HawgBeat Hoops Mailbag w/JC Hoops: 3/10

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Once again we continue our weekly mailbag series answering reader questions.

As always, every question posted on the HawgBeat premium message board, The Trough, is answered, while some of the ones from Twitter are. The questions have been fantastic lately, so keep up the good work down the home stretch of the season!

I think that can depend on volume and level of play. For instance, a high-volume, high major transfer I would say probably say 35% or better. Mid-major or low-major high-volume would probably need to be at least 38%.

Lower volume guys that designated shooters, three and D role players, or stretch fours should be pushing 40% or higher at any level.

The reason for the difference is that it is more likely the high major transfers will maintain their average having played against a similar level of competition. Playing high major college basketball is difficult for many reasons, but transferring up comes with an adjustment process. The defenses are better, the players are better and more athletic, and it's harder to get open.

Shooters have to constantly move to get open and wide open looks are few and far between. Players transferring from lower levels of division one might be accustomed to more open shots, so having to get off shots with minimal space could see percentages drop. For example, JD Notae shot 35.2% from three at Jacksonville over two seasons and 31.3% at Arkansas.

I still think he gets a hefty bonus and extension. The last two years speak for themselves, and he managed to make the tournament again this year. Obviously the expectations were much higher, but injuries started before the season even began, a couple of piece struggled to fit, shooting was worse than even anticipated, etc.

Part of the ailments are on Musselman, of course, as head coach, but he still navigated the challenges to get this team NCAA Tournament bound. The most likely reason the extension and raise will HAVE to happen, in addition to Musselman’s track record, is the fact that his buyout sits at $2 million currently, which is pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things. Especially when looking at major universities.

As far as staff changes, I don't necessarily foresee any, but there is always the chance that the NBA comes calling for Smart or Argenal gets another head coaching opportunity, but I think there should be some continuity from this year to next.

I think Arkansas matches up better against Texas A&M on a neutral floor than it does against Auburn. Both teams are familiar with each other - it’ll be their third matchup this season - and Texas A&M has gotten better as the year has gone on.

Arkansas went smaller against Auburn and it worked well, and I expect that to be the same against the Aggies. They don’t have a dominant post presence and are pretty slow-paced and guard-driven.

As long as the Razorbacks convert their offensive possessions they should win. Don’t turn the ball over and make free throws, mainly. The Aggies’ backcourt is very good, too, obviously, but Arkansas running the four of Davonte Davis, Nick Smith Jr., Anthony Black, and Ricky Council IV provides so much length and athleticism that teams with good guards can struggle with, evidenced by Auburn last night.

Something’s gotta give with the team’s splitting the regular season with the home team winning each, but I like Arkansas on a neutral floor.

It's all about finding the right balance. Having six true freshmen on the roster is tough, especially with three of them starting, because the team essentially goes as they go. That means the team deals with the growing pains, but also benefits from the immense talent.

The previous two teams had mixes of youth and experience, primarily the first Elite Eight team. Moses Moody led that team as a freshman, while Davonte Davis and Jaylin Williams were solid role players, but that team also had seniors Jalen Tate and Justin Smith.

Last year's team didn't have a true freshman in the main rotation, but did have a sophomore Davis along with seniors Notae, Au'Diese Toney, Stanley Umude, Trey Wade, and Chris Lykes.

This year is completely different. Three freshmen are in the main rotation, all starting multiple games this season, as well, with just a couple seniors in the Mitchell twins and a couple juniors in Davis and Ricky Council IV.

There is a place for high school recruits in Musselman's system, but there also needs to be a balance with experience to help the youngsters grow as well as minimize the growing pains.

Landing six freshmen all inside the Rivals150, leading to the second-ranked recruiting class nationally, is a huge selling point to the program and really elevates the Razorback brand, too. The way Arkansas ultimately landed six freshmen was somewhat unplanned and I doubt Musselman lands that many in a single class again.

Three of those freshmen are not in the main rotation, and while all three should be solid players in the program in the future, from the standpoint of looking at an overall roster building philosophy, those three spots would be better-filled by grad transfers for the immediate future.

That is NOT to say that signing the six freshmen was a mistake - they are all good players and will help the program - but moving forward I think the staff will focus more on landing just two or three top-tier recruits (like 2023 signees Layden Blocker and Baye Fall) and fill the rest of the roster with transfers. Some of those transfers could even be multi-year guys, like Notae, Kamani Johnson, and any of the other transfers on the current roster.

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