Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Moody recognized among SEC’s best
FAYETTEVILLE — Recruiting services rated Moses Moody one of the top 50 high school basketball players in the country last season, but he wasn’t sure what to expect as a freshman at the University of Arkansas.
“Being a high school guy and not playing a college game ever, you don’t know what to expect,” Moody said after scoring 28 points against Texas A&M on Saturday to lead the Razorbacks to an 87-80 victory. “My automatic thought was that every college guy is going to be better than high school.
“So just coming into the league and being able to play, I’ve gotten to realize that I can hang with anybody out here.”
Moody, a 6-6 guard from Little Rock, can do more than just hang with other SEC players. SEC coaches and media members agreed Moody is one of the best players in the conference.
Moody was selected to All-SEC first teams announced
Tuesday by the conference office and The Associated Press that were voted on by the coaches and media, respectively. He was one of eight first-team players selected by the coaches and one of five on the AP team.
The coaches and media also voted Moody as the SEC freshman of the year and new- comer of the year, respectively. He is the ninth Razorback to earn first-team All-SEC honors. He also was voted to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
“I think it’s an awesome accomplishment for Moses,” Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. “It’s just not often that you have a freshman come in, start from day one and be a go-to player. Be a guy that you rely on to make baskets, be a guy that you rely on to get defensive stops.”
Moody is averaging 17.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 33.0 minutes per game.
“Moses Moody is a guy who can do it all,” Arkansas junior guard Desi Sills said. “ll just say he’s one hell of a player.”
Moody is the first Arkansas freshman to be an AP first-team All-SEC player and second to make the larger coaches first team along with Scotty Thurman in 1993. He’s the third Razorback to be AP’s SEC newcomer of the year along with Joe Johnson (2000) and Patrick Beverley (2007).
Alabama 6-8 senior Herbert Jones, averaging 10.9 points and 6.1 rebounds for the conference champion Crimson Tide, was voted SEC player of the year by the coaches and media. He also was picked defensive player of the year by the coaches.
A breakdown of the coaches’ voting isn’t revealed by the SEC, but Jones received 5 votes for player of the year from the AP’s 14-person panel with Moody receiving 4.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for the league and the players that are able to play at a high level each and every night in this league,” Moody said when asked about not being player of the year. “So I wouldn’t want to take anything away from anybody that was obviously deserving of it.
“I’m honored to be named among the top of the league and players of that caliber.”
Arkansas junior guard JD Notae, averaging 12.9 points and 22.3 minutes with one start in 26 games, was voted by coaches as SEC sixth man of the year.
“It takes a special player to be willing to come off the bench,” Musselman said. “Never complain. Be able to come in and play the off guard or the the point guard. JD’s made great strides understanding shot selection and defending.”
Notae said his award was a testament to his teammates and the coaching staff.
“I’m proud of myself, but I just want to keep it going,” Notae said.
Alabama’s Nate Oats was voted coach of the year by his coaching peers and the media for leading the No. 7 Tide (216, 16-2) to their first SEC regular-season championship since 2002. He received 12 votes from the AP panel while Musselman got the other two votes.
Arkansas (21-5, 13-4) is No. 8 in the AP poll — its first top 10 ranking since 1995 — but Moody and Notae are the only two Razorbacks who received SEC honors.
Musselman, speaking on a Zoom call with the media Tuesday, expressed frustration more of his players weren’t recognized by the voters.
“I’m just shocked,” Musselman said. “I love to watch postgame press conferences, and after every game everybody talks about this guy’s a pro on our team and this guy’s Gary Payton defensively. “Well, where are the votes?” Senior forward Justin Smith, a key player on offense and defense averaging 12.5 points and 6.8 rebounds who has helped the Razorbacks win 11 consecutive SEC games since returning from ankle surgery, was not among 16 all-conference picks by the coaches.
“I was surprised by it, but I’m not going to let it bother me,” Smith, a graduate transfer from Indiana, said of his AllSEC snub. “I’m just glad that Mo was recognized accordingly, and so was JD.”
Musselman was upset guard Davonte Davis — who LSU Coach Will Wade compared to Payton defensively — and forward Jaylin Williams didn’t make the SEC All-Freshman Team and that senior guard Jalen Tate — the Horizon League defensive player of the year last season who covered the best perimeter player on opposing teams this season — and 7-3 Connor Vanover with 50 blocked shots were left off the SEC All-Defensive Team.
“Justin’s impact on the team goes without saying given our record with him [20-2] and without him [1-3],” Moody said. “I don’t know what all goes into the decision-making process behind closed doors, but I feel like he definitely could have been there [on the All-SEC teams] and should have been there.”
Moody is shooting 44.1% from the field (139 of 315), 38.6% on three-pointers (51 of 132) and 82.8% on free throws (125 of 151). He has 38 turnovers on the season with two in the previous four games.
“He doesn’t force things,” Musselman said. “He lets the game come to him. He’s got an incredibly high basketball IQ. So it’s not really a surprise. He just does a great job with ball security.
“That’s also why he’s got the ball in his hands a lot in late-game situations as a decision-maker and a shot-maker.”
Moody, who played at Montverde Academy in Florida the previous two seasons, committed to Arkansas in the fall of 2019. His other final choices were Michigan and Virginia, and his offers also included Kansas, Ohio State, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma among many others.
“He’s played as good as any player in the entire country,” Musselman said. “If anyone looked at my phone and the text messages and the phone calls when we were recruiting him, we put enough effort in that we thought he’d be one of the best players in the country.
“It’s paid off that he trusted us and made a decision to come here. I think it’s paid off for Mo and for us. I think he’s in the right system. I think there’s a great comfort level with him playing here at Arkansas.
“I feel an overly strong bond knowing that he had an opportunity to play anywhere in the country and he chose us.”