Hoops Transfer Tracker: How former Hogs are doing at new schools
Here is an up-to-date look at where recent Arkansas basketball players have continued their collegiate careers…
Transferred This Offseason
Ethan Henderson - Texas A&M
Stats: 14 games/5 starts, 17.6 min., 2.9 pts. (64.3% FG, 44.4% FT), 3.5 reb.
In three seasons at Arkansas, Henderson showed glimpses of potential, but never found a steady spot in the rotation. His most playing time came as a sophomore in 2019-20, when he appeared in 20 games, including six starts, and averaged 9.2 minutes.
Following a second season under Eric Musselman, Henderson entered the portal and remained in the SEC by landing at Texas A&M. He came off the bench the first nine games, but has since made five straight starts for the Aggies. However, his playing time has stayed relatively the same, averaging just 17 minutes over that span.
Henderson will get at least two chances to face his former team, with the first coming Saturday in College Station. He’ll return to Fayetteville two weeks later for a matchup on Jan. 22.
Abayomi Iyiola - Hofstra
Stats: 10 games/8 starts, 21.5 min., 8.2 pts. (64.9% FG, 72.7% FT), 8.7 reb.
One player who’s already had his chance for revenge and made the most of it is Iyiola, who posted a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds in Hofstra’s upset win over the Razorbacks at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock. It is by far the 6-foot-9 forward’s best game of the season, as he’s followed it up with back-to-back 11-rebound games against Monmouth and William & Mary - games in which he scored just 9 and 5 points, respectively.
Originally a transfer from Stetson, Iyiola had to sit out his first year at Arkansas and then a torn ACL sidelined him for nearly all of last year, but he did manage to get on the court for two minutes at the end of a blowout win at South Carolina.
Vance Jackson Jr. - East Carolina
Stats: 12 games/12 starts, 27.1 min., 10.8 pts. (40.0% FG, 38.2% 3PT, 59.3% FT), 5.8 reb., 1.4 ast.
Now playing at his fourth school in six years, Jackson took advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA in response to the pandemic by transferring to East Carolina. He seems to be much closer to the player he was at New Mexico, averaging 10.8 points and shooting 38.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Even with a bad performance against Gardner-Webb mixed in, Jackson has played really well the last five games. He’s averaging 15.6 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 47.1 percent from deep over that stretch, including a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double against Liberty.
A former top-100 recruit, Jackson began his career at UConn and spent a few years at New Mexico before ending up at Arkansas. Unfortunately, he didn’t live up to expectations with the Razorbacks, averaging just 3.8 points in 11.6 minutes. He played just 4.6 minutes in his last 10 games and didn’t even get off the bench the last five games of the year.
*Akol Mawein - Oklahoma
Stats: 6 games/0 starts, 3.8 min., 1.0 pts. (3/5 FG), 1.3 reb.
Although he’s not technically a transfer, we included Mawein in this piece because he did sign with the Razorbacks. The JUCO transfer was let out of his NLI, though, and instead followed former assistant coach David Patrick to Oklahoma. He’s been limited to mop-up duty with the Sooners, playing 23 total minutes across six games. Mawien did not play in Oklahoma’s 22-point win over Arkansas in Tulsa last month.
Desi Sills - Arkansas State
Stats: 13 games/12 starts, 27.4 min., 14.2 pts. (47.4% FG, 21.4% 3PT, 72.6% FT), 2.9 reb., 3.1 ast., 2.1 stl.
In three seasons with the Razorbacks, Sills was a key player and mostly beloved by the fan base for his style of play. He made 47 career starts, including 24 as a sophomore in 2019-20, when he averaged 10.6 points in 31.2 minutes.
However, Sills’ playing time dipped in his second season under Musselman and he opted to transfer. Originally committing to Auburn, he eventually ended up back in his hometown of Jonesboro, landing at Arkansas State. The only time he’s come off the bench was following a 3-point effort against Texas Tech, but he’s scored in double figures in 10 of 13 games for the Red Wolves.
Bryson Morehead - Texas-Permian Basin (DII)
Stats: 4 games/0 starts, 1.5 min., 0.5 pts. (1/3 FG, 0/1 3PT)
A walk-on from Katy, Texas, Morehead appeared in three games as a freshman at Arkansas last season. He entered the portal and landed at UT-Permian Basin, a Division II school in his home state. Through the Falcons’ first 12 games, Morehead has played a total of six minutes across four appearances in mop-up duty.
Emeka Obukwelu - Northeastern State (DII)
Stats: 13 games/13 starts, 30.1 min., 17.2 pts. (52.3% FG, 80.4% FT), 8.5 reb., 1.7 ast.
Taking advantage of the NCAA’s pandemic-related eligibility relief, Obukwelu - who spent three years at Arkansas as a walk-on after beginning his career at Division III UT-Tyler - decided to transfer down a level and play his sixth season of college ball at Northeastern State, a Division II program in Oklahoma.
The 6-foot-8 forward averaged a double-double through the RiverHawks’ non-conference slate, but has seen his production dip slightly in conference play. He’s averaged 14.9 points and 6.4 rebounds over the last seven games.
Previous Transfers
Reggie Chaney - Houston
Stats: 13 games/10 starts, 13.6 min., 4.1 pts. (75.0% FG, 52.4% FT), 2.4 reb.
