Cal Basketball: Connor Vanover Unlikely to Play for Arkansas on Thursday at the Sweet 16

The one-time Cal center has seen his time on the floor greatly diminish in recent months.

Cal fans planning to take in Thursday’s Sweet 16 game between top-seeded Gonzaga and Arkansas should not expect to see former Golden Bears center Connor Vanover on the Chase Center floor for the Razorbacks.

Vanover, who played his freshman season of 2018-19 at Cal, started seven games early this season for Arkansas. But he has not been part of the rotation since December and his most recent appearance was Jan. 18 against South Carolina, when he played two scoreless minutes.

The Razorbacks (27-8) seemingly have phased out Vanover in favor of Jaylin Williams, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound sophomore. Williams is averaging 10.5 points, a team-best 9.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots.

With Williams on the floor, the Razorbacks can play faster, coach Eric Musselman hinted.

“It’s just the pace of play right now,” Musselman said.

Connor Vanover dunks against Oregon State / Photo by Al Sermeno, KLC fotos

A 7-foot-3, 247-pound junior, Vanover has some shooting skills and can be an effective shot blocker. But he is no greyhound.

“You never know when he can come in and help,” Musselman said.

How fascinating would it be to see Vanover match up against Gonzaga's 7-1 freshman sensation Chet Holmgren?

Not likely to happen as Vanover has played just 19 minutes and scored two points in seven games since Dec. 11.

Musselman said Vanover has been sick once or twice during the season and has struggled to keep weight on. But he is not injured.

Vanover was not available for interviews during Wednesday’s media session at Chase Center. As a result, we have no idea if he remains pleased with his decision to transfer to Arkansas, near his hometown of Little Rock, in spite of his diminished playing time.

“He’s handled it great,” Musselman said.

It has to be tough for Vanover. He redshirted his first season at Arkansas, then scored 23 points in his Razorbacks debut against Mississippi Valley State. He averaged 9.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots the first six games of last season.

His numbers weren't all posted against overmatched, non-conference foes. On Feb. 9 of last season he scored 12 points, grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots in 12 minutes in an 81-80 road win over Kentucky.

Vanover started 27 times in 2020-21, averaging 6.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. He played 18 minutes a game and was a factor.

But his production dropped late last season and he was replaced in the starting lineup by Williams for the second NCAA tournament game as Arkansas mounted its drive to the Elite 8.

Vancouver started 10 times this season, but is playing time has virtually ceased and his season averages of 7.7 minutes, 3.9 points and 2.1 rebounds all were accumulated early in the schedule.

At Cal, Vanover was a freshman on coach Wyking Jones’ 2018-19 squad that was 8-23 overall, 3-15 in the Pac-12. The Bears made a coaching change at season's end and it’s not surprising he jumped at the chance to play close to home at Arkansas, which had just hired Musselman.

He averaged 7.5 points and 3.0 rebounds as a freshman, but those numbers were 12.8 points and 5.0 rebounds over the season’s final 10 games.

Vanover gave Cal fans hope when he scored 24 points and blocked six shots against Stanford in the Bears’ final regular-season game.

He has not played a game on Bay Area turf since then, and it seems unlikely that will change this weekend at the Chase Center.

Cover photo of Connor Vanover by Stephen Lew, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo