FAYETTEVILLE -- It has been nearly 13 years since the University of Arkansas men's basketball team opened a season ranked in The Associated Press top 25 poll.
That could change in 2020.
The AP preseason poll for 2020-21 won't be released until November, but there are indications the Razorbacks will be ranked. Thanks to Isaiah Joe's decision to withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to Arkansas for his junior season, the Razorbacks are showing up in some early polls.
Arkansas is ranked No. 19 by 24/7 Sports; No. 20 by Aaron Torres of Fox Sports; No. 24 by Gary Parrish of CBS Sports; and No. 25 by Jeff Borzello of ESPN.
The last time the Razorbacks were ranked in the AP preseason poll was November 2007. They were No. 19 and had a team led by six seniors and sophomore Patrick Beverley in John Pelphrey's first season as coach.
Arkansas finished the 2007-08 season 23-12 with an NCAA Tournament appearance that included a victory over Indiana before losing to No. 1-ranked North Carolina in a second-round game.
Eric Musselman, going into his second season as UA head coach, added a top-10 recruiting class to a roster with several transfers and returnees led by Joe and junior guard Desi Sills.
"I think that no one's going to put more expectations on anything than I will internally," Musselman said earlier this week when he was on a media Zoom call with Joe. "Last year, my expectations going into every game were to try to win every game, and the games that we didn't win I was devastated. But I do think [last season's team] played as hard as they could."
The Razorbacks finished 20-12 last season with their final game an 86-73 victory over Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament.
Arkansas was scheduled to play South Carolina in its second SEC Tournament game March 12 when the event was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Later that day, the NCAA Tournament was canceled as well to end the season.
The Razorbacks were 19-7 in games in which Joe played, but 1-5 when he was out because of a knee injury.
Mason Jones is staying in the NBA Draft rather than returning to Arkansas for his senior season after being the AP co-SEC player of the year, but the Razorbacks have added plenty of talent.
"Certainly right now, we have a roster that we feel is deeper, more talented than last year's roster," Musselman said. "And I think the guys that were here last year and are here now would say the same thing.
"Even Mason. Mason was at a practice last week, and he thought that the makeup of the roster [was improved]."
Arkansas often went with a four-guard lineup last season, and sometimes played five guards at the same time because of its lack of size. Adrio Bailey, a 6-6 senior, often was the tallest starter for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas' roster now has five players 6-8 or taller, with 7-3 sophomore Connor Vanover; 6-10 freshman Jaylin Williams; 6-9 senior Vance Jackson; 6-9 junior Abayomi Iyiola; and 6-8 Ethan Henderson.
Iyiola suffered a knee injury earlier this summer and is expected to be sidelined for another five to six months, but the Razorbacks still have plenty of options among their big men.
The Razorbacks also will have good size on the perimeter with 6-7 senior Justin Smith; 6-6 senior Jalen Tate; 6-6 freshman Moses Moody; the 6-5 Joe; and 6-4 freshman Davonte Davis.
Other guards include the 6-1 Sills; 6-1 junior JD Notae, who is recovering from a wrist injury but should be able to practice within the next two weeks; and 6-0 freshman Khalen Robinson.
Smith (Indiana), Jackson (New Mexico) and Tate (Northern Kentucky) are graduate transfers who have played in a combined 283 college games with 221 starts.
Notae, Iyiola and Vanover redshirted last season after transferring to Arkansas. Notate played in 60 games at Jacksonville (Fla.) with 51 starts; Iyiola played in 63 games at Stetson with 39 starts; and Vanover played in 28 games at California with 15 starts.
Joe has two seasons of starting experience for the Razorbacks. Sills has 32 starts, but he became a key scorer off the bench late last season. Henderson worked his way into the rotation late last season and made six starts.
"Right now, what we are is we're a team with potential," Musselman said. "There's a lot of factors like chemistry, accepting roles, sharing the basketball, rotating on defense when you're supposed to, getting loose balls, playing hard. All those things, I don't know how they're going to go.
"But I knew that if we had a good roster that the expectations at Arkansas, I knew what they were going to be like because we have incredible fans that have got a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm and they want to win. And so, I knew that there would be expectations, and certainly with Isaiah coming back those expectations got even more so. Which is cool, you know. Bring it on.
"And then we've got to try to put it together as best we can. It's better than the other way when there's no expectations."
Joe averaged 16.9 points last season and led the SEC with 94 three-point baskets despite missing six games. When he announced Saturday he was returning to Arkansas, it was cause for celebration for the Razorbacks and their fans.
"It was definitely a lot of buzz when I made my announcement," Joe said. "I feel like a lot of people were really happy – the state, my coaching staff, my teammates, my family, me especially.
"I feel like we made a lot of buzz, and now it's time to perform."
Musselman said Joe should be in the conversation for SEC preseason player of the year.
"You look at what he's done, his freshman and sophomore seasons, he's had two great years as a really young player," Musselman said. "I think he's been a guy who's proven he's an all-league, first-team guy even his first two years in college.
"I think there's no doubt he's worthy when you talk about the top players in our league."
The previous two seasons Joe was the Razorbacks' No. 2 scorer behind Daniel Gafford, who is now with the Chicago Bulls, and Jones. Going into his junior season, he is the Razorbacks' unquestioned No. 1 scoring option, but he shouldn't have to carry the offense with the players around him now.
"I do think it's real exciting, being able to play with a lot of new faces," Joe said. "We had the [players redshirting] last year that haven't had a chance to touch the floor, and they will this year. Then we have the grad transfers and the freshmen.
"It's going to be exciting for all of us to get out on the court and show what we do best. I really feel like we have great talent this year, and we have a really high ceiling."
Joe said he's looking forward to playing with a bigger lineup.
"It's going to help a lot, especially on the defensive end, getting rebounds, being able to have the bodies in the paint," Joe said. "We'll be able to compete more in the paint."
Arkansas has 10 newcomers, but six with previous college experience.
"It sounds strange, but that's kind of what Coach Muss does," Vanover said earlier this summer. "He likes getting fresh faces, but guys who have already played in college. He's done really good with that in the past."
Musselman has made adding players through the transfer portal a priority at Arkansas. He did the same at Nevada, where he led the Wolf Pack to a 110-34 record in four seasons.
"When you look at the number of transfers in any sport, the landscape has changed," Musselman said. "You can either do things the way they used to be, or you can evolve with what's going on in current society. That's what we've tried to do."
Musselman said as much talent as the Razorbacks have on their roster, they still have to see how the team develops during the season.
"Every team's got their own identity," Musselman said. "Certainly, Isaiah changed the landscape of who were are, what our identity can look like.
"I do think for sure that we do have some roster flexibility for how we want to play. But so do other teams in the SEC. It's a talented league for sure."