Arkansas basketball is prioritizing playmakers over point guards with the Razorbacks this season, which makes sense as the game transitions to more of a position-less landscape.
Friday’s exhibition win over Kansas featured freshman Boogie Fland holding down the fort at the lead guard position with sophomore DJ Wagner thriving in an off-ball role.
Will that be the case on a nightly basis moving forward? Not so fast…
As associate head coach Chin Coleman explained to media on Wednesday, the Razorbacks have plenty of options to initiate the offense. Who it will be on a given possession might depend on who secures a defensive rebound.
“A lot of our parts are interchangeable,” Coleman said. “So, from Boogie to DJ they’re both the same kind of parts, as well as Adou (Thiero) when he’s out on the floor, as well as Nelly (Davis).
“We challenge our guys that if you want to be the point guard, stick your nose in there and rebound. Then you can initiate the offense.”
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While Fland, Wagner and Davis offer a dynamic backcourt trio that can all serve as the de facto point guard, Arkansas boasts playmaking across the board.
Adou Thiero has the Draymond Green trait of being able to board it and go in transition. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks are even making a concerted effort to run the offense through 7-2 forward Zvonimir Ivisic.
“Our perimeter guys are pretty much all the same,” Coleman said. “The fact that you’re saying Boogie is a point guard, DJ is a point guard… We like to say we have playmakers on the floor.
“It’s not necessarily labeled by who brings the ball up because sometimes you’re going to see Z bring the ball up. Does that mean Z at 7-2 is our point guard? No, it means Z is a playmaker, and the more playmakers you have on the floor the better you are.”
With plenty of mouths to feed, one of the biggest challenges for Arkansas is to make sure everyone eats without getting greedy.
When the ball and players are in constant motion, high-quality shots are created organically through the offense, which is exactly what the coaching staff is looking for rather than a rotation of iso offense.
“There’s energy on the ball when there’s movement. When there’s good ball movement and player movement, you’re going to get good shots,” Coleman said. “But you can’t do that if you don’t have multiple guys on the floor that can make plays.
“Multiple guys on the floor who can dribble, pass and shoot. That’s what we want on the floor. Whether it’s 1-5, I don’t know who the point guard is. It depends on who brings the ball up. It depends on who brings the ball up, who rebounds it and who’s making the plays. We have a lot of guys who can do that.”
Arkansas and TCU are set for a 7 p.m. (CT) tipoff from Dickies Arena on Friday. The game will not be available for streaming or television broadcast, but will be on radio. Inside Arkansas will be on hand for Live Updates and The Pod at The Palace Postgame Show following the action.
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