Would It Have Been Best for Both Parties if Smith Had Continued Sitting Out?

Highly touted freshman possibly hurting NBA draft stock while dysfunctional-looking team played better while he was rehabbing

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Feb 22, 2023 10:53 PM EST

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The question actually is starting to look legitimate for Arkansas now.

After recording zero positive statistics in a blown opportunity against Texas A&M, you have to wonder why Nick Smith is even dressing out.

For whatever reasons, Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman kinda looks like he's dodging questions about the highly-touted freshman who really hasn't done much after playing in North Little Rock against Bradley on Dec. 17 last year.

For a guy still expected to be a first-round pick in the NBA Draft in the summer, why not take off the extra five games and start getting ready for that? He's already taken off the biggest part of the most important SEC schedule.

He hasn't done much in the 16 minutes against Mississippi State or his four minutes against Texas A&M that wouldn't have looked better in a workout for the scouts.

Musselman has to be either hoping he works through all that and plays up to his billing or all this drama just gets out of the way.

After the loss to the Aggies Wednesday night, he dodged both questions about Smith:

On Smith being good to go physically: "We’re just trying to win a game and keep our season alive," he said, which really didn't have a thing to do with the question.

On Smith being ready for a game like that: "We’re just going to try to keep working everybody in, and, you know ...," he said. That was good as he could do at the time.

What all this dodging does is give the impression Musselman thinks his hands are tied and there is no good decision to make.

Maybe it's recruiting public relations. He doesn't want it to appear they kicked a big recruit off the team simply by being injured. With Trevon Brazile out and nobody consistently able to score at crunch time, he needs all the boost he can get.

The hope may simply be that Smith rounds into playing like a first-round NBA draft choice by tournament time, but if they don't make the NCAA, will he even try to play the postseason in an NIT spotlight?

That's a grown man's decision and could involve a lot of people tugging from various directions or mapping out someone else's future, whether they like it or not.

Unless the nasty money word somehow comes into play, and that opens up so many other questions it would take too long to even throw all those possibilities out there, it's all speculation.

Of course, speculation is the only thing that's been consistent as this season has played out.

Everybody has spent a few months talking more about a guy who isn't playing for whatever reasons than focusing on the players who are on the floor.

Whether that's at the root of everything is something only Musselman can answer.

And he's apparently not talking.