Scottie Bordelon is a reporter for WholeHogSports.com. A graduate of the University of Arkansas, Bordelon previously covered high school sports for the Times Record in Fort Smith and the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Springdale. He is a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and Football Writers Association of America, and was awarded 2022 Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year.
Once signed with Auburn, Sills commits to Arkansas State
By:
Scottie Bordelon
Published: Tuesday, June 8, 2021
(AP /
Michael Conroy
)
Arkansas guard Desi Sills (3) drives past Baylor guard Adam Flagler (10) during the first half of an Elite 8 game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium, Monday, March 29, 2021, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
FAYETTEVILLE — Former Arkansas guard Desi Sills will not be staying in the SEC after all.
Sills, who played three seasons for the Razorbacks under Mike Anderson and Eric Musselman, has committed to Arkansas State in his hometown of Jonesboro, he announced Tuesday in a post to his Twitter account.
The guard announced plans to transfer from Arkansas less than two days after the team’s NCAA Tournament run in March. Sills then committed to Auburn on April 20 and signed with the Tigers on May 5, but his transfer fell through due to non-basketball reasons, according to Justin Ferguson of Auburn Observer.
Auburn HC Bruce Pearl on Desi Sills: “I’ve always been a huge fan of Desi. I love his toughness and I wish we would’ve had a chance to coach him. It was in Desi’s best interests academically to pursue a different opportunity other than Auburn.”
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) June 8, 2021
Sills averaged 7.7 points per game over three seasons in Fayetteville. As a sophomore, he scored a career-high 10.6 points per game and entered the 2020-21 season as a second team All-SEC selection by the league’s coaches.
Sills played in 98 games with the Razorbacks and earned a start in 47, including 15 last season. He saw his minutes decrease from 31.2 per game as a sophomore to 20.7 as a junior.
The Jonesboro native scored in double figures 10 times in 2020-21, but did so only once over the final 17 games of the season. His two highest-scoring games – 23 and 22 points – came against Auburn on Dec. 30 and Jan. 20.
He also added 15 points on five three-pointers at South Carolina on March 2. Sills scored 7 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and had 9 assists in Arkansas’ four NCAA Tournament games.
Discussion
Have a comment on this story? Join the discussion or start a new one on the Forums.
