FAYETTEVILLE — Connor Vanover was a 7-3 ninth grader at Baptist Prep in Little Rock when he was offered a scholarship by former Arkansas coach Mike Anderson on July 13, 2015 — 1,962 days before his debut as a Razorback.
A dizzying journey that saw that scholarship rescinded and included trips to play high school basketball in Nevada, college basketball in California and a flirtation with Memphis in between finally came to to a happy ending — or a happy beginning — on Wednesday.
Vanover scored 23 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 3 shots — all team highs — as the Razorbacks routed Mississippi Valley State 142-62 at Bud Walton Arena.
“It was surreal,” Vanover said. “I had the same feeling when we had the Red-White Game last year. It is amazing to be back in Arkansas in an Arkansas uniform where I grew up watching on my TV all the time.
“It was special to come back here and really put a good performance on for the state.”
Vanover, who averaged 7.5 points his freshman season at California and redshirted at Arkansas last year, was 8 of 11 from the field, 4 of 5 from 3-point range and 3 of 3 from the free throw line.
“I don’t know what it is with Connor, but once the lights come on, he is a different player,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. “He did a phenomenal job getting his feet set and I thought he also helped on the defensive backboards as well.
“He has done a great job getting extra work in.”
Vanover was one of eight players who scored in double figures as the Razorbacks scored the second-most points in program history. The 142 points were 24 shy of the school record that came during a 166-101 win over U.S. International in 1989 at Barnhill Arena.
“We definitely have a lot of weapons and we have seen this throughout the offseason,” Vanover said. “We have multiple threats on offense and defense and everybody has been doing different things on different days.
“Switching all the teams up during practice, we got to see what everybody has got to offer. But even after this first game, there is plenty we can still build on. I feel like it is a great sign to see that.”
The eight rebounds were something he took pride in, too.
“My freshman year, I was not very good at rebounding and probably averaged like three or four rebounds a game,” Vanover said. “So I knew coming in that I needed to be a big presence inside, more so on defensive rebounding, offensive rebounding and blocking shots. I felt like tonight was a great start in that direction.
“I had eight rebounds, but I wish I had gotten more. I am always going to strive for more, and blocking shots. But I feel like a big presence inside would be huge for us.”
Arkansas, which went on a 28-0 run in the first half against a team that was 3-27 last year, was 48 of 86 from the field overall and 20 of 40 from 3-point range.
“I thought it was really good,” Vanover said. “Muss really loves 3-point shooters and us coming out and knocking them down like that really made him happy. It just shows we have a lot of threats from the 3-point line.”
New Mexico graduate transfer Vance Jackson had 15 points in his Arkansas debut and shot 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
“When it comes to our team, we’re in the gym every day putting in the work,” Jackson said. “So it’s just a matter of it going in or not. It was going in today.
“And Connor, man, that’s what he does. I expect that. Fans should expect to see lots of that all year.”
Vanover was primed to make his first game as a Razorback a memorable one.
“I didn’t really surprise myself,” Vanover said. “I have been waiting for this for a year and a half to get back to being able to play games. It has been a grind because I have been sick the whole offseason and just getting back to where I was and just keep pushing every day. My goal was just to be as good as I could be for this first game and to just keep getting better going forward.
“Now that I am in a good spot, I can definitely get better from here.”