One bright spot in the Arkansas (13-8, 2-6) basketball season has been the play of freshman forward Karter Knox, who has seen his game grow since he stepped on campus.
It was slow going for Knox when the season started, but in recent games he has become more of a factor in the Razorbacks' game plan. More than just spotting up as a 3-point shooter, Knox is learning to become an "attack dog."
"Probably the biggest factor for Karter is he’s learning," associate head coach Kenny Payne said Tuesday. "He’s learning the importance of being a defender. He’s done a great job in just only getting better from the beginning of the season to now to locking into defensive concepts, to getting rebounds, making passes, things that he’s never done before. He’s embracing that."
Coming out of high school, Knox was known as an electric scorer, as he averaged 23.1 points as a senior in the Overtime Elite system. Since he got to campus, he hasn't put up those kind of numbers, but his overall game has grown.
The former McDonald's All-American has become much more active on the boards and, instead of being more of a 3-point shooter, has learned to attack the basket.
That aggressiveness was a big help in the Hogs' first Southeastern Conference win of the season over Georgia on Jan. 22. Knox scored 13 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line, and had six rebounds to help Arkansas come back from down double-digits to beat the Bulldogs.
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"From the time that we all have watched him since high school, the one thing that I’ve always said and (John Calipari) has always said is that the kid has to be an attack dog," Payne said. "He’s 6-foot-6, 225 pounds. He’s mobile. He’s strong. He can put the ball on the floor and beat you off the dribble."
Becoming that attack dog was one of the big factors for the Razorbacks in their upset of Kentucky on Saturday. He scored 10 points, hit two threes and had a breakaway slam dunk that put the Hogs up 11 points midway through the second half.
Despite Knox's offensive play coming along throughout the season, Payne said the biggest thing about the freshman's development has been on the defensive side of the ball.
"He’s learning the importance of being a defender," Payne said. "He’s done a great job in just only getting better from the beginning of the season to now to locking into defensive concepts, to getting rebounds, making passes, things that he’s never done before. He’s embracing that. We know he can score, we need him to score, we need him to score in a multitude of ways, but to see him grow like this has been gratifying."
The Hogs will need Knox's best contributions in their next game, as they'll visit a Texas Longhorns team that has started to surge in recent games. Since starting 1-4 in SEC play, Texas has won three of its last four games and has a 4-5 record in league play.
"(Texas) rebounds the ball well," Payne said. "They’re good in transition. And any time you’re in trouble and the shot clock is running down and they’ve got a guy who scores it the way that Tre Johnson does, it makes it hard."
Tipoff for Wednesday's game is set for 8 p.m and it will air on ESPN2.
