Advertisement

Arkansas basketball rediscovers its fast pace with SEC play on the horizon

jackson fuller, fort smith southwest times record
·4 min read

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A little more than two weeks ago, Arkansas basketball was at its low point of the season. Coming off a disheartening loss to Oklahoma where nothing went right, head coach Eric Musselman had no shortage of complaints for his team.

Offensively, one particular frustration stood out as Musselman and the Razorbacks prepared for their North Little Rock home game against Lipscomb. Despite the coaching staff's wishes, the Hogs were playing far too slowly on offense.

Dec 30, 2023; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Davonte Davis (4) gestures after making a three point shot against UNC Wilmington Seahawks at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 106-90. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2023; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Davonte Davis (4) gestures after making a three point shot against UNC Wilmington Seahawks at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 106-90. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

"That’s not by design," Musselman said in the buildup to the Lipscomb game. "I would love it if you guys could point out one time where I said, ‘Hold up, let’s run a half court play.’ I mean, we want to play with pace — not Saturday, every game we want to play with pace."

It's taken some time, but that message appears to finally be setting in for the Hogs.

After a dull offensive performance against Lipscomb and a tough first half against Abilene Christian, Arkansas has now strung together three-straight halves of efficient and high-tempo offense. On Saturday, the Razorbacks ran past UNC Wilmington with a 106-90 victory which represented the second-most points ever scored by an Arkansas team under Musselman.

A singular through-line in the offensive resurgence is Keyon Menifield Jr.

Dec 30, 2023; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Keyon Menifield Jr (1) celebrates after a play in the first half against the UNC Wilmington Seahawks at Bud Walton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2023; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Keyon Menifield Jr (1) celebrates after a play in the first half against the UNC Wilmington Seahawks at Bud Walton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington transfer only became eligible to play this season on Dec. 15. He opened the second half against Abilene Christian and earned his first start of the season on Saturday. Across those three halves, Arkansas has scored 161 points and averaged 1.47 points per possession. BYU leads the country in that statistic at a season-long rate of 1.23 points per possession.

"(Menifield) just naturally sees plays develop. And we felt that way when we recruited him," Musselman said Saturday. "I was kind of amazed as a freshman how he could read the second and third line of the defense. He's really good in transition too. He does make us a much different team that plays with much different pace.”

Menifield scored a career-high 32 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds in the win over UNCW. He was tremendous in transition throwing alley-oop passes across the floor and finding his teammates open for layups and three-pointers. Davonte Davis, Trevon Brazile, Tramon Mark and Jalen Graham all scored at least 10 points Saturday with the fast-paced mindset.

More: Arkansas basketball routs UNC Wilmington behind Keyon Menifield Jr.

More: Arkansas basketball may have found its new starting point guard in win over Abilene Christian

"I can score, but I feel like I do better when I get my teammates involved and score," Menifield said. "Do both at the same time. It makes me more happy when I get my teammates involved."

Arkansas came into Saturday averaging just 12.5 fast break points per game, but the Hogs scored 19 against UNCW and did most of that damage across the first 30 minutes. The pace slowed as the game wore on with the Seahawks trying a zone defense and Arkansas working the clock.

It's no coincidence the pace has ticked up with Menifield's presence, but Musselman said the Razorbacks have also added new wrinkles to their transition offense. Arkansas wants more kick-ahead passes from its point guard to utilize an opportunity break that emulates Tony Parker's time with the San Antonio Spurs.

"We’ve been showing a lot of NBA clips pre-practice just of teams running, teams playing with pace, teams moving the basketball, sharing the ball. We had to do that a couple of years ago around this time," Musselman said.

The added emphasis has produced more points, more assists and fewer turnovers. The Hogs had 16 assists and just eight turnovers Saturday.

And the faster pace is arriving at the perfect time. Non-conference games are officially in the rear-view mirror. Arkansas welcomes Auburn to Bud Walton Arena in its next game for the SEC opener. Despite some discouraging struggles over the first 13 games, the Hogs are confident the tides of their season are beginning to turn.

"Shoot, we’re ready," Davis said. "Hopefully we continue to prepare the way we prepared for this game. Prepare for the next game like we did for this game and I think we will be successful."

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas basketball rediscovers its fast pace with SEC play on the horizon