Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Hogs shaping up under Musselman
Men’s basketball team all in on preseason conditioning work
FAYETTEVILLE — Isaiah Joe, Jimmy Whitt, Desi Sills and Jalen Harris might not place at the Penn Relays, but for basketball players they make a pretty good 4-mile team.
University of Arkansas men’s Coach Eric Musselman requires his players hit certain mile marks as part of the team’s preseason conditioning work and Joe, Whitt, Sills and Harris had the fastest times.
Joe ran 5 minutes and 23 seconds, followed by Whitt at 5:25, Sills at 5:29 and Harris at 5:30.
“Phenomenal,” Musselman said Tuesday when asked about his team’s conditioning. “We’re not on the track today doing the mile run because everybody passed it.”
Guards were required to run the mile in 5:30, wings in 5:40 and forwards in 5:50.
Musselman added that Connor Vanover, a 7-3 sophomore transfer from California, didn’t have to make a mile time because of his height and long legs.
“Now, Connor did not pass,” Musselman said. “When you’re [7-3], you’re probably not going to be able to run a mile. He’s the only guy that I’ve ever given a pass to because of his body frame.”
Joe, a sophomore guard, said the Razorbacks’ conditioning has been evident in practice as well as on the track.
“Every day we’re getting up and down the court,” Joe said Thursday when the Razorbacks met with the media. “We’re running drills at max speed and we’re getting great conditioning in the process, because you never know how many players will end up going in a game.
“We have to be in a great condition so we can be successful this year.”
Arkansas has nine eligible scholarship players and is awaiting word from the NCAA regarding a waiver request that if granted would allow Vanover to play this season.
“We’re going to have a lot of guys play a lot of minutes because of the depth,” Musselman said. “I’m not playing 11 guys, because I don’t have 11 guys eligible on the roster.
“So we’re probably going to have a rotation of seven or eight guys. Those seven guys have to be in really great physical condition.”
Arkansas had nine players average at least 15.3 minutes last season under Coach Mike Anderson, who stressed an uptempo, pressing style.
Harris, a junior point guard, averaged a team-high
30.8 minutes. Joe averaged 30.1 points and junior guard Mason Jones averaged 29.3.
Daniel Gafford, who is now a rookie with the Chicago Bulls, averaged 28.7 minutes last season.
No Razorback other than Harris, Joe, Jones and Gafford averaged more than 18.6 minutes..
Musselman’s Nevada team last season had three players average more than 34 minutes with Jordan Caroline (35.5) and twins Cody Martin (34.4) and Caleb Martin (34.1).
“We don’t have any choice but to be OK with it, because it’s what we have,” Joe said of the team going with a reduced playing rotation.
“We’ve got to work with what we’ve got.
“If somebody was to unfortunately get hurt and we’re a player down, we just have to bounce back from it.”
Musselman said he’s hopeful the preseason conditioning program will help the Razorbacks stay healthy.
“We talked about the physical condition that our past teams have had,” said Musselman, who had a 110-34 record at Nevada the previous four seasons. “You hope that you’re in great condition and that — knock on wood — alleviates minor injuries going forward.
“I think sometimes injuries happen when you’re not in great physical condition.”
Sophomore forward Reggie Chaney, who ran a 5:47 mile, said the Razorbacks will continue to improve their conditioning in practice.
“Every day we’re going hard and everything is quick and fast,” Chaney. “We’re on to the next drill. Everything is like, ‘Boom, boom, boom.’ ”
Whitt, a senior guard and graduate transfer from SMU, averaged team-high 35.1 minutes for the Mustangs last season.
SMU’s NCAA sanctions for rules violations — which occurred before Whitt transferred there after his first stint at Arkansas — included the loss of seven scholarships between the 2016-17 and 201819 seasons.
“At SMU we had scholarship restrictions, so I’m used to playing with six, seven guys,” Whitt said. “That’s just what we had to do.”
Sills, a sophomore guard, started the final eight games last season. He averaged 16.9 minutes overall, a figure he might have to double this season.
“Some guys are going to play 30 or more minutes a night, so we’re getting ready for that,” Sills said. “If we get tired, we’ve just got to push through it.”
Jones said he’s ready to play increased minutes if needed.
“I just feel like we’ve got to do whatever we’ve got to do to win games,” Jones said. ‘We’ve got to play and grind and win.
“If we only play seven guys, then that’s what we have to do and make it work. No excuses.”
Whitt said there are advantages to playing 30 to 35 minutes.
“The good thing is that guys get an opportunity to play a lot of minutes, and that’s what you come to college to do — to be able to get out there and prove yourself,” Whitt said. “So from the that standpoint, everybody’s going to be excited to get out there and be ready to play.”