Men's Basketball
Missouri fans not happy with Razorbacks’ latest portal pickup
The Razorbacks picked up a commitment that could bolster the inside game to go along with talented recruiting class.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With a host of guards already signed and headed here, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman may have found some size inside.
Former Missouri forward Trevon Brazile committed to play basketball at Arkansas after making an unofficial visit Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
And fans of the Tigers were not happy, according to Brendan Schaeffer of KMOV on The Morning Rush with Tye Richardson and Tommy Craft on Thursday morning.
Brazile, 6-9, 215 pounds, started 23 of 25 games as a freshman for the Tigers and averaged 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.
He shot 53.5% from the field and had a 10.1% block rate, which ranked 28th nationally, per KenPom. The Athletic rated Brazile the No. 8 available transfer or high school recruit for 2022-23.
Kentucky, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Cincinnati and other programs reportedly reached out to Brazile after he entered the NCAA’s transfer portal on March 22 following the firing of Cuonzo Martin as the Tigers coach.
Brazile was rated an ESPN high 3-star prospect and the No. 33 power forward nationally out of Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Mo.
In two games against Arkansas, Brazile averaged 5.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
He scored a season-high 15 points and pulled down eight boards in Missouri’s season finale at the SEC Tournament against LSU.
Most of Brazile’s best games from a scoring standpoint came against the best competition as his other double-digit scoring nights came again against LSU and also in non-conference matchups against Kansas and Illinois.
The Hogs have the second-rated recruiting class in the country, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings with Nick Smith, Jr., Jordan Walsh, Derrian Ford, Joseph Pinion and another five-star guard in 6-foot-7 Anthony Black on Monday evening.
Most have projected Musselman, who has worked the transfer portal to back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in the past couple of seasons, to follow that path for some added rebounding strength inside.
Apparently he has found that guy now.
