FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said he’s hopeful Jaylin Williams will be able to play against Mississippi State on Tuesday night, but that the 6-10 freshman from Fort Smith is day to day because of a right knee injury.
Williams, who has been a physical player inside, suffered a bone bruise when he and Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham bumped knees hard in the Cowboys’ 81-77 victory over the Razorbacks on Saturday in a Big 12/SEC Challenge game played in Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla.
The play occurred when Williams was called for fouling Cunningham with 3:41 to play in the first half. Williams came out of the game immediately and didn’t play again.
“At halftime he was visibly upset, visibly could not more laterally. Couldn’t jump,” Musselman said Sunday night on his radio show. “He met with the Oklahoma State doctors. It was a severe bone bruise. Our doctors got to look at it [Sunday]. Same diagnosis.”
Musselman said Williams didn’t participate in any part of Sunday’s practice and did not do any shooting work.
“He was on the sideline trying to do what he could to keep the knee loose, would be the best way that I could say it,” Musselman said. “Because the more he’s stagnant, the more tight it gets, the less flexibility that knee has. So they were trying to stretch him out.”
Musselman said it’s unclear when Williams will be able to practice or play.
“We’ll just have to see. It’s really day to day,” Musselman said. “There’s no structural damage, which is a great thing.
“Now it’s been pretty much [managing the] pain, whatever pain he can tolerate. But it’s an injury that’s very, very painful.”
Cunningham didn’t injure his knee and led the Cowboys with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. The 6-8 freshman is projected to be an NBA Draft lottery pick and is the No. 1 overall choice in some mock drafts.
“Zero doubt that he’s a lottery pick,” said Musselman, an NBA head coach with Golden State and Sacramento. “Zero doubt in my mind that he’s a top three pick.
“Last year we played [Georgia’s] Anthony Edwards, the No. 1 pick in the draft [by Minnesota]. A good player. Cade’s well above him. I can tell you that.
“When I was at Nevada we played Markelle Fultz, who was at Washington and was the No. 1 pick [by Philadelphia in 2017]. Cade is light years ahead of him.
“Cade Cunningham will be an NBA All-Star. I don’t think he’s just a guy that plays in the league. I think he’s that good. And he did what great players do.”
Cunningham scored 11 of Oklahoma State’s final 17 points and hit a jump shot with 21.3 seconds left to put the Cowboys head 79-77.
“We actually ran double-teams at him down the stretch, and he still made big shots,” Musselman said. ‘Not over one guy, but over two guys.”
Mississippi State beat Iowa State 95-56 at home to help the SEC go 5-4 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, which had the Kentucky-Texas game canceled because of positive covid-19 tests and contact tracing within the Kentucky program.
Other victories for the SEC included Florida winning 85-80 at West Virginia, Tennessee beating Kansas 80-61, Missouri beating TCU 102-98 in overtime and Texas A&M defeating Kansas State 68-61.
Oklahoma beat Alabama 66-61, Texas Tech won at LSU 76-71 and Baylor beat Auburn 84-72.
“Everybody talks about the Big 12 and the Big Ten, but you look at the games that our league won,” Musselman. “And then you look at games that were not won.
“Our game, we could have won that game. LSU should have won that game.”
LSU led 71-64 with 2:07 left, but Texas Tech closed the game on a 12-0 run.
“If you put that score up with two minutes to go 100 times, LSU probably wins that game 98 times,” Musselman said. “Alabama could have beaten Oklahoma.
“So we’re a basket or two away from turning that 5-4 into making it a little bit wider.”
The Razorbacks could have used Williams in the second half at Oklahoma State, especially on the boards.
Williams had four rebounds in the 7:30 he played in the first half and the Razorbacks were a plus-5 points when he was on the court.
In 16 games this season, Williams is averaging 2.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 13.9 minutes. His averages have gone up in SEC play with 3.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 16.2 minutes.
Mississippi State starts two 6-10 players with Abdul Ado and Tolu Smith.
“We’re playing against a physical team,” Musselman said. “A team you would think and hope that Jaylin could help us.”
If Williams can’t play, 6-8 Ethan Henderson and 6-9 Vance Jackson are the top candidates to take his minutes.
“Ethan Henderson has got to be physical against their front line,” Musselman said. “Vance Jackson, if he played that spot, would have to be able to stretch their bigs away from the basket and make shots.”