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Published Oct 20, 2019
Led by Joe, Hogs use barrage of 3s to take down UALR
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Andrew Hutchinson  •  HawgBeat
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FAYETTEVILLE — A conversation Eric Musselman had over dinner the night before Sunday’s exhibition proved to be prophetic.

The first-year Arkansas coach invited former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Aubrey McCreary to watch a few practices in a consultant role and he only needed to see a couple to give Musselman a piece of advice ahead of his debut game.

Fifteen, the NBA coach randomly said. Confused, Musselman asked him what he meant. That’s how many three balls you’re going to need Isaiah to take.

McCreary was likely referring to the regular season, but Isaiah Joe put that theory to the test the first chance he got. The sophomore guard made 8 of 17 shots beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 25 points to lead the Razorbacks to a 79-64 win over UALR.

His performance caught the attention of Darrell Walker, the Trojans’ second-year head coach who was an All-American at Arkansas in the early 1980s before a 10-year NBA career.

“I told the young fella that he’s got a chance to play at the next level,” Walker said. “I told him he needed to stay in the weight room and I told him he had to learn how to pump fake and put that ball on the floor two or three hard dribbles and raise up and shoot it.

“Once he does that, he’s going to have a chance, a legitimate chance. He’s on the NBA’s radar already.”

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