Ricky Council IV emerging as go-to scorer for Hoop Hogs
Following a 27-point showing in Monday's 74-61 win over Troy, Arkansas guard Ricky Council IV is now the SEC's leading scorer, averaging 20.1 points per game.
The transfer from Wichita State has not scored less than 15 points in a game this season, and he's led Hogs in scoring in four of the first seven games.
Head coach Eric Musselman said Council became the go-to guy for Arkansas during the team's trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational last week.
"Ricky in Maui became our go-to guy," Musselman said. "He’s really tough to stop going to the basket, and then he draws free throws attempted. And then his mid-range pull-up game, he rises over people."
During the win over Troy, Council took over offensively down the stretch. When Arkansas went on a 17-0 run late in the second half, Council scored 11 of those points. Of his 27 total points in the game, 19 came in the final 20 minutes.
Three of his points came on a 3-pointer that was shot all the way from Little Rock and it gave the Hogs a four-point lead and all of the momentum.
Council said after the game that a shot like that was something he did a lot last season at Wichita State, when he was named AAC Sixth Man of the Year. He averaged 12 points per game for the Shockers last year and he led the team in scoring on 10 occasions.
The former three-star prospect has bloomed into a starter and an elite scorer for the Razorbacks. He was reluctant to brag on himself Monday night.
"I just wanted to get downhill because I was shooting too many threes," Council said. "I remember I think the last three I took before I actually hit one, Coach was like, ‘Rack the ball, rack the ball,’ so I was like, ‘All right.’ I started driving and if they step up, I’m going to dish it. If not, I’m going to finish. That just led to me getting going."
Over the last three games, Council has only scored 17 points in the first half (5.7 avg.), but has scored 48 in the second half over the last three games (16.0 avg.).
He was asked after the win over the Trojans if there is a switch that he can just flip at anytime. He said being aggressive at the rim was why he found so much success.
"I just kept attacking the rim and it was coming to me, honestly," Council said. "The only thing I was worried about was them taking charges. They took a lot of charges on us. So I was just reading the defense and finishing at a high rate tonight."
The native of Durham, North Carolina, is performing at a high level for Arkansas, but he's also having fun doing it.
"He’s playing with a lot of confidence and he’s playing with a lot of energy and he’s playing with a lot of joy," Musselman said. "Even my daughter, she’s not really into basketball, but she even said the other night how fun it looks like Ricky has playing the game."
Part of the fun was put on display when Council drove the court without hesitation and jammed home a thunderous dunk that was the No. 2 play on the SportsCenter Top 10 Monday evening.
Whenever freshman Nick Smith Jr. is able to be at full-go — he's still coming back from a knee injury — Council's offensive production will likely drop to some degree. Smith made his season debut against Troy, but he played just six minutes.
Offensive production was a question mark coming into the season, and it still is at times during games, including Monday against Troy. But, Council has stepped up and produced scoring when it's needed the most.
The Hogs will hit the hardwood again at 3 p.m. Saturday when they host San Jose State at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.