Fans to bid adieu to eclectic senior class

Tonight is senior night for the University of Arkansas, and four young men will play their final game in Walton Arena.

Adrio Bailey came to the UA from Clarence, La., and has contributed every season, sometimes as a starter and sometimes off the bench.

Bailey has started 28 of 29 games this season and is averaging 6.9 points per game and 4.5 rebounds. With his aggressive defensive style, he also leads the team in fouls committed with 98. He’s fouled out of six games.

Jimmy Whitt is the most interesting senior since it seemed he would not step foot on campus again when he transferred to SMU after his freshman season with the Razorbacks.

The Columbia, Mo., native started 63 games for the Mustangs, and with a degree in sports management in hand, he announced he was transferring back to Arkansas to play for Eric Musselman.

Whitt has started all 29 games and averages 13.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg and is second on the team with 40 steals.

If there was a Crip Hall Award in basketball — an award given in football to a senior who had an outstanding game on homecoming — it would go to Whitt.

Jeantal Cylla has seen action in 25 games and averages 8 minutes a game.

He started his career at Florida Atlantic, where he played two seasons before transferring to the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, where he started 32 of 33 games and averaged 13.7 ppg.

He graduated with a degree in communication studies and opted to pursue his masters at Arkansas.

Jamario Bell spent five seasons on the football team, then joined the basketball team this year to provide the Razorbacks with another healthy body.

Musselman already has signed four true freshmen for next year, and his goal was to get the four best from Arkansas even though two were playing out of state.

They may become known as the Hogs Quad.

All four are ranked in the Top 100 in ESPN’s rankings. They were recruited by too many high Division I schools to list them all.

Moses Moody, a 6-5 shooting guard from Little Rock, plays for 25-0 Montverde Academy, Fla., where he is an outstanding starter on a team that features three McDonald’s All-Americans.

Moody won a state championship at North Little Rock High before moving to Montverde.

KK Robinson plays for Oak Hill Academy. The 6-0 point guard from Bryant is third on the team in assists.

Jaylin Williams, a 6-10, 223-pound center, plays for Fort Smith Northside. The Grizzlies first game in the Class 6A state tournament is Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Bryant.

Davonte Davis is a 6-4 point guard from Jacksonville who plays for the Red Devils. Their first game in the Class 5A state tournament is 2:30 p.m. today in Russellville.

Musselman’s desire to put a fence around the state and keep the best players home is obvious.

It is also a goal of football Coach Sam Pittman, who like Musselman has the staff to recruit nationally.

Arkansas doesn’t produce enough players in any sport to let the the good ones get away.

Most likely, Musselman will begin to branch out and cherry-pick some players from other states.

Musselman’s first season has featured basically a sixman rotation, but they have pumped life and enthusiasm back into the program.

Sometimes change is good. Mike Anderson and St. John’s are flying high after Sunday’s victory over No. 10 Creighton.

Tonight when the LSU Tigers take the court, it will be in front of one of the most intimidating crowds in the SEC, and they will send four Razorbacks off with warmth and dignity.