In his two seasons with the Razorbacks, Chaney started nine games and was a significant contributor off the bench. However, after his sophomore season - his first under Musselman - he decided to transfer, as his minutes dipped significantly down the stretch.
Playing for a Houston team that reached the Final Four, Chaney started 13 games last year. So far this season, he’s started 10 of 13 games, but is averaging just 13.6 minutes.
Keyshawn Embery-Simpson - Tulsa
Stats: 12 games/4 starts, 19.1 min., 3.6 pts. (34.9% FG, 34.5% 3PT, 75.0% FT), 0.8 reb., 1.3 ast.
Embery-Simpson was a four-star prospect in the Class of 2018 and a key contributor off the bench his freshman year at Arkansas. He entered the portal just two days after Mike Anderson was fired and moved back home to play at Tulsa.
In his first season eligible to play with the Golden Hurricane, Embery Simpson started 16 of 23 games and averaged 7.3 points. To start this season, he started four of the first five games, but has since moved to a bench role. In Tulsa’s first two AAC games, he has a combined 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 31 minutes.
RJ Glasper - Arkansas Tech/Oral Roberts/Incarnate Word
Stats: 13 games/10 starts, 32.8 min., 13.8 pts. (40.6% FG, 34.5% 3PT, 88.2% FT), 2.9 reb., 2.8 ast.
A prolific scorer from Forrest City, Glasper initially chose to walk-on at Arkansas, but missed his entire freshman season because of shoulder surgery. He then transferred to Arkansas Tech, where he scored more than 1,500 points in three seasons, before deciding to give Division I ball another shot by transferring to Oral Roberts.
Glasper averaged 11.0 points for the Golden Eagles, but an injury sidelined him the final six weeks of the season. Using his extra year of eligibility, he once again entered the portal and landed at Incarnate Word. Listed at 6 feet tall at his last three stops - two inches taller than he was on the UA roster in 2016-17 - Glasper has continued to score at a high level with the Cardinals, as he is their leading scorer.
Darious Hall - DePaul/Central Arkansas
Stats: 14 games/14 starts, 27.9 min., 13.1 pts. (49.7% FG, 33.3% 3PT, 76.7% FT), 7.6 reb., 2.4 ast.
Despite starting five games his freshman year at Arkansas, Hall entered the portal and landed at DePaul. After sitting out a year, the Little Rock Mills product appeared in 50 games with 16 starts for the Big East program and averaged 4.6 points and 4.4 rebounds.
Following last season, Hall entered the portal again and ended up coming back closer to home to Central Arkansas, where he seems to be thriving. He’s leading the Bears in scoring and rebounding, plus is second in assists. Playing against his former team last month, Hall had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in UCA’s 37-point loss to the Razorbacks.
Justice Hill - Salt Lake C.C./Murray State
Stats: 13 games/13 starts, 27.5 min., 12.9 pts. (49.2% FG, 46.6% 3PT, 76.0% FT), 1.5 reb., 4.6 ast.1.2 stl.
His unusual tenure at Arkansas lasted only one semester as a midyear enrollee and featured rumors of possibly playing football, but Hill has enjoyed success on the court since leaving Fayetteville. He was an NJCAA first-team All-American at Salt Lake C.C. and signed with Murray State, one of the top mid-major programs in the country.
Now in his second season with the Racers, Hill is the team’s starting point guard and has an impressive 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio while also being the third-leading scorer at 12.9 points per game. He managed just 8 points and no assists against Auburn last month, but bounced back by dropping 26 points with 5 assists and only one turnover in Murray State’s conference-opener against Southeast Missouri State.
Gabe Osabuohien - West Virginia
Stats: 12 games/0 starts, 16.8 min., 4.3 pts. (51.2% FG, 29.6% FT), 4.8 reb., 1.7 ast., 1.3 stl.
Now in his third season at West Virginia, using his extra year of eligibility, Osabuohien has been a staple in Bob Huggins’ rotation. He is the second guy off the bench for the Mountaineers and continues to do a lot of the non-scoring things he did even at Arkansas.
The difference, though, is he seems to understand his role better at West Virginia than when he played under Anderson. After attempting 30 his sophomore year with the Razorbacks, Osabuohien has taken just 9 total 3-pointers over the last three seasons.
He’ll get a chance at revenge when the Mountaineers visit Bud Walton Arena on Jan. 29 for the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Jordan Phillips - Texas-Arlington/Detroit Mercy
Stats: 1 game/0 starts, 17 min., 4 pts. (2/6 FG, 0/2 3PT, 0/1 FT), 2 reb.
A Rivals150 prospect coming out of high school, Phillips was limited by offseason meniscus surgery and then appeared in just seven games at Arkansas before deciding to transfer. He landed back home at Texas-Arlington and played in 57 games over the last two seasons.
This offseason, he briefly declared for the NBA Draft before withdrawing, entering the portal again and eventually ended up at Detroit Mercy. After missing the first 10 games of the season while awaiting to be declared eligible by the NCAA, Phillips finally made his season debut against Central Michigan on Dec. 17, scoring 4 points in 17 minutes.
The Titans’ last three games have been canceled, but are scheduled to return to action Friday.