Arkansas’ Sills puts name in transfer portal
FAYETTEVILLE — More than 1,000 college basketball players already have entered the transfer portal, according to a report in The Athletic. The total is expected to exceed more than 1,400.
Add Desi Sills' name to the list.
Sills, a 6-2 guard from Jonesboro who played all 98 games for the University of Arkansas the last three seasons, announced Wednesday on social media he is putting his name into the transfer portal.
The NCAA allowed all basketball players an extra year of eligibility because of the coronavirus pandemic, so Sills will have two years of eligibility at a new school.
It's also expected this summer the NCAA will approve a waiver allowing first-time transfer players immediate eligibility.
“I'm going somewhere I can be Desi Sills and not be [held] back!” Sills wrote on his Instagram account. “That's that on that. I'm a certified [bucket], y'all will see in the near future.”
Sills couldn't be reached for comment, but in a post on his Facebook account he thanked Mike Anderson — Arkansas' coach his freshman season — and Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman for allowing him to play in his home state.
“I am grateful for all the things my teammates and I were able to accomplish, and the memories we were able to make in this year of uncertainty & thanks for pushing me every day in practice to make me a better player,” Sills wrote.
Sills started 15 of 32 games this season and averaged 7.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 20.8 minutes for an Arkansas team that reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the first time since 1995 and finished 25-7.
Both of Sills' top two scoring games this season came against Auburn. He matched his career-high with 23 points in 35 minutes in Arkansas' 97-83 victory at Auburn to open SEC play, then scored 22 points in 32 minutes when the Razorbacks rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat the Tigers 75-73 in Walton Arena.
Playing time for Sills became inconsistent during the latter part of the season, but in his final two games he played 28 minutes in Arkansas' 72-70 victory over Oral Roberts and 31 in an 81-72 loss to Baylor. He had 2 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in each game.
“I thought Desi affected those games positively without scoring a lot,” said Wes Swift, who coached Sills at Jonesboro High School.
Sills drew praise from Musselman after the Oral Roberts game for playing a key role off the bench. Sills played just three minutes the previous game against Texas Tech.
“Desi gave us a great lift,” Musselman said. “We felt like [JD Notae] was struggling and pressing too much, so the next man up was Desi, and he came in and he played a really solid team game.
“It's great to have a player with starting experience that has played in so many big games the last few years at Arkansas to rely on to come off the bench and provide what he provided for us against Oral Roberts.”
Sills started 24 of 32 games as a sophomore and averaged 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 31.2 minutes. He played off the bench the last six games, but averaged 14.7 points and 30.2 minutes in that span.
SEC coaches voted Sills among 17 players to receive preseason all-conference recognition, but he saw his stats and playing time gradually decrease as a junior. He averaged 26.1 minutes in the first 18 games this season, but 13.9 minutes in the final 14 games.
The significant drop in playing time began for Sills on Feb. 2, when he played four minutes against Mississippi State before injuring his left shoulder — he's left-handed — while taking a hard fall on a driving attempt.
A month later, Sills scored 15 points in 26 minutes at South Carolina and hit 5 of 7 3-point attempts, but he said in an answer to a question about his shoulder that it still was painful.
“It's hurting,” Sills said. “But I'm the type of guy that plays with toughness, and I'm not going to just give up on my team. If I've got a shoulder injury, I'm still going to try to step out there and try to produce or do what I want to do.
“But at the end of the day, I have a shoulder injury. It happens. Everybody gets hurt, but I can't do anything about it. Now, that's the past. I'm worried about the future. It's OK.”
Arkansas freshman guard Davonte “Devo” Davis started the final game 14 games, and averaged 10.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in that span. He averaged 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds in four NCAA Tournament games.
“Devo already was starting to get minutes, but his minutes really jumped up when Desi got hurt, and Devo excelled,” Swift said. “I don't think anybody was out to replace Desi, but it just kind of
happened.”
Sills started the final eight games his freshman season and scored 15 points at Kentucky and 18 at Indiana in an NIT game.
“Thinking back to his freshman year, Desi got his opportunity and once he took that job, he never gave it back,” Swift said. “It's kind of what happened in reverse this year with Devo.”
Swift said he hasn't talked with Sills about his decision to transfer.
“I can't say that it surprised me, because of the time that we live in right now, with everything moving in that direction,” Swift said of so many players transferring. “I'm speculating, but I think these kids get near the end of their college career and if they do want to play any type of professional basketball — I'm not just talking about the NBA, but the overseas game as well — they feel like they need to have certain stats.
“And if they're not getting them where they are, then they feel it's in their best interest to move. I'm not saying I necessarily agree with that philosophy. I just think that's what's causing a lot of these late-in-your career transfers.”