Razorback Report: Macon honored by SEC

Arkansas guard Daryl Macon (4) steals the ball from Troy guard Wesley Person (3) during their game at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017.
Arkansas guard Daryl Macon (4) steals the ball from Troy guard Wesley Person (3) during their game at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks played just one game last week because of final exams, but the SEC office took notice of Daryl Macon's performance.

Macon, a senior from Little Rock Parkview, had 25 points, 5 assists without a turnover, 3 rebounds and 3 steals as the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville beat Troy 88-63 on Saturday night to earn SEC Player of the Week honors. He hit 8 of 14 shots, including 4 of 9 three-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws.

It's the second time Macon has been the SEC Player of the Week. He received the honor last season after scoring 13 points at South Carolina and 30 against Ole Miss.

Macon scored eight consecutive points against Troy -- hitting back-to-back three-pointers and making a steal and layup -- to give the Razorbacks the lead for good at 12-8 after the Trojans jumped ahead 8-2.

"He was a one-man wrecking crew for about three plays," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said.

Macon is averaging 15.4 points, team-highs of 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals, and 2.1 rebounds to display his all-around game, Anderson said, in his second season with the Razorbacks after transferring from Holmes (Miss.) Community College.

"To me, that's just getting familiar with what we're doing," Anderson said. "The first year you come in and you were the do-it-all kind of guy [in junior college]. Now you're playing with guys just as good as you.

"Well, I guess in Daryl's mind he's better than anybody," Anderson added with a smile. "But you're playing with other good players, so you've got to trust them -- and they trust you."

ORU's big guys

Oral Roberts University, which plays the Razorbacks tonight in Walton Arena, should pose a challenge inside with 6-9 senior Albert Owens (averaging 14.0 points and 4.8 rebounds), 6-8 sophomore Emmanuel Nzekwesi (11.6, 6.2), 6-10 redshirt sophomore Javan White (11.6, 8.2) and 6-8 sophomore Chris Miller (4.7, 2.1).

"We have length, we have size," said Golden Eagles Coach Paul Mills, an assistant at Baylor the previous 14 seasons. "We have a front court that's really solid.

"But your ability to handle pressure and get them the ball is really important."

The graduates

Arkansas senior forward Trey Thompson has completed work on his degree in recreation and sports management and will wear an SEC graduate patch on his uniform the rest of the season.

"I think that's a tremendous honor to have a whole other year to play and you've already got your degree and you're working on classes to go toward your master's," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said.

Former Razorback Willy Kouassi, who played at Arkansas during the 2015-2016 season as a graduate transfer from Kennesaw (Ga.) State, graduated Saturday with a master's degree in operations management.

Kouassi is the only graduate transfer Anderson has brought to Arkansas in seven seasons. He took part in graduate ceremonies.

"A lot of guys, they do the graduate transfer, but they do it for basketball," Anderson said. "He went and played professional [in Africa] for a while, but he was still working on his classes, so now he's got his master's."

Tempo, tempo

Oral Roberts Coach Paul Mills is hopeful his team can avoid playing too fast against the Razorbacks.

"They're 39th in country in tempo at 74 possessions a game," Mills said. "We're 317th in the country. We only have it 66 possessions a game."

Mills said the Golden Eagles had 60 possessions in their 83-64 victory at Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday.

"We're not going to shoot it in the first 10 seconds like an Arkansas might," he said. "Obviously, if we get opportunities [for quick scores], we're opportunistic in that range.

"But we don't have a lot of depth, and so that's not the way we're trying to play. You hope not to get sped up, but sometimes that's hard when you're dealing with young guards. My two guards are a freshman [R.J. Fuqua] and sophomore [Sam Kearns], so that's easier said than done."

On Gafford

Oral Roberts Coach Paul Mills said he's been impressed watching game film of Arkansas 6-11 freshman Daniel Gafford.

"Gafford possesses a lot of tools," Mills said. "His length is a problem. His burst and his ability to accelerate off the floor in transition also gives teams problem.

"His issue right now -- just gauging it on film -- is strength, and he'll get into that. You're anxious to see how he does against the gauntlet of the SEC and having to play against those bigs, who are going to be older and more physical.

"But so far up to this particular point, he's passed all the tests."

Eddie's grandson

Spencer Sutton, the grandson of former Arkansas coach Eddie Sutton and son of former Fayetteville High School standout player Sean Sutton, is a redshirt freshman reserve guard for Oral Roberts. His uncle, Scott Sutton, was the Golden Eagles' coach the previous 18 seasons.

"Spencer is a terrific young man," Oral Roberts Coach Paul Mills said. "I know the transition was probably harder for him than it was anyone else, but he's obviously been around the game a long time and he's got a ton to add to our team."

Scott Sutton is now an assistant coach at Oklahoma State, which plays at Arkansas on Jan. 27. Sean Sutton, who was an Oral Roberts assistant, is at Texas Tech as an adviser to Red Raiders Coach Chris Beard, who previously was the coach of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans.

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