Connor Vanover's 3-point percentage took a dive in Arkansas's Wednesday night road victory over Auburn, but the 7-foot-3 big man found other ways to fill the stat sheet.
After going 11-27 from three to start the season in non-conference play, Vanover shot 1 for 6 from deep against the Tigers, instead finding other ways to tally the team's third highest point total with 17. It was his second-highest total of this season, following the 23-point game versus MVSU, and fourth most points scored in his young career.
"He was awesome. He was our third-leading scorer in just 26 minutes of play, and he did it without the three ball," Musselman said after the 97-85 win. "He did a really good job of going 6 of 6 from the foul line. He had three offensive rebounds, a blocked shot. I thought he was really, really, really good for us around the rim. I thought he did a phenomenal job at pick and rolls. He’s a guy who communicates the right message to his teammates and guys love playing with him."
The versatile Little Rock native is showing that he can't be put in a box and opponents need to prepare for him to attack in multiple ways, including drawing fouls and knocking down free throws.
Vanover has had a few big minute games already this season but he still played five minutes above his average on Wednesday night, helping fill the hole left by Justin Smith who went down with an ankle injury after 12 minutes played.
Desi Sills who put up a career-high 23 points against Auburn was pleased with Vanover's performance. He noted that when his fellow Arkansan is knocking down shots as well, he can be one of the most dangerous big men in the conference.
"I feel like Connor did great," Sills said. "We need Connor to knock down shots, we need Connor to rebound, we need Connor to play pick-and-rolls. I feel like he did a wonderful job tonight."
Vanover wasn't too high or too low on his big night after the game.
"I did some good things. I did some bad things," Vanover said. "I really just need to pick up on my shooting. Going 1 for 6 or whatever from 3 is not really my game. So I definitely need to hit more shots. But I really think that helped me to open up my inside game. Being more of a cutter and a slasher and making shots inside got me to the free throw line a couple times. I think putting those two together, I’ve got to really focus on that. Because that will be a big threat of being able to shoot outside and be able to be inside."
The sophomore forward is now 50% from the field, 36% from three and a perfect 12-12 from the charity stripe.
