Arkansas Basketball: Razorbacks land two class of 2022 top-100 recruits
By Matt Melton
As the 2021-22 college basketball season draws near, the news surrounding the Class of 2022 on the recruiting trail is in full-force with Arkansas Basketball a massive winner so far during the month of July.
Arkansas Basketball has already had a phenomenal offseason up this point. After a run to the Elite 8 in late-March, the Razorbacks have signed head coach Eric Musselman to a five-year extension, as well as reloading by adding multiple high-profile transfers including Au’Diese Toney, Chris Lykes, and Stanley Umude.
Not to mention returning key players from a year ago including JD Notae, Davonte Davis, and Jaylin Williams, it’s clear that Arkansas will be deep with talent once again during the 2021-22 season. However, the Razorbacks appear to loading up for beyond as well.
Already holding a long-time commitment from 3-star SF and Arkansas-native Joseph Pinion, the Razorbacks have added two big commits to their 2022 class so far this month with the first coming early last week in 4-star SF Barry Dunning.
A 6’6 205 lb. small forward from Mobile, AL, Dunning is rated as a consensus 4-star recruit, as well as the No. 1 player in the state of Alabama. Coming off a phenomenal 2020-21 season at McGill-Toolen High School, Dunning was selected as the Alabama Gatorade High School Player of the Year.
While the one addition of Dunning would’ve clearly been enough, the Hogs landed the arguable biggest commit of their 2022 class on Wednesday in 4-star Arkansas-native Derrian Ford.
Ford, a combo guard from Magnolia, AR, is a consensus 4-star recruit as well. Rated as the No. 50 prospect in the country according to the 247Sports Composite, Ford is also the No. 3 player in the state of Arkansas.
With these two commitments, Arkansas has risen up to the No. 3 ranked recruiting class in the country. While it is currently unknown as to if the Razorbacks will add-on to this already impressive 2022 class, it’s clear that there is a lot of excitement surrounding the additions of Dunning and Ford, both of whom are excellent two-way players.
Next. Early winners of 2022 recruiting cycle. dark
Arkansas Basketball will receive a lot of attention based on the preseason roster alone going into the 2021-22 season, and rightfully so. However, the Razorbacks 2022 recruiting class composed of Pinion along with now two Top-100 overall players in Ford and Dunning should not go unnoticed.