Will Adding Top Transfer Guards Improve Hogs' 3-Point Woes?

Hogs struggled to shoot three's past two seasons at just over 30% of attempts beyond arc

Author:
Jacob Davis
Publish date:
Sep 27, 2023 7:00 AM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There's one constant on Arkansas' roster each season and that is the wealth of size on the perimeter. The Razorbacks' could have a guard flying under the radar that can rip it from the 3-point arc. Cincinnati transfer Jeremiah Davenport has experienced a solid four year career in the American Athletic Conference. Now, as a Hog, they hope he can find the stroke he possessed from his sopohomore and junior campaigns.

The 6-7 guard has shot 35% from three but connected on a career high 37% during his sophomore season. According to a Neil Meyer of Front Office Sports, Davenport was a beloved piece at his former school.

"[Davenport] is a high energy player and streaky shooter," said Meyer. "When he gets hot, he is hot."

The Hogs struggled very often beyond the arc over the past couple of seasons ranking in the 320's amongst college basketball. During the final five games of last season, Arkansas failed to shoot higher than 31% from deep as a team without making more than five in a single game in that stretch.

Despite being considered a streaky shooter throughout his career with the Bearcats, Davenport possesses plenty of confidence in his shooting ability. Against USF last season, he shot 4-9 from three on the night en-route to a decisive 84-65 win.

"[Davenport's] energy is contagious," Meyer said. "With his unlimited confidence he plays with is contagious and will fit Eric Musselman's approach perfectly."

Other big guards include Tramon Mark (6-foot-6) and Khalif Battle (6-foot-5). Both of them are transfers who were highly depended at their other stops. Mark was a defensive stalwart for the Houston Cougars over the past few seasons. He was a key Coog, starting 34 games for a team that was given a No. 1 seed in last year's NCAA Tournament. Known for his defense, the Dickinson, Texas, native was a solid option offensively averaging 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 2022-23 while shooting 39% from the field, 32.8% beyond the 3-point line and 78.4% at the free-throw line as a redshirt sophomore.

As for Battle, the Temple transfer is an elite offensive option possessing the ability to shoot the rock at all levels of the court. He has connected on 37% of his three point attempts while shooting 51% on two pointers. That cannot be understated since Musselman places an emphasis on drawing fouls. Free throw shooting will be very valuable and Battle did that extremely well — shooting 90% from the charity stripe last season.

With the Hogs hitting on just 412-1393 on 3 point attempts over the past two seasons it appears Arkansas has sufficient options at their disposal. Will fans see the return of the true pace and space game Musselman implemented his first two seasons in Fayetteville?