Would It Have Been Best for Both Parties if Smith Had Continued Sitting Out?

Highly touted freshman possibly hurting NBA draft stock while dysfunctional-looking team played better while he was rehabbing

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The question actually is starting to look legitimate for Arkansas now.

After recording zero positive statistics in a blown opportunity against Texas A&M, you have to wonder why Nick Smith is even dressing out.

For whatever reasons, Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman kinda looks like he's dodging questions about the highly-touted freshman who really hasn't done much after playing in North Little Rock against Bradley on Dec. 17 last year.

For a guy still expected to be a first-round pick in the NBA Draft in the summer, why not take off the extra five games and start getting ready for that? He's already taken off the biggest part of the most important SEC schedule.

He hasn't done much in the 16 minutes against Mississippi State or his four minutes against Texas A&M that wouldn't have looked better in a workout for the scouts.

Musselman has to be either hoping he works through all that and plays up to his billing or all this drama just gets out of the way.

After the loss to the Aggies Wednesday night, he dodged both questions about Smith:

On Smith being good to go physically: "We’re just trying to win a game and keep our season alive," he said, which really didn't have a thing to do with the question.

On Smith being ready for a game like that: "We’re just going to try to keep working everybody in, and, you know ...," he said. That was good as he could do at the time.

What all this dodging does is give the impression Musselman thinks his hands are tied and there is no good decision to make.

Maybe it's recruiting public relations. He doesn't want it to appear they kicked a big recruit off the team simply by being injured. With Trevon Brazile out and nobody consistently able to score at crunch time, he needs all the boost he can get.

The hope may simply be that Smith rounds into playing like a first-round NBA draft choice by tournament time, but if they don't make the NCAA, will he even try to play the postseason in an NIT spotlight?

That's a grown man's decision and could involve a lot of people tugging from various directions or mapping out someone else's future, whether they like it or not.

Unless the nasty money word somehow comes into play, and that opens up so many other questions it would take too long to even throw all those possibilities out there, it's all speculation.

Of course, speculation is the only thing that's been consistent as this season has played out.

Everybody has spent a few months talking more about a guy who isn't playing for whatever reasons than focusing on the players who are on the floor.

Whether that's at the root of everything is something only Musselman can answer.

And he's apparently not talking.

HOGS FEED:

A REALISTIC LOOK AT RAZORBACKS' FOOTBALL SCHEDULE THIS SEASON

WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE IF THE SEC SCHEDULED PERMANENT PARTNERS BY NUMBER OF TIMES TEAM HAVE PLAYED EACH OTHER?

WHOSE COACHING SEAT HOT ALREADY THIS SUMMER, COULD WARM UP IN FALL?

NO. 1 ALABAMA CENTER INJURED LEADING UP TO TENNESSEE MATCHUP

ALABAMA FANS WILL BE CALLING THE HOGS THIS WEEK

MUSSELMAN RUNNING OUT OF TIME TO TINKER WITH LINE-UP

WHO COULD BE FIRST RAZORBACK TEAM TO WIN A NATIONAL TITLE?

RAZORBACKS BLAST THEIR WAY THROUGH FIRST FIVE GAMES OF THE SOFTBALL SEASON

SEC TOURNAMENT BRACKET NOT SHAPING UP WELL FOR ARKANSAS, KENTUCKY

DAVIS IS THE HOGS' LEADER AND THERE CAN'T BE ANY DOUBT ABOUT THAT GOING FORWARD

ARKANSAS WOMEN'S TEAM GETS MUCH NEEDED WIN, BLASTS MISSOURI

HOW DOES SMITH'S RETURN CHANGE THE DYNAMIC OF THE RAZORBACKS?

NO, NICK SMITH WASN'T REASON FOR RAZORBACKS' LOSS TO MISSISSIPPI STATE

BURN EVERYTHING EXCEPT 11 SECONDS IN HOGS' LOSS TO MISSISSIPPI STATE ON SATURDAY NIGHT

SEC SOFTBALL JUST BECAME MOST DOMINANT LEAGUE IN ALL OF COLLEGE SPORTS

SEC RESET GIVES CONFERENCE CHANCE TO RIGHT A DECADE LONG WRONG

WHAT'S WORTH WATCHING THIS WEEKEND ACROSS THE SEC, PLUS BETTING LINES

WITH TEXAS, OU COMING EARLY, HOW WILL SEC RESTRUCTURING AFFECT THE RAZORBACKS?

NOT TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO ON TEXAS-OU IN 2024, BUT I TOLD YOU SO

WE NOW KNOW TEXAS, OKLAHOMA ARE COMING IN 2024, HOW IT HAPPENED

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