Lake Outing Looks Fun for Hogs' Basketball, Has Scary Moment

Videos remind importance of team chemistry, keeping everyone healthy, serves as huge recruiting tool for Eric Musselman

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Jul 31, 2023 4:25 AM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Last week when a video of the Arkansas basketball team hamming it up on an area lake popped up on social media, the initial thought was "Well, good for those guys. They need a good chance to naturally build team chemistry away from the basketball court."

But as soon as the inflatable three Razorbacks were riding dipped to one side at full speed, sending the faces of all three skipping across the water in the blink of an eye with bodies tumbling feet over head, arms and legs flailing while piling bodies on top of one another in the middle of the lake, the dad instinct in me triggered. When the players on the boat are in shock and saying it looked like it hurt, you know there's a little cause for concern. Did we just watch a quarter of the team get wiped off the roster?

Clearly not, or not only would everyone have already heard about it by now, it wouldn't have been included in the video. Seconds later, a series of shots showing Trevon Brazile enjoying life on a jet ski can be seen. For most people, seeing this wouldn't generate any worry. Then again, I've lived a different life than a lot of people.

A few hours after high school officially ended for me and my classmates, a long convoy wound its way through northern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to the Florida panhandle for a week of fun in the sun on the beaches of Panama City. A good 95% were Class of '96 Warren Lumberjacks. However, there was a non-graduate or two who tagged along and one particular gentleman who was what I assume to be a graduate, just not from any year near our class.

I don't recall his name after all these years. Instead, I remember him as the living embodiment of Matthew McConaughey's debut character, Wooderson, that made him famous from "Dazed and Confused." No idea why he was there. He just seemed to always be around.

So as everyone went into the hotel lobby to get rooms sorted out and luggage unloaded, Wooderson wandered over to a jet ski rental and disappeared. Before we could even get into the rooms, someone started shouting about an accident. It turned out that in what had to be less than two minutes after renting the jet ski, he hit a wave the wrong way and jammed the handle bar into his throat. I don't recall if it literally punctured his throat or there was a surgery, but I remember one of the girls who went on the trip talking about an actual hole in his throat at some point.

That's why seeing Brazile on the jet ski set off warning bells. Obviously, people can't live in fear, and it would be wrong of Musselman to roll him up in bubble wrap. However, the last thing anyone wants to see is Brazile get injured. Not only was his injury key to lowering the odds of the Razorbacks making it back to the Elite 8 last season, but he's a generally likable young man who deserves a shot at living his dream in the NBA. The imaginable is possible with him and Davonte Davis together this season. Without Brazile, we already know what that drop-off looks like.

It definitely looks like the rest of Arkansas missed out on a great time. Moments like what those guys were experiencing matter more than anyone could know. That not only includes what happens on the court, but also what happens in recruiting. The video is worth a million times more than some generic fly through of a shiny, empty locker room or another highlight reel. That's life. That's guys having fun. It's also selling Arkansas in a way a lot of other schools couldn't if they wanted.

Just be careful. Athletes are a lot less interesting to cover when they're sitting two rows back in a cast. It's also hard to sell your likeness when half of it is floating across the surface of the like because you face planted at 40 miles an hour.

But it did look fun. So much fun.