Arkansas’ lone basketball commitment Joseph Pinion plans to visit his future school for the first time Wednesday since the covid-19 pandemic while also recruiting two other Razorbacks targets.
Pinion, 6-6, 180 pounds, of Morrilton, chose Arkansas over Kansas, Baylor, Oklahoma, TCU, Ole Miss, Tulsa, DePaul and other programs last October.
When he steps on campus, it will be the first time Pinon has visited since November 2019.
“I’m really excited to see the campus, to see how much it’s changed, see how the practices go," he said. "Just really excited to see my new home.”
Highly recruited targets North Little Rock center Kel’el Ware and Magnolia guard Derrian Ford arrived Tuesday for the start of their official visits. Pinion plans to recruit them to join him.
“I’ll be there up doing my best,” Pinion said. “I’ll hype up the place. Even though coach is going to show them the good stuff, I’ll tell them even more that I know.”
Arkansas’ highly regarded 2020 recruiting class that included Moses Moody, Davonte Davis, Jaylin Williams and Khalen Robinson has Pinion motivated to recruit Ware, Ford and Sylvan Hills' Nick Smith to Fayetteville.
“They like Arkansas,” Pinion said. “They’re really excited about the opportunity.”
The ESPN 4-star averaged 22.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists over the weekend while lading the 17-under Arkansas Hawks to a 3-1 record at the Memorial Day Classic in Atlanta. He said the Hawks are playing well after starting slow this spring.
“We started off a little bumpy on the road, but I feel like we’re really picking it up and we’re playing pretty good basketball,” Pinion said.