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Arkansas Basketball: Analyzing grad transfer commits for 2020-21 season

By Drew Schmelzer

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - NOVEMBER 30: Mascot of the Arkansas Razorbacks waves the flag before a game against the Northern Kentucky Norse at Bud Walton Arena on November 30, 2019 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - NOVEMBER 30: Mascot of the Arkansas Razorbacks waves the flag before a game against the Northern Kentucky Norse at Bud Walton Arena on November 30, 2019 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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FAYETTEVILLE, AR – FEBRUARY 15: Head Coach Eric Musselman of the Arkansas Razorbacks (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR – FEBRUARY 15: Head Coach Eric Musselman of the Arkansas Razorbacks (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Arkansas Basketball brings in a trio of grad transfers for next season. What do they bring to the team?

Arkansas Basketball won 20 games but went through some ups and downs in Head Coach Eric Musselman’s debut campaign. They were victorious in 12 of their first 13 against an average non-conference schedule, but then started 3-1 in SEC play, a positive sign for Arkansas fans. A 5- game February losing streak and injury to its second-best player Isaiah Joe (16.9 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 1.7 Ast) eventually sealed the Razorbacks fate, but all in all, a good start to the Musselman era considering the circumstances.

In the midst of a relatively successful season for the coaching staff, Mason Jones (22.0 Pts, 5.5 Reb, 3.4 Ast) increased his scoring average by eight points and surprised a lot of people, becoming the co-SEC Player of the Year.

Let’s fast forward to today. Because of Jones’ spectacular junior season, he is no longer with the program and awaiting an eventual selection in the upcoming NBA draft. Jimmy Whitt (14.0 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 2.2 Ast) and Adrio Bailey, two key contributors graduated and Reggie Chaney and Jalen Harris both transferred to Houston and Georgetown, seeking larger roles. Even if you didn’t know anything about the Razorbacks you can probably tell that next year’s team is going to look a lot different.

Expected to return, however, is the previously mentioned Joe. The latest mocks have him as a low-end Round 2 draft pick with risk of slipping out entirely, and the Hogs would love to see him again in the red and white jersey in 2020-21. There is one other returning contributor in Desi Sills (10.6 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 1.2 Ast) who will be very important in the transition of the incoming youth movement.

Joe and Sills will be welcomed back with open arms, but in typical Musselman fashion, he has armed Arkansas Basketball with a difference-making group of immediately eligible transfers that will compliment his touted freshman class nicely. With Joe and Sills back, the addition of talented newcomers, and Musselman’s demonstrated ability to fit pieces together quickly over the course of his career, Arkansas is going to be a contender in the SEC in 2020-21. What is the outlook on these Grad Transfers for the 2020-21 season?

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