Razorbacks' NBA Combine Invites Were Expected but What Happens Next Isn't

Acuff and Brazile are headed to pros, but Thomas and Richmond have a deadline and only they know what number makes returning to Fayetteville the wrong call.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Meleek Thomas during summer practices at the Eddie Sutton Practice Court in Fayetteville, Ark. | Andy Hodges-allHOGS Images

Let's not pretend any of this is surprising.

When the NBA released its official list of 73 players invited to the 2026 AWS NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, four Arkansas Razorbacks were on it.

We knew about Darius Acuff Jr., Meleek Thomas, Billy Richmond III and Trevon Brazile. The Hogs were tied with Arizona and Houston for the most invitations of any program in the country this year, by the way.

Good for them. All four earned it. None of it should raise an eyebrow.

This was a basketball team that had the SEC Player and Freshman of the Year, a record-setting shooter and two other contributors who showed real NBA-caliber tools over the course of a season.

Did anyone seriously think the league's evaluators were going to overlook them? Of course not.

The combine runs May 10-17 at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago and the Razorbacks will be well represented.

Now that the invitations are out of the way, though, the part that actually matters begins.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff looks for an opening to drive in a game against the Louisville Cardinals at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Arkansas Communications

Acuff Was Always Going to Be Here

Start with the easy one. Darius Acuff Jr. is gone and there's nothing to discuss there.

He's a projected lottery pick, he announced his intentions on ESPN's NBA Today and he's not maintaining his college eligibility. That decision was made.

The best freshman in Arkansas history, the only player in the country this past season to average at least 20 points and six assists, was always going to be in front of NBA scouts this spring.

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. Lottery picks go to the combine.

That's how it works.

Brazile's situation is similarly settled. He's out of eligibility after five years in college, four of them with the Hogs.

He blossomed under John Calipari this past season, averaged 13 points per game and broke his career-high in scoring twice. It's his only path forward and he deserves to be there. Nothing surprising about that either.

Arkansas Razorbacks' Billy Richmond against the Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in San Jose, Calif. | Munir El-Khatib-allHOGS Images

This Is Where It Gets Interesting

Thomas and Richmond are a different story and. frankly, they're the reason the rest of this offseason is worth watching closely.

Both players are entered in the draft while maintaining their college eligibility. Both have until May 27 at 10:59 p.m. to formally withdraw and return to Fayetteville.

The combine in Chicago is exactly the kind of event that's designed to help players in their position figure out where they stand.

The honest truth is nobody outside of their inner circles knows what happens next.

Thomas had a genuinely impressive freshman season. He averaged 15.4 points per game and shot 43.5% from the field and 41.6% from three.

His 48.7% shooting from deep in SEC games broke a school record that had stood since Rotnei Clarke set it in 2011. He scored at least 17 points in each of Arkansas' NCAA Tournament games and went for 29 against Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament.

He had a stretch late in the regular season where he averaged 21.5 points and 4.5 rebounds against Texas and Missouri, including a 30-point outing with five made threes against the Tigers.

That's a good freshman year by any measure.

Richmond quietly put together a solid season of his own. He averaged 11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 56.3% from the floor and 78.4% from the foul line.

He scored in double figures in four of the last five games of the season and had a stretch where he topped 20 points in five consecutive games.

He's a player who got better as the season went along, which is exactly the kind of trend NBA evaluators notice.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari against Hawaii in NCAA Tournament. | Munir El-Khatib-allHOGS Images

Only They Know Magic Number

Here's the thing about situations like Thomas' and Richmond's and people don't talk about this enough.

The decision to return or stay in the draft doesn't get made on feel. It doesn't get made based on how the workouts go or whether the scouts were friendly in the interview room.

It gets made based on a number.

Every player who enters this process with eligibility remaining sits down with his advisors and identifies a threshold, a guaranteed money figure, a projected draft range, a contract offer that makes going back to school the wrong financial decision.

Nobody on the outside knows what that number is. Not the media. Not the fans. Not even the coaching staff, in most cases.

Thomas and Richmond will come out of the Chicago combine with real feedback. They'll know what teams think of them.

They'll know where they're projected. Then the folks around them will be advising them will measure that information against whatever figure they identified going in.

If the feedback clears the bar, they're pros. If it doesn't, Fayetteville is going to look real attractive.

It's that simple and that complicated at the same time.

The combine being held May 10-17 gives both players a chance to sharpen that picture before the May 27 withdrawal deadline.

That's not a lot of time, but it's enough. These decisions tend to come into focus pretty quickly once the workouts are done and the phone calls with agents start.

What It Means for Arkansas

For the Razorbacks, having four players at the combine is a program statement worth acknowledging, even if it doesn't come as a shock.

John Calipari is putting players in front of NBA decision-makers, which is what high-level college basketball programs are supposed to do.

Whether one, two or none of Thomas and Richmond come back next season will say a lot about how the Hogs' roster shapes up heading into 2026-27.

That answer's coming on May 27. Until then, we're all just guessing.

Only the players and the people in their corner actually know what they're looking for when they get to Chicago.