Menifield Mojo Brings Energy, Pace To Rotation

The Washington transfer looked more like version expected on Thursday.

Author:
Jacob Davis
Publish date:
Dec 22, 2023 12:22 PM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.— At points during the first half, Arkansas looked like they were going through the motions against Abilene Christian Thursday night. The Razorbacks figured it out on their way to a 83-73 victory thanks to their newest edition, Keyon Menefield.

Turnovers were a huge part Arkansas' struggles yet again. The former Washington guard brought too much juice to the first 20 minutes with three turnovers adding to the even dozen the Hogs gave up.

Arkansas fell behind by seven at intermission, 35-28, on a last second three-pointer. However,the offense erupted to a 55-point second half with Menifield on the floor the whole time. He was everywhere, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and only one turnover.

He was the spark Arkansas missed the first 10 games. His speed, willingness to defend and lack of turnovers in the second half is the exact opposite the Razorbacks have received from the point guard position this season. The former Husky could be the difference for a stagnant Razorback team.

"Keyon just plays hard," Musselman said. "We’ve been asking our guards to rebound. Keyon goes in the game, he weighs less than me, and he has six rebounds, five defensive rebounds. Four of eight [shooting]. He still has a lot of rust on him. The ball moves, pace of play is quicker, 55 points in the second half compared to 28 in the first half. We doubled up our points by playing with way more pace.”

Musselman lives and breathes basketball at all times of the day. Being from the Wesr Coast, it’s no surprise that the head Hog was familiar with Menifield’s game.

“When he was at Washington, I kept waking Danyelle up saying ‘you’ve gotta watch this guy,’” Musselman said.

Electric is often overused as a way to describe a player like Menifield. However, his game is full of energy and desire and that’s how he wants to play.

“I just went out there and played my game,” Menifield said. “I went and attacked. If I have to shoot the ball or pass the ball, I just play my game. I feel like when I attack and get everybody involved, we play more as a team."

The Razorbacks were the best version of themselves with Menifield on the court. He was the most efficient player for Arkansas and Musselman made that known.

“We had a player go +21 in the game,” Musselman said. “That was Keyon Menifield. I was really pleased with him.”