All Hogs

'Dream Season' May Have Crashed as Anthony Black Leaving

As expected, point guard Anthony Black headed to NBA, crushing dreams of many fans

Andy Hodges

'Dream Season' May Have Crashed as Anthony Black Leaving
'Dream Season' May Have Crashed as Anthony Black Leaving /
In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The announcement by Anthony Black he's headed to the NBA Draft probably shouldn't be surprising.

The "dream season" many fans hoped could miraculously happen won't.

There had been a glimmer of hope with some social media postings and wandering thoughts that were never really going to be much more than "what-if."

Deep down, though, it's doubtful many folks thought the 6-7 freshman point guard would return to Arkansas.

Now we will see what Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman does putting this roster together.

Black is projected to go in the lottery of the first 14 picks, where there is a lottery of teams having chances to determine the preferred early order of picks.

If Nick Smith Jr., who declared his eligibility for the draft, is taken in that first round it will be the first time in school history they've had two players taken that high.

It might be even more important now with just two rounds of the draft.

Right after the announcement, Razorbacks basketball took to social media to thank Black for the big year.

The Duncanville, Texas, native was one of three McDonald's All-American signees on this year's team.

He led the SEC in minutes played and finished the regular season third on the team and third among qualifying SEC freshmen in scoring at 12.8 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting from the field and a 30.1 percent clip from beyond the arc.

Black led the Hogs in total assists (141) and steals (74) while stuffing the stat sheet across the board with 5.1 rebounds per game and 22 blocked shots from the point guard position.

According to HogStats, he is the only player in Arkansas basketball men's basketball history to reach 450 points, 180 rebounds and 140 assists in a season.

Black set Arkansas freshman records in steals (74), steals per game (2.06), minutes (1,253), free throw attempts (190) and starts (36).

It's going to be a big hole to fill.

The news came at roughly the same time as an anticipated announcement that Temple guard Khalif Battle committed to the Hogs.

Now we get to see how the rest of this shakes out after Devo Davis and Ricky Council IV also declared for the draft. Makhel Mitchell also left the Hogs by way of the transfer portal.

Battle had a four-game stretch in November where he scored more than 22 points in each contest. In late-January and early-February, he did himself one better with a five-game run of 20-plus point performances.

The Temple transfer dropped a season-high 27 points on two separate occasions against VCU and at SMU. He went for 24 points on 6-of-12 shooting with four three-pointers against Houston on Feb. 5. In total, Battle scored over 20 points in 13 games on the season.

For Razorback fans clamoring for more perimeter shooting, Battle made multiple three-pointers in 24 of 27 games for the Owls last season.

He connected on four or more triples eight times, including a season-high six threes on 11 attempts against Richmond on Nov. 22. Volume and accuracy are both present in his game.

Arkansas divider

HOGS FEED:

PATH AWAITS HOGS BEING SET UP FOR 'DREAM SEASON' NEXT YEAR

TODAY'S ATHLETES HAVE MUCH MORE TO THINK ABOUT WHEN CONSIDERING GOING PRO

ARKANSAS WILL HAVE ANOTHER QUARTERBACK NAMED KJ IN THE FOLD

ERIC MUSSELMAN LANDS TRANSFER PORTAL COMMITMENT FROM HOUSTON

ARKANSAS RECEIVERS KNOW A NO. 1 TARGET HASN'T EMERGED IN SPRING PRACTICE

TIME HAS COME WHERE IT MIGHT BE BEST FOR THE MITCHELL TWINS TO TAKE SEPARATE PATHS TO THE SAME DREAM DESTINATION

HUNTER YURACHECK MADE UNFORESEEN RIGHT CALL ON MUSSELMAN FOUR YEARS AGO

FORMER RAZORBACK WALK-ON STARTING NEW CAREER WITH A FAMILAR FACE

HOGS' JALEN GRAHAM HAS EASTER EGG HIDDING IN SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ABOUT TEAMMATE

IF THIS IS WHAT MUSSELMAN IS DOING, HE IS ABOUT TO CHANGE HOW BASKETBALL TRANSFER PORTAL IS USED

PITTMAN BETTER ENJOY THIS YEAR BECAUSE NEXT NINE YEARS OF NON-CONFERENCE WILL BE TOUGH

JALEN GRAHAM COMING BACK FOR SECOND SEASON WITH RAZORBACKS

HOGS COACH SAM PITTMAN 'HAVING A BLAST' WITH OFFENSIVE LINE PLAYER MOVES IN SPRING PRACTICE

MENIFIELD'S COMMITMENT SAYS A LOT ABOUT WHAT MUSSELMAN HAS DONE, WHO HE'S INTENDED TO REPLACE

ARKANSAS DEFENSIVE END LANDON JACKSON FINALLY HEALTHY, READY TO DOMINATE

RAZORBACKS LAND TRANSFER FROM WASHINGTON IN TRANSFER PORTAL TUESDAY

HOW A FRESHMAN COULD PROVIDE CLUE TO HOW NEW OFFENSE WITH OFFENSE COULD LOOK

RAZORBACKS' RICKY COUNCIL HEADED TO CHECK OUT NBA CHANCES

HOG FEED: PLAYER OF THE YEAR PUTS HOGS ON LIST, JOHNSON TRIES TO SNEAK BACK ONTO ROSTER

IF BILL GATES, WALTON FAMILY WANT TO BUY A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT

ARKANSAS BASEBALL SCHEDULE

FAYETTEVILLE WEATHER UPDATE

Arkansas divider

Return to allHogs home page.

• Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the allHOGS message board community today!

• Follow allHOGS on Twitter and Facebook.

Published
Andy Hodges
ANDY HODGES

Sports columnist, writer, former radio host and television host who has been expressing an opinion on sports in the media for over four decades. He has been at numerous media stops in Arkansas, Texas and Mississippi.