National analysts continue to see Jordan Smith as Arkansas’ game-changer

If Arkansas basketball fulfills its potential this season, Jordan Smith is consistently seen as the reason the Hogs will live up to the billing. The Athletic joined the Smith chorus in a recent offseason evaluation:

“Smith, the No. 3-ranked player in the freshman class, per the 247Sports Composite, is the unquestioned leader of the group. He will immediately be one of the best defenders in college basketball. Standing 6-foot-2 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, he wants to take the ball and your soul. And he has tools that do not usually get talked about in basketball, like incredible hand strength. Smith raises everyone else’s level by how hard he plays, and he makes plays that few can. He had one block of a mid-range jumper while guarding his own man. You just don’t see that.

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“With Smith setting the tone, the Razorbacks are built to fly around the floor, disrupting actions with their switchability and recovery time. For Arkansas to reach its ceiling, it’ll need to embrace a Houston-like mentality of wanting to make life miserable for opponents. Calipari hasn’t had a team rank in the top 100 of defensive turnover rate since 2015, but there’s no reason for this team not to get there, and forcing turnovers will help the offense which is built to run.”

There are two main observations to glean from The Athletic’s appraisal of Jordan Smith. First, he is seen as the key cog in the operation, the guy who will enable this team to play the way it needs to play. More precisely, Smith will be able to give Arkansas a defense-first identity the team did not have last season with Darius Acuff. Arkansas can get points not from efficient halfcourt offense but from tenacious defense which creates live-ball turnovers and easy transition baskets. Smith will put Arkansas in position to win on nights when the Hogs aren’t shooting the ball well.

The second main observation from The Athletic’s assessment is that Jordan Smith is seen in a way no one else on the team is viewed. So many…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/national-analysts-continue-see-jordan-140049160.html

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Publish date : 2026-09-02 14:00:00

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