FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Eric Musselman is ecstatic about having Jaylin Williams available for the NCAA Tournament.
How excited exactly? The Razorbacks’ second-year coach posted Monday a pair of pictures to his Twitter account, one of him pointing to the freshman in front of an NCAA Tournament backdrop. The other was of Williams hanging on the rim after a dunk as the coach stood hands raised on a rolling cart.
The former Fort Smith Northside standout is expected to play Friday when Arkansas opens play against 14-seed Colgate at 11:45 a.m. Central on TruTV. He has missed the Razorbacks’ last four games and not played since Feb. 27 against LSU for an undisclosed reason.
Not only is Musselman energized for the return of his 6-10 forward who blossomed down the stretch in February, Moses Moody is as well.
“Jaylin is definitely going to be a critical piece,” Moody said Tuesday. “I feel like he’s been putting in a lot of work and just making sure he’s ready for the moment.”
In six games last month, Williams averaged 6.3 points on 56.2% shooting inside the arc and 5.5 rebounds per game as Arkansas went 6-0 and notched wins over four teams in the NCAA Tournament field — Missouri, Florida, Alabama and LSU. During that stretch, he put up 7.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1 block per game.
Lineups featuring Williams allowed only 0.88 points per possession over 271 defensive possessions and were plus-36, according to HoopLens analytics. He and graduate-transfer forward Justin Smith made a strong frontcourt tandem, too.
Opponents scored 0.83 PPP when the duo shared the floor in February.
The Razorbacks are confident Williams will return to form. Moody saw him in practice on Monday and it did not appear to him that Williams lost a step.
“He was on the rim, running the floor, doing all the moves that we’re used to, so I feel like he’s back the same way he left,” Moody added. “He’s a hooper. When you have the game taken away from you for that long you’ll do anything just to get back in that position.
“He’s got an opportunity to play again, so I know he’s going to be excited.”
Colgate coach Matt Langel, who led the Patriot League champion Raiders to the NCAA Tournament in 2019, was complimentary of Williams’ play. He leads the team in charges taken with 13 and is the only Razorback to grab 10-plus rebounds three times off the bench.
In Williams, Langel noted Arkansas has another dynamic talent up front with good size and athleticism.
“He’s shown some signs of being able to step out and make a shot, he’s a rim protector, a true big guy,” Langel said Tuesday. “I think that he’s got a bright, bright future ahead of him.”