Hoop Hogs crack ESPN's way-too-early top 10
With three full seasons and three NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in the books during the Eric Musselman era at Arkansas, there is every reason to believe the Razorbacks will be right back in the thick of things come 2024.
ESPN staff writer Jeff Borzello updated his Way-Too-Early Top 25 on Saturday, and the Hoop Hogs took a bit of a tumble from No. 8 in the last version, but they did not fall out of the top 10.
Arkansas checked in at No. 10 on the list that included four other SEC teams — Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Texas A&M. Only the Volunteers sit ahead of the Razorbacks at No. 7.
Borzello projects an Arkansas starting lineup consisting of three transfers and two returners while acknowledging three key pieces that could find their way into mix should they find themselves in Fayetteville this fall.
"Do either Jordan Walsh or Devo Davis come back?" Borzello wrote. "Can Musselman land five-star recruit Ron Holland, who recently de-committed from Texas?"
While the first two will have to wait until after next month's NBA Draft to determine the direction of their basketball careers, Holland is a hot commodity that several schools are in pursuit of in the meantime. HawgBeat's Jackson Collier put in a FutureCast for Arkansas to land Holland on Sunday.
Until those three make their decisions, Borzello is counting on the following starting lineup: returning forwards Trevon Brazile and Makhi Mitchell to go along with transfer guards Keyon Menifield, Khalif Battle and Tramon Mark, formerly of Washington, Temple and Houston, respectively.
Plenty of other outlets put the Hogs in their way-too-early top-25 rankings the week of the NCAA championship game but have yet to update them like ESPN. Among them are NCAA.com (No. 21), Sports Illustrated (No. 19), FOX Sports (No. 9) and The Sporting News (No. 7).
As the offseason progresses and the Razorbacks cement their roster for next season, HawgBeat will have you covered with the most recent moves with the Razorback Basketball roster tracker.