Minus fouls, UA freshman sparkling

FAYETTEVILLE — Daniel Gafford has been doing it on both ends of the court so far for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

That includes getting in foul trouble.

Gafford, a 6-11 freshman from

El Dorado, is averaging

12.5 points,

3.5 rebounds and

1.5 blocked shots in the Razorbacks’ victories over Samford 95-56 and Bucknell 101-73.

Unfortunately for Gafford and the Razorbacks, he also has fouled out of both games.

“He’s relentless, and sometimes that gets him in trouble,” Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. “So we’ve got to kind of calm some of that down, because he gets a lot of overthe-back fouls or just some touch fouls.”

The fouls have limited Gafford to a combined 33 minutes in both games, but he’s made the most of those.

After having 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks in 17 minutes against Samford, Gafford had 15 points and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes against Bucknell.

“I think he fills his role nicely,” Bucknell Coach Nathan Davis said. “He does a good job because of his

length defensively, being able to protect the basket and ro tate over and get deflections when you’re driving. Then offensively around the rim he does a good job of catching and finishing.

“Their guards are very good, and so they draw a lot of attention and he’s able to play off them.”

Gafford is shooting 69.2 percent from the field (9 of

13) and 70 percent on the free throw line (7 of 10).

“You can see the upside,” Anderson said. “You can see why we get excited about him.

“You can’t teach 6-11. You can’t teach that athletic ability, the quickness. He has a bigtime motor. He’s one of those guys that can quick jump and go get the basketball.”

Fresno State Coach Rodney Terry, whose Bulldogs (2-0) play the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville at 7 p.m. Friday in Walton Arena, said he’s been impressed watching Gafford on game tape.

“My take on that young man is, ‘Wow!’ ” Terry said. “The sky’s the limit for that young fellow.

“That was a great get for Arkansas to keep him in the state. You know he’s going to continue to get better and better in your program. Boy, he’s got a high ceiling with his length, his athleticism, the way he moves.

“He’s going to be a pretty good scorer before it’s all said and done and on defense you know he can erase some shots or alter them. He’s a guy that can cause a lot of problems

for us.”

Anderson said the only way Gafford will learn how to avoid foul problems is to get more game experience.

“So if we can continue to get him minutes out on the floor, I think you’ll see him make those subtle adjustments,” Anderson said. “But the things he brings to the table, man, are so valuable for our basketball team.

“All he’s got to do is just continue to take the opportunity to learn from, let’s say the miscues, which most of them have been fouls.”

Gafford