Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
UA basketball loses two
Darious Hall, C.J. Jones announce plans to transfer.
FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team is losing Darious Hall and C.J. Jones.
Hall and Jones will transfer, Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson announced in a statement.
“I appreciate them coming to the University of Arkansas and wish them the best moving forward,” Anderson said.
Hall and Jones were granted full scholarship releases by Anderson without restrictions, according to Jon Fagg, an associate athletic director at the Univers i ty of Arkansas, Fayetteville who oversees compliance and basketball.
A full release means Hall and Jones are eligible to be on scholarship at any school of their choosing, though in keeping with NCAA transfer rules they must redshirt next season.
Hall, a 6-6 forward from Mills, averaged 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.8 minutes in 35 games as a freshman this season, including five starts. He had 18 steals and 16 assists with 39 turnovers.
Jones, a 6-5 guard from Birmingham, Ala., averaged 6.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 14.8 minutes as a sophomore this season while playing off the bench in 35 games.
“It’s something that I prayed about for a long time and just feel like it’s better for me to move on to a different situation,” Hall told WholeHogSports.com. “It’s not about playing time. It’s just something I feel I need to do.
“I’ve got nothing but love for Arkansas.”
Hall said he doesn’t have “any idea” where he might transfer.
“That process is what will happen now,” he said.
Jones initially hung up on a reporter who reached him by phone, but later sent a direct message via Twitter.
“I just felt like it was a better decision for me and my family,” Jones said. “I thought over it hard and prayed about it.”
The departures of Hall and Jones come after Daniel Gafford announced March 26 he will return to Fayetteville for his sophomore season despite the 6-11 forward from El Dorado being projected as a first-round NBA Draft pick.
Hall had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in his first start against Missouri to help the Razorbacks beat the Tigers 65-63 in Walton Arena. He matched his season-highs of 14 points and 11 rebounds at Ole Miss when Arkansas won 75-64.
Other big games for Hall included at Texas A&M (13 points, 7 rebounds), California State University, Bakersfield (14 points) and Tennessee (11 points, 7 rebounds) in the SEC Tournament.
Jones had career-highs of 19 points against Connecticut and Colorado State, 15 against Oral Roberts University and 12 against North Carolina, but he cooled off considerably from 3-point range after a hot start.
After hitting 25 of 45 3- pointers in the first 10 games, Jones was 18 of 81 (22.2 percent) the rest of the season. He had 14 assists and 13 turnovers. He had five assists in SEC play.
The departures mean Arkansas has two open scholarships if Anderson decides he wants to add to the roster going into next season.
Returning players are Gafford, forwards Adrio Bailey and Gabe Osabuohien, and guards Khalil Garland and Jalen Harris. Garland, a freshman from Little Rock, redshirted last season because he wasn’t medically cleared to play. Harris redshirted after transferring from New Mexico.
Six players signed with Arkansas in November: guards Isaiah Joe, Desi Sills and Keyshawn Embery, and forwards Ethan Henderson, Reggie Chaney and Jordan Phillips.