UPDATE: Early Signing Day Quietly Passes Hogs By, But Movement Has Begun in 2023 Class

What does that mean for Arkansas Razorback basketball recruiting

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Nov 11, 2022 7:24 PM EST
Original:
Nov 10, 2022

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The early signing day for college basketball came and went and Razorback fans barely noticed.

Lost in the excitement of breaking in last year's overstuffed box of goodies that came through the recruiting process, Wednesday's early signing date failed to hit fans' radar screen because there was nothing to see.

Currently, only one recruit is committed to Arkansas, albeit a very good one in 5-star point guard Layden Blocker. He is currently scheduled to sign Saturday if everything goes to plan.

Razorback coach Eric Musselman was in hard on 5-star point forward Ron Holland, but the Duncanville product and former teammate of current Razorback Anthony Black opted to commit to Texas. It should be noted that Holland didn't sign early either, so there's technically still a glimmer of hope as the basketball season unfolds.

So while everyone knows Musselman is always keen on filling his roster with transfer talent, who is left on the market as potential Razorback high school recruits?

Baye Fall, a 5-Star center from Accelerated Prep Academy in Denver, is next in the list of potential candidates. Fall most recently visited back on Sept. 30.

However, Arkansas is going to be in a tough battle with Auburn for his services. Fall visited the Bruce Pearl's Tigers this summer and again a little over a week ago.

In a bit of an odd coincidence, Wes Flanigan of Arkansas high school basketball royalty is his lead recruiter for Auburn.

Fellow Accelerated Prep Academy center Assane Diop is the only other possible commit from a long list of public Razorback offers. Of the other 18 known recruits with official offers, seven are already hard commits, eight are signed with other teams and three opted to turn pro.

As of right now, it appears Fall and Diop might announce their plans next Tuesday at a scheduled press conference. Multiple people from the Denver area have reached out, which is a good sign, but there is never anything to officially report on high school recruits until there's a formal announcement.

There are several Top 150 players who would have made sense for Arkansas to make a run at based on geographic location, local ties and general fit, but considering Arkansas has only four definite spots available in this next recruiting class, Musselman has the luxury of being ultra selective with his offers.

The Razorbacks will most likely have six scholarships when everything unfolds at the end of the season. It's reasonable to expect at least 2-3 of those to be filled by the transfer portal.

Also in consideration is a weaker than normal recruiting class in the state. Arkansas is typically loaded, which is exemplified by the number of Top 100 recruits in the state lat year.

However, the only player in the state getting national push is Blytheville's Rashaud Marshall.

There are no reports of the four-star center who would probably play a different position in college being offered by Arkansas. He is currently committed to Ole Miss.

There are some fun names to toss around. Probably the most prominent is Bronny James, a 4-star combo guard from Los Angeles looking to make is own name while is the dark shadow of his future NBA Hall of Fame father Lebron James.

Normally Arkansas wouldn't be a team that would consider itself a possibility in this instance, but with back-to-back Top 10 finishes and Musselman's California connections and clear ability to relate to and understand celebrities, the Razorbacks can't be completely ruled out.

One thing is for certain. Next year's team will look dramatically different as that's Musselman's biggest calling card.

Because of that, while there may be nothing for Razorback fans to open this holiday season, it's an easy bet there will be plenty of new toys come mid-April.