Welcome, Desi
The entire crew is back in Jonesboro — just with one big addition.
The Red Wolves have a new headliner in Desi Sills as the hometown kid transferred to Arkansas State following three seasons at the University of Arkansas.
The Jonesboro High alum averaged 7.5 points last season with the Razorbacks but saw his minutes drop from 31.2 to 20.7 per game.
Now, he’ll be part of the Red Wolves as they look to snap a run of four straight sub-.500 conference seasons.
Coach Mike Balado began ASU’s first preseason practice Wednesday with higher expectations than his first four seasons. That’s because outside of Sills and freshman walk-on Nicolas Tingling, the rest of the Red Wolves’ 15-man roster is comprised of returners, notably Norchad Omier and Marquis Eaton.
“They knew that [the standard would be raised] from Day 1 in the summer,” Balado said. “A reminder or a refresher is one thing. Reteaching consistently the same mistakes is not good.”
The other benefit of having so many guys back is the competition amongst the group. Sills, Eaton and Omier are a likely trio to be in the starting five when ASU begins its season Nov. 9 against Harding, but there were five other players who averaged at least 5.0 points per game last year.
One of those guys is Markise Davis. The 6-8 wing played in 18 games but started just four and has dealt with injuries each of the past two seasons.
Balado also expects redshirt sophomores Malcolm Farrington and Avery Felts, a Jonesboro Westside graduate, to play their way into the mix — they both appeared in 20 or more games a year ago but combined for just one start.
“If we started a game the next day, I wouldn’t know who my starting lineup would be. And that’s a good thing,” Balado said. “We’re just competing and guys are trying to jockey for position and that’s making each other better.”