Evin Demirel: Gauging Razorback Readiness for 2 Signees

Collection of video highlights and interviews with two future Razorback basketballers, including thoughts from one on athletes “coming out”

On Thursday night, Arkansas fans got a first look at Nick Babb and Trey Thompson sharing the court together. The two Razorback signees starred for a team of Arkansas All-Stars who played Tennessee standouts in the inaugural Mike Conley, Jr. Classic in Little Rock. Both had solid games, but their Arkansas side ended up losing to the short-handed Tennessee squad 81-78.

“At first we were like just playing around,” said Thompson, a 6-9, 250-pound Forrest City native. “We were like ‘Hey, we’re just gonna have fun and whatever.’ But toward the end of the second half, you could say the game was getting serious,” Thompson said.

It was hard to gauge the college readiness of either player because much of the game was played at demonstrably less-than-top intensity. Likely, neither will get heavy minutes next season, but both are capable of helping provide short bursts of energy off the bench. It was clear Thompson knows how to throw his weight around. He finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. “It was great playing with him, getting a good feel on how he plays so far,” said Babb, a native of Arlington, Texas. “I saw a lot. I saw a lot that I really didn’t think he had. His footwork has gotten a lot better.” 

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The 6-4 Babb played some point guard in high school but Thursday night played in the shooting guard role he’ll be expected to fill behind the likes of Anthlon Bell next year. He showed a nice, compact shooting motion, quickness of the dribble and the ability to create for himself or others while going to the rim – a skill the Razorbacks sorely lacked last year.

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“But that’s not all I can do,” Babb added. “I can play defense, I can lock down … block shots, just fill in whatever [Coach Anderson] tells me to do.” As the video below indicates, though, Babb – like most freshmen – still needs to add power and more explosiveness to his game before he can heavily contribute at the SEC level.

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Like his older brother who plays for the Boston Celtics, Nick Babb very much picks his spots in the flow of the game and doesn’t need the ball to be effective. He finished with 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Daryl Macon, of Little Rock Parkview, finished with a game-high 25 points and at least two three-pointers of 30+ feet. Macon hasn’t yet academically qualified for a Division I program and will likely play next year in junior college. Kahron Ross, who last month led Jonesboro to a state title over Parkview, also had a strong game. The Lehigh signee finished with 10 points, eight assists and a couple crowd pleasers:

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After the game,  Babb said he appreciated the support he heard from a few Hog fans in the crowd. “It’s a good feeling, knowing they have got my back.” And when asked who he thought would take the Dallas-San Antonio first round series in the NBA Playoffs, he took the Spurs in five.

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Thompson said he’s been trying to shed fat and build muscle through a four-times-a-week workout program the Razorback basketball program sent to him last month.  He plans to arrive on campus around June 1st. “I’m just looking forward to the challenge. I know I’ll have to do a lot of stuff I’m not used to, like weights and what not.”

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Only one current college signee – Davell Roby (St. Louis) – played for the eight-man Tennesee side. Another signee – CJ Anderson – didn’t make the bus from Memphis to Little Rock Hall High. Anderson is notable because he’ll play next season for UMass, the program out of which last week the first openly gay Division I male basketball player came. It’s not surprising it happened in a state with one of the nation’s most socially liberal climates. I wonder, though, what would be the reaction if a high profile Arkansan athlete came out.

I asked Trey Thompson a question along these lines, and he said he wouldn’t have a problem with it. He believes coming out is “trending” and becoming more commonplace all the time. No matter how prevalent it becomes in college sports in the next year or two, I believe it will still be major news – and deservedly so – once someone comes out as the the first openly gay active SEC player in men’s football or basketball.

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