FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Eric Musselman was a bit surprised by South Dakota transfer forward Stanley Umude’s lack of overall impact in the Razorbacks’ first exhibition last weekend.
One of the nation’s top 10 scorers a season ago, Umude finished with two points and struggled offensively in fairly limited minutes as the Razorbacks squeaked past its Division II opponent, East Central (Okla.). Musselman attributed that performance, in part, to nerves under the bright lights and him working to figure out his place in the Razorbacks’ offense.
Umude looked more the part of a key piece on both ends of the floor against North Texas in Arkansas’ 68-60 victory Saturday to cap its exhibition slate.
Prior to fouling out late in the second half, he scored 12 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and had 2 assists in 29 minutes. The Razorbacks outscored the Mean Green by three points with him in the lineup, but they were plus-13 in his strong 15 first-half minutes.
“We went to him a little bit more tonight,” Musselman said. “We ran some plays for him. I think he’s comfortable with having his number called and he’s really good in that mid-post. Obviously with his feet set, he can make a three.”
A number of times in the game the Razorbacks went with a tried-and-true half-court set in which they sought an Umude touch on the left block, an area of the floor in which he has thrived in the past. It was the same set Arkansas often ran last season for former forward Justin Smith with solid success.
On one touch when running the play, Umude backed down his matchup, turned to the middle of the floor and knocked down a good-looking turn-around jumper in the lane. It is a shot for which teams on the Razorbacks’ schedule will have to be well prepared.
“He's been shooting his turnaround since the summer,” said guard JD Notae, who led all scorers with 21 points. “He hasn't been hitting, but he finally got him one today. We're happy for him."
Umude showed flashes putting the ball on the floor, too.
He once euro-stepped into a layup in transition, and in the second half caught a swing pass on the left wing and momentarily contemplated passing to a teammate in the near corner. He instead drove the lane and through contact put down a two-handed dunk to put Arkansas ahead 50-36.
Three of his five buckets in the win were layups or dunks. He also added a three-pointer during a huge Razorbacks run in the first half that turned a one-point Mean Green lead into a 17-point Arkansas advantage.
Defensively he was sound, as well, aside from the rash of second-half fouls. Four of the whistles came in the final 8:28 of the game.
But on consecutive North Texas possessions after halftime he drew an offensive foul defending on the left block then forced a jump ball when challenged similarly on the opposite block.
Umude finished with a team-best six defensive stops. He posted a defensive rating of 94.3, second on the team only to guard KK Robinson, who turned in a solid under-the-radar performance with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal that led to a transition score.
“Stanley is a do-it-all guy,” Arkansas transfer wing Au’Diese Toney said Oct. 14. “He’s very aggressive on the offensive end and very aggressive on defense, as well. Stanley is just one of those type players that you just really can’t structure into doing this or that.
“Whatever Coach wants him to do, he’s going to get it done.”