Hoop Hogs working through injuries ahead of Fordham game
After being without highly-touted freshman Nick Smith Jr. in their first game of the season Monday, the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks now have few other injuries to worry about.
Smith missed the season-opening 76-58 win over North Dakota State due to "right knee management", and head coach Eric Musselman said Smith's availability for Friday's game against Fordham is not looking good.
"It's day to day," Musselman said. "He's not going to practice today. He's not going to practice tomorrow. So, I would anticipate he's not going to play. I think we kind of leave that up to the trainer and Nick, but the anticipation is right now is that we have to worry about trying to get these other guys that did play as close to being healthy as possible."
Musselman did mention that Smith, who was that only Hog to not dress out, did a great job of cheering his team on during Monday's game.
"Nick was probably too engaged during the game at the end of the bench," Musselman said. "The referee kept telling guys to sit down. Finally, I went down there and said who are they talking about, and four or five guys pointed to Nick.
Along with Smith, Musselman added some other names that are banged up.
Wichita State transfer Ricky Council IV, who led the team with 22 points against NDSU, is dealing with an elbow injury.
After recording a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds against the Bison on Monday, Missouri transfer Trevon Brazile has been dealing with a rolled ankle.
Freshman point guard Anthony Black had to be helped off the court during the game on Monday, but he eventually returned later on. Musselman added Black to the list of players that he doesn't know about yet.
"How it looks over the next 48 hours before Friday’s game, I don’t know," Musselman said. "I know that we’re down 3-4 guys today in practice. Until I get off with the media I won’t know who is suiting up for practice, but I certainly know because I got an e-mail this morning and have some conversations with our trainer that there are four guys who will not be going full court today and will be limited at best to some half-court situations."
No matter who is on the court, the Hogs will be expected to win Friday's matchup against Fordham.
"I think with anybody in any sport, it's about who is healthy, who's available, how do we make this thing work and how do we get a win?," Musselman said.
The Hogs and Rams will tipoff at 7 p.m. CT inside Bud Walton Arena. The game will be streamed on the SEC Network Plus.