Hoop Hogs finally nearing full strength
The No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks have yet to play a game this season with everyone on the roster available, but that is looking very likely to happen Saturday.
Five-star freshman Nick Smith Jr. missed the first six games of the year due to right knee management, but he made his debut for the Hogs in Monday's 74-61 win over the Troy Trojans. Thought Smith returned, junior guard Davonte Davis was not with the team as he stepped away for personal reasons.
Davis announced Wednesday that he returned to the team, giving the Hogs a shot at the full roster being available for the game against San Jose State.
Senior forward Kamani Johnson said the Razorbacks will have a scary team at full strength.
"This team, we’re not even 100% yet and we’re not even clicking," Johnson said Thursday. "I know once everyone buys in, we’re almost there. Like, I’m telling you, we’re almost there, we’re almost to the clicking point and it’s going to be really scary when we are."
Smith played just six minutes in the game against Troy, and he is still rehabbing his way back. Head coach Eric Musselman said Smith is "100% in the fold" at practice now, but how much he will play in-game has yet to be determined.
Johnson said his biggest thing with Smith is trying to get the freshman star to be patient on his road back to the court.
"My thing with Nick is trying to keep him patient, trying to be like 'Nick, you're still coming back from this injury. You don't have to go full out yet,'" Johnson said. "But that kid is ready to go, though. You can't keep a dog in the cage for too long. You're going to have to let him out. He's going to be out soon for sure."
Musselman said he is looking forward to having a full roster and that the next two days of practice will be good for Smith and Davis. He also mentioned that he is pleased with how the team as a whole is practicing.
"I thought that our energy level yesterday, the pre-practice energy right now is good," Musselman said. "We have two games on this home-stand that we need to get ready to play, and play at a high level."
The Hogs will battle San Jose State starting at 3 p.m. CT Saturday at Bud Walton Arena. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.