FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas will be on the road Wednesday night facing Texas at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
Arkansas (13-8, 2-6) will try for its second win in a row following a surprising road 89-79 victory at Kentucky Saturday night. Texas (15-7, 4-5) will also be trying for its second win in a row having defeated LSU 89-58 Saturday. Arkansas Assistant Head Coach Kenny Payne praised the Longhorns on Tuesday.
"Very dangerous team," Payne said. "They play with a lot of energy. They’ve got two very good scorers. They’ve got a kid (Tramon Mark) that I guess played here last year who is a very good player. With Tre Johnson and the (Arthur) Kaluma kid they create a lot of problems because they’re attacking. They rebound the ball well. They’re good in transition. And any time you’re in trouble and the shot clock is running down and they’ve got a guy who scores it the way that Tre Johnson does, it makes it hard."
Johnson is averaging 19.0 points per game to lead the Longhorns. Kaluma is averaging 13.6 points and a team-leading 8.0 rebounds. Mark is averaging 9.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Payne was asked if the Hogs can bottle the intensity from Saturday's win?
"I think that’s the thing," Payne said. "If we all had that answer we’d be geniuses. One of the things that we did do from that game was we went back and watched film and showed them exactly what they did well, the energy they played with on defense, the concentration and the focus. Being locked in to every single detail that’s going on in the game, both offensively and defensively. And said, ‘That’s the way we have to play. We have to play that way to finish the season and finish it off on the right note."
The Hogs shot 55.2% from the field and 52.0 from beyond the arc against the Wildcats.
"I thought we were locked into the game plan," Payne said. "I think the ball moved and we attacked them some. Our shots execution was very good. And any time for us that we can get out in transition and get 18 points against a team like that it makes it a lot better. But with that being said, I don’t want to negate the fact that, look, we executed in that game. In the half court we ran our stuff correctly. We set great screens. The spacing was great, which allowed us to do what we do best which is get the ball in the lane."
A player who has seen his game take off since the injury to Boogie Fland is freshman Karter Knox. Knox has moved into the starting lineup and is playing well.
"Great analogy there," Payne said. "I think Karter Knox, from the time that we all have watched him since high school, the one thing that I’ve always said and Cal has always said is that the kid has to be an attack dog. He’s 6-6, 225 pounds. He’s mobile. He’s strong. He can put the ball on the floor and beat you off the dribble. The tendency is for young people is to settle for jumpshots which makes him look one dimensional.
"Getting him comfortable on the court, which comes with experience to say look, I can add these things to my game. Probably the biggest factor for Karter is he’s learning. He’s learning the importance of being a defender. He’s done a great job in just only getting better from the beginning of the season to now to locking into defensive concepts, to getting rebounds, making passes, things that he’s never done before. He’s embracing that. We know he can score, we need him to score, we need him to score in a multitude of ways, but to see him grow like this has been gratifying."
Another player who has played well in Fland's absence is Johnell "Nelly" Davis. He has the ball in his hands much more now and his play is reminding observers of what the Hogs thought they were getting from FAU.
"Well, Nelly (has) a professional mindset, in his mindset," Payne said. "He comes in every morning, he watches film, he works out every morning, he comes back and gets shots up after practice, before practice. So, when a kid is doing those types of things, you know eventually it’s going to happen for him. He’s getting more comfortable like you said. He’s finding his pace and his space in this, and I’m glad it’s happening for him because he’s had a rough go and he’s a lot better than what he’s played earlier on in the season. We need more of that from him, he’s one of our leaders."
The Razorbacks will be at home Saturday night when they host No. 3 Alabama at 7 p.m. on ESPN.