FAYETTEVILLE — It is very clear that Arkansas’ seven newcomers are going to bring an infusion of talent and ability to the roster this season.
They showed that in four August exhibition games in Spain in and then again Sunday afternoon while combining to score a whopping 131 points during the Red’s 118-113 win over the White at Bud Walton Arena.
"I thought it was an evenly-matched game for the most part,” Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson said. “ We got out what we wanted to. That was to come out and play in a game setting. Give our fans and you guys a glimpse of these guys. A lot of people had heard names, but never seen faces. Of course now they can do that.”
He clearly wants more defense than was played in the Red-White game.
“To me, it’s going to be a process with this team in terms of really making sure they understand it’s going to be about our defense,” Anderson said. “Offensively, I believe we will be able to score, but I think our defense is something I’m really looking forward to getting better.”
The Red squad jumped to a 29-12 lead and had a 58-43 advantage at half before the White roared back take a 106-104 lead on C.J. Jones’ 3-pointer with five seconds left.
Manny Watkins, who had 25 points, 14 rebounds and four assists, then forced overtime with a lay-up near the buzzer.
“I thought it was an evenly matched game for the most part,” Anderson said. “We got out of it what we wanted, and that was to come out and play in a game setting and give our fans a glimpse of some of these guys. It shows you there is some potential there.”
It’s clear the five returnees are really happy about having them along for the ride according to senior Watkins.
“These guys are all really good basketball players,” Watkins said “They all bring a unique thing to the table. They’re just huge gets for our team. I love every one of them. I’m so glad we got them and they’re going to take us to the Promised Land this year. Just watch out.”
There certainly was no talk of the promised land last season as the Razorbacks went 16-16 overall and 9-9 in SEC play while failing to get to the NCAA Tournament, where the 27-9 Arkansas squad wound up the year before.
“Just a lot more confident,” Watkins said of the team this season. “We were confident last year, but just (have) a lot more depth. We have guys coming back. It’s a different feel around the locker room, around practice. We have guys that know they’re really good and we know we have a really good team and we all want to win.
“That’s one thing (about) this team; everyone wants to win. We don’t care how. We don’t care who gets the glory. We just want to win and that’s everyone’s mindset. When you have a team that has one common goal, that’s huge. This team has that and I’m really excited. I’m ready to start playing.”
Junior Jaylen Barford - the nation’s top junior college scorer last season and a two-time JUCO All-American - had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Red team while Colorado transfer Dustin Thomas had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the winners.
Senior Dusty Hannahs poured in 21 points while knocking down five 3-pointers while freshman forward Brachen Hazen had 17 points and Trey Thompson 11 points and 9 rebounds for the Red.
Former Little Rock Parkview guard and junior college All-American Daryl Macon had a game-high 28 points to lead the White team while Moses Kingsley had 27 points and 12 rebounds, freshman C.J. Jones 20 points, Anton Beard 16 points and 11 assists, Arlando Cook 13 points and 13 rebounds and Adrio Bailey 9 points.
Playing a game for Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena - even if it was a intrasquad one - was a dream come true for Macon.
“It’s a great experience,” Macon said. “As everyone knows I have always wanted to play here. And to play my first game here I was very excited.
“My first half I had butterflies in my stomach. But as a I started scoring and getting into the game I just started having fun out there.”
The two teams were coached by former Arkansas standout Pat Bradley and sports talk radio host Bo Mattingly, whose team took the loss.
The two had different opinions about overtime.
“You saw I brought the coaches out to halfcourt,” Anderson said. “It was like an executive decision from those guys. They couldn't agree. I think Bo (Mattingly) said leave it in a tie. Of course Pat (Bradley) said we've got to go at least one or two minutes. We settled for three minutes.”
Arkansas will next play a pair of exhibition games, beginning with a Friday night 7 p.m. home game against Central Missouri.
“Let's not get carried away,” Anderson said. “Let's see what we do against someone other than ourselves.”