MASON JONES adds third weekly SEC honor.
FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas guard Mason Jones was named co-SEC player of the week with Mississippi State forward Reggie Perry, the conference office announced Monday.
Jones, a 6-5 junior, is the only three-time SEC player of the week this season. He averaged 32 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals last week against South Carolina and Alabama. He had 34 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against South Carolina, and 30 points and 5 rebounds at Alabama.
“I think it’s awesome,” Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman said of Jones’ latest SEC award. “He’s had such a great year.
“It really started this summer. When I think about him at 6 in the morning getting shots up. The whole team didn’t get up and shoot at 6 in the morning. He was a guy that was very consistent in his approach, and I think all his hard work is why he has had such a high jump from where he was last year.”
Jones is averaging 19.8 points per game to lead the SEC, and he leads Arkansas in rebounding (6.4), assists (3.5) and steals (1.8).
Joe day-to-day
Coach Eric Musselman said sophomore guard Isaiah Joe, who has been slowed by inflammation in his right knee, is day-to-day regarding his status going into tonight’s game against No. 11 Auburn.
Joe, who is averaging 16 points per game, missed his first game in two seasons with the Razorbacks when they beat TCU 78-67 on Jan. 25. Last week, he scored 16 points in 36 minutes off the bench in Arkansas’ 79-77 loss to South Carolina, then returned to the starting lineup at Alabama but went scoreless for the first time in his career while playing 21 minutes in a game the Razorbacks won 82-78. “He’s going to be dayto-day probably for two to three weeks,” Musselman said. “That’s what it’s going to be. He’ll be day-to-day, and if he’s able to play — whenever that is over the next two weeks — great. If he’s not able to play, we just need people to step up like they did against TCU.”
Musselman said on his radio show Monday night that Joe didn’t practice earlier in the day.
“Isaiah wants to play,”
Musselman said. “He’s not a guy that doesn’t want to play. It’s just a situation sometimes when you have an injury, you’ve got to figure out the best way to rehab it and get it healed properly.”
Musselman was asked when he met with the media whether he has considered shutting Joe down for a couple of weeks to see how his knee responds to an extended break.
“I don’t want [trainer]
Mark O’Neal to give me out-of-bounds plays, don’t want him to give me defensive schemes on how to play Auburn, and I’m not going to tell him anything about medical [treatment],”
Musselman said. “I don’t know anything about it. I know my back is sore right now, and that’s all I know medically.
“I can’t comment or talk about any of our guys. If somebody has got a head cold, I don’t know what that does to a player’s energy. If a guy has got a bad ankle, I mean it’s just kind of up to Mark. When Desi [Sills] went down, I just say, ‘Is he ready or not?’ ”
Sills, a sophomore guard, sprained his right ankle against South Carolina, but started at Alabama and played 39 minutes.
First for Musselman
Tonight will be the first time Eric Musselman has gone against Auburn as a head coach, but he faced the Tigers as a backup senior guard for the University of San Diego in an NCAA Tournament game 33 years ago.
In Auburn’s 62-61 victory over San Diego on March 12, 1987, in the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Musselman hit a three-point basket that put the Toreros ahead 27-19 during the first half.
Video of the shot is available on the internet.
“Please go to YouTube, OK?” Musselman said with a smile. “If you go to that clip, they did not guard me. I have the audio. My buddy who put that out many years ago, I think he took the audio off because he liked me, because the announcer said that Auburn’s game plan was not to guard me when I came in.
“They were playing triangle-and-two [defense], and there’s no one within 100 feet of me. I had two open shots. I made 1 out of 2, and Coach [Hank] Egan yanked me. We lost.”
Musselman laughed when asked why a coach would take out a guard who was shooting 50% from the field.
“I’ve asked myself that for the last 20-something years,” he said smiling. “I don’t know? Bad coaching.”
Going inside
Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl said part of the game plan against Arkansas is to use the size advantage of 6-11 senior Austin Wiley, who is averaging 10.1 points and 9.2 rebounds and shooting 54.2% (64 of 118) from the field.
“We want to get Austin the ball, get him some good touches,” Pearl said. “But [the Razorbacks] don’t make it easy, because they know that’s where we’re going because that’s where we have the advantage.”
Bailey update
Arkansas 6-6 senior Adrio Bailey started the first 20 games before coming off the bench at Alabama.
Bailey, averaging 23.0 minutes, played a seasonlow six minutes against the Crimson
Tide and was 0 of 3 from the field with
1 rebound.
The previous game against
South
Carolina,
Bailey got in foul trouble and played 13 minutes with 4 points and 2 rebounds.
“Adrio played so well early in the year, and we need him to get back to that spot where he was, where he’s providing a ton of energy the entire time he’s on the floor and not just in spurts,” Coach Eric Musselman said. “Adrio’s got a unique personality in our locker room because he’s a guy that’s bubbly. He’s a guy that attracts good vibes. So when he’s playing well, I think his attitude becomes infectious in a positive way.”
Musselman was asked how Bailey responded to not starting.
“I think that all our guys want to play,” he said. “If you’re used to starting and then you don’t, I mean, I don’t want a player to be like, ‘Oh, that’s great I’m not going to start. That’s cool, Coach.’ I want a guy to want his minutes. Having said that, every decision that we make is just based on what’s best for the team. That’s it.
“Who gets a shot after a timeout? What’s best for the team. Who starts? What’s best for the team. He’s had a great year, and he didn’t get many minutes last game. We won the game and you just move on. The next game has got its own identity and its own theme.”
Chaney coming on
Arkansas 6-8 sophomore Reggie Chaney had 8 points and 11 rebounds in a season-high 25 minutes at Alabama. He hit 2 of 4 shots and 4 of 5 free throws.
Chaney missed the first three games while serving a suspension for an undisclosed team-rules violation. He is averaging 15.4 minutes per game.
“I guess the thing I’ve been most impressed with is his attitude throughout the entire season,” Coach Eric Musselman said. “I’m sure there has been several games where he wished he would have played more and had more of a role. He hadn’t let it affect his attitude at all. He just comes in and works. We need him to play big for us for sure.”
Stripping, ripping
The Razorbacks are forcing 17.1 turnovers per game to lead the SEC and rank 17th nationally.
“They turn you over like crazy,” Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl said. “So on our dribble-drive stuff, they’re going to be stripping and ripping. We’ve got to be strong with the ball.”