Are We at ‘Put Up or Shut Up’ Time with Nick Smith’s Return?

Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman says freshman practicing "for a few days."

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Feb 9, 2023 11:34 AM EST
Original:
Feb 8, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — By saying almost nothing, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman may have said a lot Wednesday.

All the talk swirling around a possible return by Nick Smith might just be accurate.

"He has practiced the last few days with us," Musselman said during a press conference. "He did not go on the road trip so he could continue to stay back here and work on his conditioning."

Okay, the key word there was "conditioning." Injury rehab wasn't mentioned.

For over a month, talk about the return of the highly-touted freshman has been a central topic of conversation for fans and media.

It's about the only thing you hear.

With injuries to a lot of players, Musselman has built all season long for March to try and make a tournament return. It seems to be his basic blueprint and it's gotten the Razorbacks to the Elite Eight the last two years.

Now getting Smith back to a team that has turned into what folks expected after an 88-73 win over Kentucky on Tuesday night that nobody saw coming.

They don't need a savior, but somebody to fill a role.

"We're optimistic and hopeful that Nick will be able to play sometime here in the near future," Musselman said.

On the surface that comment didn't say anything. When you look at the overall, though, after "no update" all we've heard for awhile, that says a lot.

It does leave a huge window of time open, too.

"Near future" could be Mississippi State on Saturday at Bud Walton Arena or anytime coming up, but it is a wrinkle other teams will have to figure out.

Meanwhile, it may provide some extra scoring for a team that has struggled at that with times while getting to 17-7 (6-5 in the SEC) and coming up to tournament time.

It also means teams that have played the Hogs already can throw away a lot of the film from their previous game because Smith would change how this team looks.

The Razorbacks are unbeaten in five games with Smith available this season. He has made four starts with averages of 12.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and just under two assists per game on 38 percent shooting from the field and a 30 percent clip from beyond the arc.

And he could make the Hogs a team nobody wants to face in March.

Which may have been the plan all along.