LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Arkansas is keeping eye on ESPN 4-star forward Ashton Hardaway, who has a former teammate in his ear about the Razorbacks.
Hardaway, 6-8, 205 pounds, of Duncanville, Texas, has offers from Wyoming, Memphis, Texas Tech and San Diego, and is drawing interest from Arkansas and other schools.
Razorbacks signee Anthony Black, who is also from Duncanville, recently made the 12-man cut for the USA Basketball Men’s U18 national team competing in the FIBA U18 Americas Championship in Tijuana, Mexico.
“He really wants me to go there,” Hardaway said of Black. “We talk about it every day. He said it’s a good program and it would be a good fit. They have a lot of wing players, a lot of guards that play similar to me that have been in the league and that’s the goal.”
ESPN also rates him the No. 33 small forward in the nation and No. 13 overall prospect in Texas in the 2023 class. He said the addition to Black to the program has helped his recruitment with the Razorbacks.
“It’s even better now that AB is there,” Hardaway said during the recent Louisville EYBL event while playing for Houston Hoops. “One of the assistant coaches reached out to me today. It’s a good school. I’m interested.”
Hardaway averaged 10 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game for Duncanville and helped the Panthers to a 35-1 record and the Class 6A state championship last season. He shot 40% from three-point range.
“I can shoot from pretty deep,” Hardaway said. “NBA range and in the mid-post. Not just shooting but dishing it like cutters and wing players. Just looking for my teammates, as well.”
He said he has been texting with graduate assistant Reuben Williams and communicating with Eric Musselman. As the communication heats up, he hopes to make a trip to Fayetteville.
“I’m definitely interested in taking a visit,” he said.
Hardaway, the son of Memphis coach Penny Hardaway, has a 3.9 grade point average and is looking to major in business. He has more than 100 pairs of shoes and wants to get into the foot apparel business once his playing days are over.
“I want to own some sort of a shoe store,” he said. “I’m into shoes a lot.”