FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas' tour of Spain in August, when the Razorbacks are scheduled to play four exhibition games, will be the third time Razorbacks guard Dusty Hannahs has played in Europe.
The senior guard from Little Rock previously made two summer trips to play for USA East Coast Basketball against foreign national and pro teams.
Razorbacks in Spain
Arkansas hasn’t announced opponents for its exhibition tour of Spain in August, but here is a tentative schedule for the trip:
AUG. 6 Leave for Spain
AUG. 9 Game in Madrid
AUG. 11 Game in Valencia
AUG. 13-14 Games in Barcelona
AUG. 16 Return to Fayetteville
Hannahs played in Estonia and Finland in the summer of 2014. Last year he played in France and Italy.
Hannahs said he can't wait to return to Europe.
"I just really like how different it is over there," he said. "It's cool to see the world."
Hannahs said he's gotten good reports about visiting Spain, where the Razorbacks will play games in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona.
"I know everyone that's been overseas, it's like the favorite place they've been," he said. "I always hear about Spain and the back-packing trips being one of the cool places."
Hannahs said it might be fun to communicate with Arkansas' opponents in Spain.
"I need to brush up on my Spanish," he said. "Maybe get in a little trash talk in Spanish for the guys."
LOOKING FOR CONSISTENCY
Anton Beard's shooting accuracy took a significant drop last season compared to his freshman numbers two years ago, particularly in SEC play.
Beard, a junior guard from North Little Rock, shot 44.7 percent (42 of 94) as a freshman, including 39.3 percent (22 of 56) on three-point attempts.
Last season, Beard's shooting fell to 34.4 percent (43 of 125), including 23.5 percent (12 of 51) on three-pointers, in SEC games.
The shooting regression likely can be attributed to Beard being suspended from the team for four months -- from July 23 through Nov. 15 -- for disciplinary reasons.
During that time, he was working out on his own rather than practicing with the Razorbacks.
Beard scored 18 points at Georgia and 14 at Missouri, 12 at Tennessee and 11 at LSU last season, but there were 11 SEC games in which he scored five or fewer points. He averaged 6.7 points in conference play.
"I felt like I was inconsistent when I came back," said Beard, who didn't play in any games until early December. "I'd have a couple good games, then a couple bad games. Then good game, bad game.
"I've talked to the coaches about being more consistent and coming to play every day. Last year I thought I was a little bit too cool on the court. The coaches want me to bring the dog back out like I did my freshman year."
Too cool?
"I was just going through the motions at times," Beard said. "I don't think my mind was always there. I've just got to clear my mind and go out there and play ball.
"My mind is back focused on basketball. I plan on having a great season."
SUMMER URGENCY
The Razorbacks don't open the regular season until November, but Dusty Hannahs said the team has a sense of urgency in practice right now coming off a 16-16 season that included a 4-8 record in games decided by four or fewer points or went into overtime.
"It was a tough season last year," Hannahs said. "But it was still a season to build off of. It's not like we were getting thrashed every game.
"It was a lot of nail-biters, and that makes it hurt worse."
The Razorbacks have added eight newcomers, which Hannahs said will help in a turnaround from last season's struggles.
"We'll have the new guys really ready to go," he said. "Because we're not going to deal with that ever again."
MOSES RETURNS
Senior center Moses Kingsley rejoined the Razorbacks on Friday, when they held their fifth practice in preparation for the tour of Spain.
Kingsley missed the first four practices because he was participating in a Nike skills camp in Los Angeles.
THERE TO PLAY
Senior guard Manny Watkins twice has traveled to Italy with his family for basketball tours, but that was before he joined the Razorbacks.
Watkins first went to Italy when his father, Arkansas assistant coach Melvin Watkins, was Texas A&M's head coach. He went to Italy again four years ago as a high school senior in his father's first season at Arkansas.
"It was lot of fun traveling to Italy, but I've never been anywhere [abroad] to play any games," Manny Watkins said. "So I'm ready to get these practices in and get better, and then go over there to Spain and play the games, have some fun and jell with the team."
LONGER FLIGHT
Junior forward Arlando Cook played in an AAU tournament in the Bahamas when he was a high school sophomore.
"But that doesn't really count as far as being overseas," Cook said. "Spain is actually over, overseas. That's somewhere else."
TIME FOR A SHAVE
Freshman forward Brachen Hazen shaved off his beard Tuesday before he talked to the media.
Did he want to look extra good for the TV cameras?
"My girlfriend's coming down this weekend," said Hazen, who is from Fort Wayne, Ind. " So I had to put on my best for her."
Sports on 07/31/2016