The Arkansas Razorbacks (11-11, 2-7 SEC) will be without redshirt sophomore forward Trevon Brazile for Saturday’s game against Georgia (14-9, 4-6). It will be the fourth straight game without Brazile, who left during the first half of the team’s 77-51 loss to Ole Miss due to knee soreness.
In his weekly press conference, when asked if Brazile is any closer to returning, Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman offered a simple “no.” Asked if he expects Brazile to be back at all this season, Musselman was more candid about the situation.
“I think that the timetable is up to the player, the trainer. Really, that’s who it’s up to,” Musseman said. “He’s not comfortable moving laterally right now. I think from the doctor’s perspective, it’s really in the trainer’s and the strength coaches’ and the player’s hands. Right now, it just comes down to rehab and making it stronger, I guess. Making it more comfortable.”
Brazile has been dealing with knee soreness since Jan. 24 in Oxford where he didn’t play in the second half of that game. The Springfield (Mo.) native tore the ACL in his right knee in December of 2022 against UNC-Greensboro, but there have been no reports of any issues since his return to the court until the Ole Miss game.
Before suffering this latest setback, Brazile was averaging 8.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. Those numbers aren’t terrible, but considering he entered the season as a projected first round pick in the NBA Draft, it’s been disappointing. He had failed to score in double figures since the Auburn game on Jan. 6 and was averaging just 6.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks during SEC play.
With Brazile out of the picture for the foreseeable future, expect a continued heavy dose of Makhi Mitchell and Jalen Graham. Mitchell has taken a major step forward since Brazile’s injury, averaging 13.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Graham’s performance, particularly at the defensive end, has improved in that same span also, averaging 13.0 points, 2.0 blocks, 2.3 steals.
That duo will look to continue their string of impressive performances against Georgia on Saturday. In the first meeting back on Jan. 10, Mitchell and Graham combined for 16 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and five turnovers as the Bulldogs beat the Razorbacks 76-66 in Athens.
Tip-off for Saturday’s game in Bud Walton Arena is 5 p.m. (CST) and will be televised on SEC Network.
Arkansas basketball has locked down its first official visit of the John Calipari era. Karter Knox, the No. 20 overall recruit in the 2024 recruiting class, is set to visit Fayetteville on Monday, according to 247Sports national recruiting analyst Travis Branham.
The 6-5, 225-pound forward is a four-star prospect in this recruiting cycle, but according to the industry-generated Composite Rankings, he’s a five-star recruit ranked No. 22 overall with a 0.9927 rating. He comes in as the sixth-rated small forward and second-ranked prospect in the state of Georgia for the 2024 class.
Knox originally committed to Calipari at Kentucky back on March 9, choosing the Wildcats over offers from Louisville, USF, the NBA G League and an additional year at Overtime Elite. Ironically, the rising forward also held a scholarship offer from Arkansas as well as Auburn, Florida State and Illinois among others.
Following the news of Calipari taking the head coaching job at Arkansas, Knox requested a release from his letter of intent with Kentucky less than one month after initially committing to the school.
If Arkansas were land a commitment from Knox, he’d be the second addition to the 2024-25 roster. As things stand, the Razorbacks currently have just one scholarship player on the roster for next season. Former Kentucky forward Zvonimir Ivisic holds that honor after committing to the Hogs last Monday. That leaves 12 open roster spots for Calipari to fill.
Knox is a true three-range scorer on the wing. He’s not quite as big as advertised, but he compensates with long arms, a naturally strong build, soft hands, good timing in a variety of different circumstances, and a versatile skill-set.
While he’s a shooting threat from three with a soft natural ball and compact release, and even capable of making some threes on the move, he’s proven to be most efficient inside the arc to this point in his career. He has very good perimeter footwork, can attack to either side off the dribble without wasting much motion, and play through contact while doing so. He is a consistent pull-up threat in the mid-range area and showing an increased willingness to punish smaller defenders in the post. He’s shown flashes of passing ability and unselfishness, and is also a quality rebounder on the wing.
Defensively, he’s not the most laterally quick, but has enough size and length to be effective. The key is being consistently locked in though as he has times, particularly with his high school team, where he’s shown less sense of urgency on that end of the floor.
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