Fresh Look at Nike Hoops Summit Reveals New Info on Future Arkansas Razorbacks

WIth baseball lulled by an absence of mid-week games and softball waiting to get regionals started this weekend, it was the perfect opportunity to go back and watch some of the players Arkansas coach John Calipari assembled on the recruiting trail.

The best place to do this was to hop onto Peacock and watch the April broadcast of the Nike Hoop Summit USA vs. World game. And while it was something lightly watched through highlights and box scores while it happened, partially because the Razorbacks only had two signees involved at the moment, it became clear last night that it had to be elevated to must-watch status as it not only included two signees going against one another, but another unforeseen signee who happened to be playing directly alongside one of his future teammates much like he will when he takes the floor in Fayetteville this fall.

Jordan Smith, Jr. played guard for Team USA against Abdou Toure, who stepped in as a modified forward type for the World team. Then, on the floor right next to him serving as an athletic wing, was Finnish / EuroLeague star Miikka Muurinen, who would later sign with the Hogs.

There was so much to be gained by running a second set of eyes over this game. The short observation of it all is this:
1) Smith has more work to do on his game than anticipated.
2) Muurinen is going to make sure no one will get a chance to miss Trevon Brazile's game except maybe a little bit of his three-point shooting.
3) If Billy Richmond comes back, the Razorbacks are about to have two Billy Richmonds on the floor because of how Toure plays, which may make the electrical systems in Bud Walton literally explode.

Abdou Toure

Final Stats: 62% FG, 19 points, 67% 3PT, 6 Reb., 5 Blk

The entire time Toure has been discussed, even before Muurinen was added to the list alongside Smith and JJ Andrews, he has been framed almost like a guy thrown in at the end of a trade to make the numbers work out. However, after watching how he handled himself in the NIke Hoops Summit, it's not too far of a walk out onto a limb to say that he might end up being Razorbacks fans' favorite addition.

The best way to describe him is to say he's a rich man's Billy Richmond. The young man brings hustle to all ends of the floor and the more energy he breeds, the more successful he becomes.

Perhaps the biggest pleasant surprise was Toure looked bigger than remembered. He is only supposed to be 6-foot-6, 185, but he looks way thicker. He almost looks a bit like Adou Thiero did in his lone season with the Hogs.

The good news is that even if he hasn't gotten physically bigger, he certainly plays like it. He bangs inside, attacks the rim and loves to be disruptive in the paint on defense.

However, the biggest shocker was how he took over the game late as he put the World on his back and nearly led them to an upset. Here are some of the notes taken from various points in the game.

Torre surprises with how smooth and effortless his shot from beyond the arc happened to be as he drained a three just before the end of the first quarter. Torre also has much better eyes in the passing game than anticipated.

Toure shows great ability to run the floor as he sprints out and gets the dunk. He has a Billy Richmond feel to him.

Toure had a catch-and-shoot three to cut it to 81-79 with 2:39 remaining. Then, 10 seconds later, he followed a missed shot for an easy lay-up to tie it up. The kid has presence.

Toure has to get confident enough in his defense and the size of his body to step into the lane and get established before a driver gets off the ground so he either takes the charge or at least provides a physical deterrent that makes them uneasy about going up.

It turns out Toure adjusted during the game to that last note. In fact, he did exactly that to draw an offensive foul near the end of regulation to help force overtime.

Not only did he do that, but he fouled out Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 player in the country, in the process. Then he went and ran the entire overtime, almost single-handedly giving the World its first win in eight years while being an absolute menace on both ends of the floor.

Miikka Muurinen aka 'Slim Jesus'

Final Stats: 56% FG, 10 points, 8 Reb., 2 Stl., 1 Asst.

The biggest and best thing Arkansas fans need to know about Muurinen is he is determined to be a force on the glass. He attacks the rim on both ends of the floor as if rebounds are how he continues to live.

It's refreshing to see after so many years of watching well-equipped Razorbacks stand around staring, hoping the ball just falls into their hands. Another strong positive is his athleticism.

When he is moving, he plays a lot like a younger Trevon Brazile. The hope is he will fill out and develop fully into an advanced version of the final Brazile.

The man likes to play defense, but he gets a little flat-footed under the rim, which means he is going to rack up fouls early on while learning to adjust his game. He looked great on the floor as a defensive duo with Toure even though he was still deciding which college team, if any, he intended to join at the time this game took place.

