Arkansas Basketball: Can Daniel Gafford lead the young Razorbacks back to the Big Dance?

Team Building for Arkansas

The SEC could be the most hotly contested conference in the country this season and for a team with three NCAA Tournament appearances in the last four seasons, such roster turnover keeping that success going may prove difficult even for a team that won 23 games last season.

Gafford knows even as a sophomore he will be looked upon as a leader and that is something he is ready for. “I’ve been working hard at it, focusing on the right things so I can lead by example and I’m ready for every part of it.” He says of being a leader.

“It was a tough decision, I had to talk to my mom and dad a lot. It’s going to lead to me being more mature, getting more experience on leading the team.” Gafford said about his decision to return to Arkansas.

Gafford knows that this time before practice can be crucial for such a young team. He says, “It’s a limited amount of time that we have, we have to use it to get to know each other more on the court and off the court because if we know more of each other we’ll have better chemistry as we go on in the season.”

In order to build that chemistry Gafford says the team is spending a lot of time together. “We play pick up every now and then and off the court, we hang out, we go to the movies, we go bowling, we go out to eat.”

In order for the team to earn a bid, Harris will be a key. Harris may be new to the Razorback family but his one of the few that has Division I experience and that is going to be invaluable this season. “He can bring speed, he dishes the ball. He’s a facilitator that we need, he knows how to get a bucket if we need one. He does everything.” Says Gafford.