Arkansas Basketball: Projected rotation and minutes for 2022-23 season

Small forward

Projected starter: Anthony Black (17) mpg)

When looking at the most versatile players in the 2022 recruiting class, Black may be No. 1 in that category. He’s a 6’7 guard that has been playing mostly at point in the past couple of years but is very comfortable playing anywhere on the perimeter. Black has the size and length to defend positions 1-4 and is a capable ball-handler on offense.

Arkansas can play three-guard lineups with Black and even though he likely won’t run the offense, his presence will allow the offense to run through multiple players and force opposing defenses to not focus solely on Smith. His offense is still growing so even though he likely won’t average double figures, Black could have a bunch of games with 5+ points, rebounds, and assists in a number of games.

Reserve: Jordan Walsh (15 mpg), Ricky Council (8 mpg) – In case of emergency/injury: Barry Dunning

Council can definitely get minutes at the wing in case the Razorbacks need to have more offense on the court without sacrificing size. And that goes the same with Jordan Walsh, the third five-star commit in the class and another 6’7 forward with plenty of size. The difference with Walsh is that he’s a combo forward that is offensively gifted and can score from anywhere.

Walsh is more than capable of playing some small-ball power forward and can defend at a solid level as well. Black is more of the swiss army knife between them so he and Walsh are interchangeable but next to Smith, Walsh may have the highest ceiling offensively as an individual.