Four Hogs Hit Chicago and NBA Draft Picture May Be Clearer Now

Four players walked into the NBA Combine wearing Arkansas on their résumés and every one of them had something to prove, just not the same thing.

Darius Acuff Jr., Meleek Thomas, Billy Richmond III and Trevon Brazile all received official invitations and made the trip to Chicago for the week-long scouting event.

What unfolded may have told us something useful about each of them and in a couple of cases, left some genuinely important questions still hanging in the air.

Let's not get ahead of things yet.

These aren't just numbers on a sheet of paper. This is the moment where a basketball career either picks up momentum or gets a reality check and for at least two of the Razorbacks it's the kind of week that shapes what comes next in a real way.

Start with the one whose situation was already decided before he ever stepped foot in Illinois.

Acuff is a projected lottery pick who announced his intentions on ESPN's NBA Today and isn't maintaining his college eligibility.

He averaged 23.5 points and 6.4 assists per game, led the SEC in both categories and was the reigning SEC Player and Freshman of the Year.

Arkansas Razorbacks Darius Acuff at a practice. | Andy Hodges-allHOGS Images

Acuff didn't need this week to make his case. He showed up and delivered anyway, which is exactly what you'd expect from someone whose competitive drive doesn't come with an off switch.

Acuff measured 6-foot-2 barefoot, weighed 185.8 pounds and posted a 6-foot-7 wingspan with a standing reach of 8-foot-2.5.

Those aren't the longest measurements in the room but they're not a problem for a guard with his playmaking ability. His three-quarter court sprint of 3.06 seconds tied for the fastest time at the entire combine.

In shooting drills, he connected on 19 of 25 spot-up three-pointers and went 24 of 30 off the dribble. Those are the numbers of a player who belongs on an NBA court and everybody already knew it.

Acuff and Thomas elected not to participate in the five-on-five scrimmage portions of the combine. That drew some attention, but it's worth understanding what it means and what it doesn't.

For Acuff, skipping scrimmages when you're already a projected lottery selection isn't a red flag, it's a business decision.

We'll find out later about Thomas.

Arkansas Razorbacks Billy Richmond at a practice. | Andy Hodges-allHOGS Images

Richmond and Brazile Take the Floor

The players who did suit up for live action were Richmond and Brazile and both gave the scouts in attendance something worth filing away.

Richmond played for Team Adams against Team Carpenter in Wednesday's scrimmage, logging 20 minutes and 42 seconds of action.

He scored eight points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field, went 1-of-3 from three-point range, pulled down a rebound, dished out two assists and added a steal and two blocks.

The shot-making numbers weren't pretty, but the defensive production told a story his SEC résumé already backed up.

The highlight of the scrimmage came when he drilled a stepback three-pointer over Rueben Chinyelu.

Richmond's physical testing earlier in the week set an impressive baseline. His lane agility drill time of 10.23 seconds was the fastest of anyone at the combine.

He also posted a max vertical of 41.5 inches and a no-step vertical of 32.5 inches. He measured 6-foot-5.75 barefoot with a 6-foot-8 wingspan at 195.4 pounds and had an 8-foot-5 standing reach.

Richmond was on the SEC All-Defense Team this season and averaged 11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.

He's a player who makes winning plays and the combine gave him a chance to demonstrate exactly that in front of the people who write the checks.

Arkansas Razorbacks Trevon Brazile during a practice. | Andy Hodges-allHOGS Images

Brazile's Thursday showing was the performance of the week among the Hogs.

Playing for Team Rivers against Team Carpenter, the fifth-year forward finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds in a 100-76 win.

He shot 7-of-17 from the field and 2-of-6 from three-point range, added an assist and a steal-and-slam, played 26 minutes and finished with zero turnovers and zero fouls.

Entering the combine, Brazile had been projected as a mid-to-late second-round pick, with his athleticism and floor-spacing ability the biggest positives.

A wingspan of 7-foot-3.75 inches combined with a standing reach of 9-foot-1 and hand dimensions of 9 inches long by 10.25 inches wide are the kind of numbers that catch a front office's attention.

His maximum vertical of 41.5 inches ranked fifth at the combine and his standing vertical of 36 inches was third-best.

He put everything together Thursday and looked like a player whose draft position probably moved in the right direction.

Brazile spent four of his five college seasons with the Hogs, averaging 13 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this past year.

His eligibility's gone and there's no decision left to make. He's headed to some league one way or another and Thursday's may have shown the case is made he belongs there in the NBA.

Arkansas Razorbacks Meleek Thomas during a practice. | Andy Hodges-allHOGS Images

The Two Decisions That Actually Matter

Now for the complicated part.

The primary focal point for Arkansas fans tuning into the combine is the stay-or-go decisions for Richmond and Thomas.

Both players have until May 27 at 10:59 p.m. to withdraw from the draft and return to the Hogs for next season.

Thomas is the one drawing the most scrutiny right now and it's not hard to understand why.

The SEC All-Freshman Team selection averaged 15.6 points and 3.8 rebounds across 37 games, led the Razorbacks in free throw percentage at 84.3 percent and steals with 57 and ranked second on the team in scoring and assists.

He shot 48.7 percent from three-point range in SEC games alone, which was an Arkansas record, while also ranking in the top 15 in the conference in points, three-pointers made and steals.

Thomas measured 6-foot-3 barefoot with a 6-foot-6.75 wingspan at 189.6 pounds and had an 8-foot-4 standing reach. His athleticism profile was solid across the board. His max vertical checked in at 38 inches and his shuttle run was 2.97 seconds.

In free throw shooting, Thomas went a perfect 10-of-10, which tied for first at the entire combine. When asked directly about his future plans, Thomas declined to give a firm answer.

"I would just say TBD," he said meaning he'll tell us when he knows.

According to analyst Kevin Sweeney, he doesn't have a specific draft range he needs to hear from NBA teams before deciding whether to stay in or return to Fayetteville.

The fact he sat out scrimmages isn't automatically a verdict on his intentions. But it's something scouts and followers of the process have taken note of, because players who skip live action tend to be leaning toward the draft.

That's the conventional wisdom, anyway. Thomas may have other reasons. Nobody outside his circle knows for certain until May 27.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari at practice at the Eddie Sutton Practice Center in Fayetteville, Ark. | Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

Everything Now Probably Only About Money

John Calipari said on a Barstool Live appearance last month that both Thomas and Richmond would likely be back in Fayetteville if they don't receive first-round guarantees.

First-round money changes the math completely. Anything short of that and the calculation gets complicated for a player who still has eligibility left and could return as a frontrunner for preseason SEC honors.

Especially with NIL these days. There will be some cases where they are guaranteed more money just to stay in college.

What's clear after this week is that the Razorbacks put four legitimate prospects through the process at the NBA level and none of them embarrassed themselves or the program.

Arkansas tied Arizona and Houston for the most combine invitations of any program in the country this year.

The tape measure's been put away and now the real waiting begins.

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