Arkansas lands graduate transfer Justin Smith from Indiana
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Eric Musselman has dipped into the transfer portal to bolster his roster yet again.
Former Indiana forward Justin Smith announced he would play his final season of eligibility at Arkansas via Twitter on Monday. As a graduate transfer, he’ll be immediately eligible.
In three seasons with the Hoosiers, Smith started 73 of 98 games while averaging 8.4 points and 4.3 rebounds. He is coming off his best year yet, as he started every game and averaged 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.
Smith originally declared for the NBA Draft, but withdrew his name and instead decided to pursue transfer opportunities. Numerous high-major programs - including Georgetown, Illinois, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Purdue and others - reportedly contacted him before he settled on the Razorbacks.
A four-star recruit and No. 119 overall prospect in the Class of 2017, the 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward out of Lincolnshire (Ill.) Stevenson signed with Indiana over offers from Florida State, North Carolina State, Stanford, Villanova and several others.
He is the third transfer Arkansas has landed this offseason, joining Vance Jackson from New Mexico and Jalen Tate from Northern Kentucky.
Much like those two players, Musselman was familiar with Smith before he ever entered the portal. Last December, he had six points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes in Indiana’s 71-64 loss to the Razorbacks. In two matchups with Arkansas the year before, Smith combined for just three points and one rebound in 27 minutes.
By adding Smith, all 13 of the Razorbacks’ scholarships for the 2020-21 season are accounted for - assuming Isaiah Joe remains in the NBA Draft. If he withdraws, they’d be one over the limit and another player would need to transfer out of the program.
If Joe doesn’t come back and the roster remains as it’s currently constructed, only three of Arkansas’ scholarship players - Desi Sills, Ethan Henderson and Reggie Chaney - will have experience playing for the Razorbacks.
The other 10 include four Rivals150 signees, three transfers who had to sit out last season and three graduate transfers.
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