Uh, Don’t Overlook Anthony Black Handing Out Praise

There is no evidence this year Razorbacks can win if point guard doesn't play like he is

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Jan 22, 2023 11:02 AM EST
Original:
Jan 21, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Maybe everybody is just getting used to seeing the floppy hair of Anthony Black in games.

The kid from Duncanville, Texas, might be the best point guard in an Arkansas uniform in decades. That's a strictly subjective opinion.

He's certainly the best all-around. Maybe that's why a lot of people weren't talking about the game he played in a 69-57 win by the 25th-ranked Razorbacks over Ole Miss on Saturday.

Hogs’ Anthony Black Against Ole Miss

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Maybe they just didn't look at the entire scoresheet.

Black led all scorers with 17 points, eight assists, five steals and three rebounds. Hogs coach Eric Musselman noticed.

"There are not many freshmen that are going to have 17, 8 and 5 steals," he said later. "I mean, five steals to me is as impressive as anything he did tonight."

That's not including how he handled the ball on so many possessions in a game and only turned it over twice. That's two times.

As you can tell in interviews and just casual conversation, Black seems mature beyond a freshman.

"You're seeing growth in his game on both sides of the ball," Musselman said.

Yeah, Black is the best point guard in decades around here and certainly the most versatile in so many different areas since Ron Brewer way back in 1975-78. Feel free to have a different opinion ... and be wrong.

Hogs’ Eric Musselman in Win Over Ole Miss

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For Musselman's part, he appeared relieved more than happy in a press conference that sailed past 20 minutes (they are usually between eight and 12 minutes). He wasn't letting anyone ruin the moment, which has taken four games to experience again.

"We’re happy," he said. "We’ll have a good dinner tonight with family and friends. It’s a little bit better than the alternative. Our whole team really responded in the second half."

The first half was fairly close, but you could see Ole Miss starting to wear down. They simply didn't have the talent as deep as the Hogs' bench.

That went all the way down to freshman Joseph Pinion, who has improved to the point where he had 13 points in 17 minutes. He was three-of-six on three-pointers, played defense and made back-cut layup that gave the Hogs a three-point lead at halftime.

They just pulled away from the Rebels in the second half. A little spurt by Ole Miss at the end made the score look a little closer than it actually felt watching the game.

"This was the first game that showed that this is who Arkansas is and we’re going to be like this for a while," Jordan Walsh said.

It wasn't a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination. Musselman will have plenty of teaching points on this one.

"In the first half we weren’t making shots," he said. "Maybe the flow wasn’t what we wanted offensively, but I thought in the second half defensively holding Ole Miss to 37%, defensive activity with steals, we were kind of doing what we do, which is create offense through our defense."

Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes, Nick Smith was at the game. Not in uniform but was on the sidelines during pregame warmups, then kinda disappeared after the game.

"There is no update," Musselman said. "He's back in town, he's rehabbing with our trainers and our doctors. He's still in the same situation."

Nick Smith-Ole Miss — Arkansas Razorbacks freshman Nick Smith Jr. on the floor during pregame warmups before a game with the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. (Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images)

Forget all those social media experts who have taken a wild guess or repeated one from somebody else in the past week or so.

"He's not at practice," Musselman said.

As we suspected, though, Musselman has figured out a way to adjust to whatever is going on there. His teams usually start figuring things out about this time in the season.

More importantly, they start winning.