After having six freshmen, including three one-and-dones, on last year's roster, Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman will have just two for the 2023-24 season.
The Razorbacks brought in a pair of talented four-star freshman in the 2023 class — guard Layden Blocker and center Baye Fall. All but one — Joseph Pinion — of the freshmen from last year are no longer with the team, and the rest of the squad is made up of older returning players and veteran transfers.
Though the team is much older and more experienced this year compared to last year, the two freshmen have proved to be very mature to this point. Arkansas' summer program finished Wednesday and Musselman said Tuesday that the team got a lot more installed this summer than they have in the past four years.
"You can do things a little bit differently and then we have more returners than we did in the past, as well," Musselman said. "So we’ve been able to accelerate some of our schemes. But there’s no comparison ever of teams other than the fact that what can this group execute and then move on to the next step or maybe a different phase."
Musselman said he's not having as much coaching frustration as he maybe had last year, and there's likely a correlation with that and having a more experienced roster. But, there is something to be said about the two freshmen picking things up quickly.
Blocker is a native of Little Rock, but he played his junior and senior years of high school ball with Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas. Blocker is a 6-foot-2, 180-pound point guard who helped Sunrise Christian reach the GEICO High School Nationals semifinals courtesy of a 46-45 quarterfinal win over #1 Montverde (Fla.) Academy.
"Layden has a really mature approach to how he conducts," Musselman said. "I don't know if I've ever been around a player his age who comes in pre-practice and goes to the weight room and starts stretching and getting himself mentally ready to practice. So, he's mature beyond what his age is, and he's a good leader on the floor. He's got point guard characteristics for sure."
A late arrival to summer practices, Fall brings an impressive resume with him. A native of Dakar, Senegal, Fall played for Accelerated Schools in Denver and he was a 2023 McDonald's All-American.
Fall played in the 2023 Nike Hoop Summit, the Grind Session All-Star Game and he was a participant in the National Basketball Players Association top-100 camp in 2022. At 6-foot-10, 210 pounds, Fall could contribute as a freshman.
"Baye got here a little bit later than some of the other guys," Musselman said. "He’s a very, very hard worker. Spends a lot of time on his own. Surprisingly can make threes at a much higher clip. Gotta continue to work on hands — catching the ball in traffic is an area that we want to continue to work with him on.
"Because he’s a freshman, he’s going to be playing a little bit of catch-up on understanding as we add stuff. Again, he came late, so I think anybody that isn’t here when some of the foundation stuff has been put in, you’re playing catch up, and certainly he falls into that."
Getting on the court will likely be tougher for Fall than Blocker, who could end up being in the rotation as a solid point guard. With veteran forwards Trevon Brazile, Jalen Graham and Makhi Mitchell back, Fall will have to start learning quickly to see significant minutes this season.
Arkansas will give fans a first look at the 2023-24 roster when it hosts Purdue for a charity exhibition in at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville on Oct. 28.