They can be a defensive problem for others once they settle in as teammates. However, there is a weakness here.

If Muurinen stops moving, he lacks the power needed to get up through the trees. He's going to get blocked and pushed around when this happens if he doesn't add about 15 pounds of muscle.

The good news is a lot of that will come naturally with age if he sticks around. Here are some of the notes from the game.

Muurinen starts off by attacking the defensive glass to get the rebound. Second time back down he is hitting the glass again. Good at timing his break in the corner along the baseline to be available for an ally-oop dunk.

He took a pass with just under eight minutes in the third quarter and went up over three USA defenders with the ball cocked all the way back before he almost tore the rim down with his dunk. No one knows where he is going when he's on the floor at this point.

Muurinen follows shots in the paint like a shark tracking a seal for breach. He has so much power when he explodes upward to slam missed shots back home.

Jordan Smith, Jr.

Final Stats: 45% FG, 13 points, 33% 3PT, 1 Reb., 1 Stl.

It wasn't the best game for Smith. To be honest, had he not been an Arkansas signee, he would have gone relatively unnoticed until overtime when he finally started to assert himself a little bit.

It was surprising after hearing people hype him up to see Smith almost uncomfortable with being a driving force in the narrative of the game. That could be because early on he played somewhat out of control at times.

He did eventually settle down into a dribble without much thought toward shooting point guard. As a result, he was 1-of-2 for two points in the first half.

Strangely enough, footwork was an issue that came up over and over again, which was entirely unexpected. Here are some of the notes from a very uneven performance.

In the second quarter, Smith dribbled down and hit a spin move at the top of the lane. However, when he came open, he couldn't recover and took a wide open, yet unbalanced shot that didn't fall.

Early in the second half, Smith calmly set up with a little space off a screen behind the arc near the top of the key and knocked it down. Then he went to the other end and immediately disrupted Muurinen's attempt at a three despite being much shorter, leading to an air ball. Then Smith flew back down the court and knocked down a quick jumper for a five-point sequence after only having two points on two shots in the entire first half.

What I don't like about Smith is on defense his arms are slack and his palms are pointed away from the ball. He doesn't feel engaged.

A bad pass for the dunk causes Smith to catch it, adjust mid-air and bank it off the glass from a couple of feet away from the rim instead. He showed a calmness that helped him salvage what would normally have been a mess or possibly even a turnover from a teammate getting sloppy.

Numerous times Smith was bullrushed on defense and unable to hold his ground. His footwork was a mess, which is why players were able to do this whether off the dribble or on a full-court drive.

Smith's feet get tangled up, making him slow to react and creating situations where it is virtually impossible to be in the right position to make a play. It's a stark reminder of Nick Smith, Jr. who became a defensive liability late in his freshman year once teams finally had enough video to figure out they could just drive right at him and either get a foul or pretty much score at will.

Final Thoughts:

1) It's only one game, so it's hard to say this for sure, but Toure looks like he will be the most complete player out the gate. However, his ceiling isn't as high as the others.
The good news is he has a tad more ceiling up there that will come when Arkansas fans get behind him, and they will because he hustles and leaves his heart on the floor. He is tailor-made to be a Razorback.

2) Muurinen is going to be the most entertaining of the three who played in this game. He is everything you would expect from a player who has Michael Myers permanently inked into his arm.
There is so much of Brazile's game present, but with a little more edge and confidence. He also has more room to grow than Brazile had.
If Arkansas fans get the chance to see him for a couple of years, meaning after his body matures, he could evolve into one of the most explosive players on both ends of the floor the Razorbacks have had in years.

3) Smith is all about potential. He is full of it and it's there to see in flashes. The question is whether John Calipari can coach it out of him.
When he shows his confident stroke, it's almost zen-like. It's easy to see the game slow down for him when he moves for the rim also. The problem right now is it's like he is just now getting his Spidey-sense and he doesn't really know how to truly use his powers.
Also, he has to get in the gym and learn how to use his body for both offense and defense. At one point, a rather thin forward flung him a good 20 yards across the floor rolling backside over head as he did. That's because of terrible footwork and an inability to utilize the body God gifted him.
Much like guys get in the gym and work on their threes, Smith needs to spend this summer locked in Bud Walton working on his feet and defense. He has to be dramatically better when the season starts.

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