas momentarily lost sight of Bassey in one instance and Taveion Hollingsworth hit him with a sweet no-look pass. He also followed a Hilltoppers missed layup and slammed it home. And another of his field goals came from outside the painted area following an offensive rebound.
The fact that Bassey scored twice in transition should not come as a surprise. He holds a PAM - points above median, which calculates how many additional points a player scores when compared with what an average player would have scored with those shot attempts - of 12.6 at the rim in transition, according to HoopLens analytics.
Another indication that the Razorbacks limited Bassey is his PAM at the rim in halfcourt/non-offensive rebound scenarios. That figure (-1.0) is his second lowest of the season. Arkansas essentially turned Bassey into a slightly below-average player in the halfcourt. That's a credit to the plan that was in place, and the execution of Bailey, Reggie Chaney, Ethan Henderson and even Whitt.
Bailey and Chaney were each credited with a block on Bassey attempts, and Henderson, despite his slender build, was able to root Bassey out near the 3-point line on one possession in which the 6-11 forward was whistled for traveling. In that moment, Henderson forced Bassey a bit outside of his comfort zone. It was well done.
The Razorbacks' help defense with Bassey on the floor was terrific much more often than not. Arkansas took him away on traditional post-ups to the extent that Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury adjusted and placed his big man in pick and rolls to try to generate touches near the rim. Still, the Razorbacks defended that fairly well. There was one possession in which Bassey rolled to the rim and was fouled and made two free throws, but aside from that it was great defensive work.
Here is a two-minute look at how Arkansas attacked Bassey defensively:
In Bassey's 23 minutes, Western Kentucky was minus-10 as a team. It was plus-17 when he was not in the lineup.
Harris changes pace, adds shooting
Last season, Jalen Harris spearheaded an Arkansas offense under former coach Mike Anderson that wanted to run, run, run and wear opponents down over the course of 40 minutes.
Under Musselman, Harris' role has changed, and so too has the Razorbacks' offensive approach. Arkansas still wants to get out in transition when the opportunity presents itself, but it has been much more methodical in the halfcourt through nine games.
But perhaps when games slow down a bit too much for Musselman's liking, he has an instant jolt waiting to enter off the bench.
"He changes the pace for us," Musselman said of Harris. "When he comes in we play a little bit faster."
Harris, a junior who started all 34 of Arkansas' games in 2018-19, has adjusted to his new situation well and provided a lift against South Dakota (8 points, 2 assists), Northern Kentucky (5 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds) and Western Kentucky. He added nine points against the Hilltoppers, his most in a game since finishing with 10 in the season-opening win over Rice, handed out a pair of assists and recorded a steal that led to a layup for him on the other end.
Although he has not started, Harris has played starter minutes of late since seeing the floor for only eight in the overtime win at Georgia Tech. He did turn the ball over a career-high six times in the win over Austin Peay on Dec. 3, but he bounced back with only one in 24 minutes at Western Kentucky.
Since Nov. 30, Harris has also been a threat from the perimeter. He struggled mightily from 3-point range in his first season with the Razorbacks, hitting just 8 of 69 attempts, including 5 of 39 on the left side of the floor. Over his last three games, however, he is 4 of 10 - a mark that may call for more defensive attention.
For the season, Harris is 7 of 21 from 3-point range. Twice this season he has knocked down a pair of 3s in a game. He had not done that once in the first 65 games of his college career.
"I just think the work that he has put in, when you see the ball go through the net through repetition, it builds a great deal of confidence," Musselman said of Harris. "I think he’s way more confident than maybe he has been. When you make one, and now he’s made more than one, so I do think he’s shooting the ball with a lot more confidence. Last year I think some of his 3-point shots came near the end of the shot clock and stuff.
"I think now he’s got the confidence to shoot that thing even early in the shot clock. We want him to have the confidence."
Cylla’s role decreases
On April 20, Jeantal Cylla became the first roster addition of the Eric Musselman era as a graduate transfer from UNC-Wilmington. In his final season with the Seahawks, he averaged nearly 14 points and five rebounds per game and shot a career-best 42.7 percent from the floor.
On paper, Cylla appeared to be a fit for the Razorbacks as a versatile forward who could stretch the floor, rebound fairly well and lend a hand on the defensive end. Nine games into his time at Arkansas, though, he has steadily seen his minutes and role decrease.
Cylla played at least 19 minutes in the Razorbacks' first three games of the season but scored just seven points and experienced turnover issues. He committed six miscues in wins over Rice, North Texas and Montana, which isn't great for a player who doesn't regularly handle the basketball.
He also struggled with his jumpshot both beyond the arc and inside of it. Perhaps his best game of the season came in Arkansas' win over South Dakota in which he scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds and blocked a shot.
He has not factored into a game since, even when inserted into the starting lineup against Northern Kentucky as Mason Jones sat with what was described as a shoulder injury.
Why is that the case? Well, Musselman has not talked much about Cylla's situation aside from the Lake Worth, Fla., native experiencing some confidence issues. He has also simply not been ultra-productive in his minutes on the floor. To this point, he has knocked down only one shot outside the lane - a corner 3 against South Dakota - and is only 6 of 12 in the painted area.
Arkansas has been great defensively, according to HoopLens, with Cylla in the lineup. The Razorbacks have allowed .64 points per possession over 209 possessions and held opponents to a remarkable 5.7 percent from 3-point range in that span. Offensively, however, Arkansas struggles to offensive rebound, grabbing 17.2 percent of its misses, and from beyond the arc - 24.5 percent with him on the floor.
It could be that he is taking a bit longer than expected to become acclimated with the plans of a new coaching staff or making the jump from a less-competitive conference, or both. I'm a believer that Cylla is a greater asset than what he has shown to this point.
Arkansas returning to its training camp-style practices given that it only has three more games prior to the start of conference play might be beneficial for Cylla. There he will have the opportunity to return to the basics, find himself again and continue to grow within the system.
"He’s been great in our practices, had a great attitude, great work ethic," Musselman said. "(He is) certainly a guy we’re going to need to be a contributor for us."
Isaiah Joe’s 3-point shooting
Isaiah Joe set the world on fire as a freshman, knocking down a program-record 113 3-pointers. Expectations were high for the former Northside star, who was looked at as the lead guard for Arkansas entering 2019-20.
He also regularly has NBA eyes watching and looking for growth in a game that appears to translate well to the next level. Joe had the chance to play in front of more than one dozen NBA scouts last Saturday at Western Kentucky, and he showed well, scoring 18 points on 5 of 14 from distance.
Through nine games last season, Joe was shooting a sizzling 49.4 percent from 3-point range. This season, he is 30 of 90, averaging 10 attempts per game, which I believe to be a good number. He is too good of a shooter to not continue letting attempts fly.
I don't see it as a concern at this point, but Joe has struggled beyond the arc in both corners, thought to be among the highest-percentage shots in the game. In November, Joe was 2 of 7 in the left corner and 0 of 12 in the right. After two games in December, those numbers sit at 3 of 11 and 0 of 14 - 12 percent.
He is still finding success on both wings. Last month he shot 10 of 22 on the left wing and 8 of 19 on the right. Joe is also 21 of 69 (30.4 percent) on catch-and-shoot 3s this season. I see him making a jump there percentage-wise sooner rather than later. To me, he seems due for a true breakout performance.
The Razorbacks' week-long breaks between games the remainder of the calendar year will do him good. Joe is playing a team-high 92.4 percent of available minutes. His legs could probably use a bit of rest.