Walsh steps up for Hogs
TULSA — Before University of Arkansas forward Jordan Walsh made a statement with his play on the BOK Center court against Oklahoma on Saturday, he posted a statement on his Twitter account.
“Challenges are what make life fascinating,” Walsh wrote on Friday. “Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
Walsh, a 6-7 freshman, had 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist without a turnover in 31 minutes to help the No. 9 Razorbacks overcome a nine-point deficit in the first half and beat the Sooners 88-78.
“I thought Jordan was phenomenal, I really did,” Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said.
Walsh hit 5 of 9 shots, including 2 of 5 three-pointers. He had two offensive rebounds that led to second-chance points.
“I thought it was Jordan's best game thus far and hopefully he continues to grow as a player.” Musselman said. “I think he felt really comfortable out there, too.”
What Musselman considered Walsh's best performance came after he played a season-low eight minutes and went scoreless in Arkansas' previous game — shooting 0 of 2 from the field — when the Razorbacks beat North CarolinaGreensboro 65-58 on Tuesday night in Walton Arena.
Walsh's 12 points matched his season high against Fordham in the Razorbacks' 74-48 victory. He's also had five games with six or fewer points.
“It's good, but obviously the work's never over,” Walsh said of the positives for him producing as he did against an opponent of Oklahoma's caliber. “It's a good feeling to see myself do it because now I know that it's possible.
“It's not just a special occurrence. Like, it's possible. So now I can go into the next game with the mentality like, ‘Oh OK, you've done this before. You can do it again.' ”
Walsh is one of three Arkansas freshmen who were McDonald's AllAmericans last season, but guards Anthony Black and Nick Smith have gotten most of the attention.
Black averaged 22.3 points in three games at the Maui Invitational to make the all-tournament and on the season is averaging 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Smith is averaging 12.6 points in four games since returning from a knee injury, but his average is 19.7 in three games after being restricted to six minutes in a scoreless debut against Troy. He had
21 points against Oklahoma.
Walsh, who has started nine games, is averaging 6.9 points and 2.7 rebounds in 22.9 minutes.
“It's just confidence for him,” Arkansas junior guard Ricky Council said of how the Oklahoma game can boost Walsh. “He just needed a game like this. It's going to carry on for sure.”
Walsh was active early on both ends, blocking a shot by 6-9 Jacob Groves with 18:22 left in the first half, then hitting a three-pointer from the right wing at the 17:36 mark of the half on his first shot attempt.
“It always makes you feel good when you see one go in,” Walsh said. “Then Coach Muss was in my ear talking about, ‘Keep shooting it. Don't stop. We need it.' So I was pretty confident.”
Walsh turned his defense into offense impressively when he deflected a sideline inbounds pass by Oklahoma, got the steal and dunked for a 57-46 Arkansas lead with 57-46 left.
“That was a nice play by Jordan,” Sooners Coach Porter Moser said. “He's really long.
Long arms. Plays hard.
“I thought he played within himself. He's what we thought he was when we watched him on tape, when I saw him last year.
“He's long, he's athletic, and he's really improved his skills. He knocked down a couple big shots. I think he competes.”
Walsh's ability to raise his level of play against Oklahoma came in Arkansas' first game without sophomore forward Trevon Brazile, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against UNCG.
“It's just tough not having [Brazile] out there, but Jordan stepped up,” Council said. “I was telling him earlier, we're going to need that throughout the whole season.”
Musselman said the Razorbacks had their pregame breakfast at 8:15 a.m for the noon start against Oklahoma, but that Walsh was stretching at 7:30 a.m. with strength and conditioning coach Dave Richardson.
“It's a good sign when somebody is up well before the team breakfast and mentally getting himself ready,” Musselman said.
When Walsh met with the media along Council after the game, he was asked the significance of his tweet about overcoming challenges.
“This is just being a freshman,” Walsh said. “Coming into college, there's a lot of things we have to face that we're not used to.
“It's a change. I'm trying to get used to it and the challenge is for myself to want to come in and get better and know that, ‘OK, there are these distractions, but I'm focused on one thing, and that's basketball.' So that's what it meant to me.”