Arkansas Razorbacks basketball Coach Mike Anderson extended offers Thursday to three in-state sophomores, forward Chris Moore, Davonte Davis and guard Gerald Doakes.
North Little Rock guard Moses Moody was the first in-state sophomore to receive an offer from the Razorbacks last summer.
Moore, 6-6, 210 pounds, of West Memphis, also has offers from Memphis, SMU, TCU, Southern Mississippi, Abilene Christian and Murray State, along with interest from Ole Miss, Houston and numerous others.
Davis, 6-4, 175 of Jacksonville Lighthouse, also has offers from Southern Mississippi, Florida, SMU and Abilene Christian while Doakes, 6-1, 160 of Jacksonville, has offers from Texas A&M, Florida, TCU, SMU and others.
All three are playing for the Arkansas-based 16-under Woodz Elite in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball Youth League this spring and summer.
Moore was named the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's All-Arkansas Preps Boys Sophomore of the Year after averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds while leading the Blue Devils to a 29-4 record and Class 6A state runner-up. He shot 72 percent from the field and 62 percent from the free-throw line.
"It's a great feeling," said Moore of the offer. "They're one of my favorite colleges. I love the coaching staff. They're [a] great group of guys."
Davis averaged 28 points,10 rebounds and 10 assists for Lighthouse the past season. He along with Moore and Doakes visited the Hogs for the TCU football game in the fall.
"It's exciting because I was waiting on it because we all went on the visit there," Davis said. "I was very excited."
The offer puts the Hogs in a good spot for Davis.
"They're definitely one of my top schools," he said.
Doakes averaged 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists as a sophomore.
"My reaction was overwhelming," said Doakes of his Razorback offer. "I was happy to receive the offer from Arkansas. It's just a blessing to receive it.
"I'm from Arkansas and now I have a chance to represent my state," Doakes said.
Doakes' mother is a big Razorback fan.
"She was happy, too," he said. "She watches the Hogs. She told me to just keep working and stay focused on school."
All three had outstanding showings at the Pangos All-South camp for freshmen and sophomores in Dallas during the fall and made the top 30 of the camp that featured 208 of the best players from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Tennessee.
PlayHoops.com rated Moore the No. 3 performer at the camp.
Moore, who has an uncle that's 7-3, is excited the three have the chance to play together in college.
"That was one of the best feelings," Moore said. "I'm pretty sure we're going to share this moment tonight."
Arkansas associate head coach Melvin Watkins leads the Hogs' recruiting efforts for Moore, Davis and Doakes.
Jitoboh offered
Arkansas also extended a scholarship offer to highly regarded Woodz Elite 17-under center Jason Jitoboh.
Jitoboh, 6-11, 290 pounds, is a hot commodity after last weekend's showing at the Nike EYBL session in Dallas. He received offers from Wake Forest and South Florida earlier in the week to go along with ones from Tennessee, Auburn and Florida,
He averaged 8.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game for Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tenn., this past season.
Jitoboh was named to the All-EYBL second team in Dallas after averaging 15.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 block shots a game while shooting 71.4 percent from the field.
Tolefree to UA women
Junior college All-American guard Alexis Tolefree is coming home after orally committing to Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball Coach Mike Neighbors on Wednesday.
Tolefree, 5-8 of Jones County (Miss.) Community College signed with the Razorbacks on Thursday over scholarship offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Missouri, LSU and others. She officially visited Mississippi Stated and Arkansas.
"When I took my visit, I absolutely fell in love with the coaching staff," Tolefree said. "I've always wanted to be a Razorback since I was a little kid and having the opportunity now is great.
She starred for Conway prior to becoming a second-team junior college All-American as a sophomore and first-team All-American as a freshman. She averaged 21.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 2.6 assists this season while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond the three-point line.
Tolefree signed with Ole Miss in the early signing period in November, but opted out of her national letter of intent after the Matt Insell was fired as the Rebels coach March 2.
She scored a season-high 50 points, including 12 three-pointers in the Region 23 championship victory over Copiah-Lincoln.
Email Richard Davenport
at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 04/27/2018