Juco guard makes oral commitment to Hogs

By Richard Davenport

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas men's basketball Coach John Pelphrey has picked up his second oral commitment for the 2009 recruiting class.

Junior college guard Jemal Farmer announced Wednesday afternoon that he plans to play basketball for Arkansas.

Farmer, 6-5, 213 pounds, plays at Cloud Community College in Concordia, Kan., and chose the Razorbacks over Nebraska, Kansas State and Alabama-Birmingham.

"I felt comfortable with the style of play," said Farmer, a Chicago native. "I feel like the way Arkansas plays. That's how I want to play. I felt comfortable with Coach Pelphrey and [assistant Isaac Brown], just all of the coaches.

"I like the tradition. Arkansas has had so many good players come out of there."

Farmer, who possesses a 40-inch vertical jump, averaged 16.1 points and 5.4 rebounds a game last season while earning all-conference honors in the Jayhawk Western Division.

Choosing the Hogs wasn't easy because the Cornhuskers had recruited Farmer for more than a year.

"It was a hard decision because I really felt close to Nebraska," said Farmer, who made an official visit to Lincoln, Neb., over the weekend. "It was a real tough decision, but I felt like I made the right one."

Arkansas plans to use Farmer as a shooting guard next season, Farmer said.

"I feel confident in my game, and they feel confident in me," he said. "I expect to come in next year and have an immediate impact."

Farmer joins power Marshawn Powell as oral commitments to Arkansas. Powell, a 6-7, 220-pound forward from The Miller School in Charlottesville, Va., committed to the Hogs in August.

Oral commitments are nonbinding.