Anthony Black-Jordan Walsh-Vanderbilt — Jan 14, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Jordan Wright (4) battles with Arkansas Razorbacks guard Jordan Walsh (13) and guard Anthony Black (0) for a rebound during the first half at Memorial Gymnasium. (Christopher Hanewinckel / USA TODAY Sports)

Three Huge Names in Transfer Portal with Ties to Razorbacks

Watching Musselman shop for new additions to Arkansas roster should be interesting

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Mar 29, 2023 5:20 PM EDT
Original:
Mar 28, 2023

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – If Arkansas fans are cracking open the transfer portal list for the first time today, their eyes are wide open with excitement at the possibilities.

Three names that immediately jump off the page are Kentucky's Sahvir Wheeler, Vanderbilt's Jordan Wright and Oregon's Kel'el Ware.

Considering the need Arkansas has for true size, Ware, at 7'0", has to be back on the Eric Musselman's radar once again. Ware is a North Little Rock product who proved early in the season he can produce in big games.

The freshman McDonald's All-American put up 18 points and nine rebounds against UConn in the Phil Knight Invitational. He also dropped 17 and 9 on Michigan State and 13 and 7 on Villanova.

However, as the season pushed toward the end, things got really messy in Oregon.

Ware's coach, Dana Altman, known famously around Arkansas for his one day as head coach of the Razorbacks, lost it on the fan base. Angry over the last of fan support within the basketball program, he offered to be fired if that was the problem.

Having attended one of the best supported high schools in the country in terms of basketball while growing up in one of the most college basketball fevered areas in America, such indifference to the program must have been a shock to the system. With things so unstable in Eugene and his draft stock not rising into first round status, it wasn't a shock to see his name in the portal.

What was a surprise was the departure of Wheeler at Kentucky.

Wheeler came to John Calipari's team after two years in Georgia. What ensued were two years of solid play as he started 43 games while averaging over 10 points and right at seven assists per game.

At 5'9", 180, Wheeler is a little small. However, Musselman has already proven he can maximize a player against the phyiscal line-ups in the SEC with Miami's Chris Lykes a couple of years ago at only 5'7".

With Musselman trending toward longer athletes, Wheeler might not fit the current mold. However, if there is going to be an exception made, Wheeler definitely qualifies.

The most intriguing possibility of the three is Wright. At 6-6, 220 pounds, he fits the mold of what Musselman had identified as his prototypical guard as of late.

Wright's intriguing because Vanderbilt developed a strong level of dislike for Musselman's Razorbacks during his time in Nashville. This past season things almost got completely out of hand in a highly contentious game during which Wright hit Arkansas for 17 points.

Known originally as Scottie Pippen, Jr.'s Scottie Pippen to Pippen's Jordan, Wright took on more of a leadership role this past season in guiding the Commodores to their best season in a long time.

There were plenty of arguments about the number of high quality wins Vanderbilt had racked up when it came time to select NCAA Tournament teams and a big reason for those wins was Wright. He's truly a big game, bright spotlight player.

In addition to the big game against Arkansas, he put up 23 in a win over Kentucky, 18 in another win over the Wildcats, 22 against St. Mary's and 17 in the SEC Tournament semifinal against Texas A&M.

The lights burn bright at Arkansas a lot, which can be overwhelming for players at times, which is exactly why there's good reason to call a truce in what would be a win-win for both parties.

There's a ton of big time talent on the market this year and Musselman is one of the best buyers of them all when it comes to shopping the transfer portal.

Whether he ends up with one of these three players or chooses an entirely different crop of new Razorbacks, the one thing fans will be able to trust is that quality is coming to Fayetteville over the next few weeks, especially when the top level quality is that high.