By Otis Kirk

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas will open its preseason play by hosting Rogers State on Monday night at 7 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena.

Arkansas coming off back-to-back Elite Eight appearances will have 11 new players on display Monday night. The Hogs return junior guard Davonte "Devo" Davis and senior forward Kamani Johnson. The newcomers includes six high school players and five transfers. As far as who will start Monday night, Eric Musselman is still weighing his options.

"We’ve had probably three meetings today to go through different starting lineups," Musselman said. "Might bring one or two players off the bench that are really starters so that we have some pop off the bench. Who starts, that might not be what the closing lineup is. But we’re still going through some stuff. 

"In the past, sometimes we’ve tried to not change the starting lineup at all. There’s been other years we’ve changed it up a lot. Not really sure where this kind of takes us. I’m sure whatever lineup we put out there Monday, that’ll change the next time we compete or some time in the next few games."

The Hogs played four games in Europe during August and then held the Red-White game this past Sunday. So this will be the sixth time for Musselman to see his team other than practicing. He talked about what he's looking for in this game.

"This is another piece," Musselman said. "Obviously there’s been the four games overseas, there’s been the Red-White game, and then there’s been all the times behind closed doors. I think sometimes players feel like, ‘Oh, I play better in a game.’ Other guys play better in practice than the do in a game. No player says that I play better in practice than in a game. Sometimes that’s a reality with some players at all levels. 

"But there’s been so much opportunity for the players on the roster, between all the practices, as well as the time that they’ve played in front of the public eye, which is now five competitions. Some guys have exceeded expectations and maybe some guys are still trying to find their way. What we put out there, again, as a starting lineup, I’m not really sure. In the big position, not really sure. Small forward position, not really sure. So we’re still trying to figure out which route we might go for Monday."

Rogers State is a Division II team from Claremore, Okla. They finished 16-14 last season. Among their players is 6-foot-8 forward Joey Sacarro. He averaged 9.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 2021-22. They lost to Oklahoma 106-57 in a preseason game prior to last season. Musselman talked about how he's handling this game as far as a regular season game in Bud Walton Arena.

"Yeah, I mean, we haven’t been…it’s basically been closed the last week," Musselman said. "Normally we would play on a weekend. Normally this game would be on Friday night or Saturday, or even a Sunday so that we could have a weekend crowd. But, Bud Walton is occupied right now with an event all weekend. 

"We won’t even really get in there on Saturday or Sunday to even have a practice. So, a little bit out of the ordinary for sure. Definitely out of the ordinary to have an exhibition game on a weekday. But it will give the guys a good opportunity. They’ll have to go to class all day on Monday and then go straight from class to shoot around. That’s a little bit more of a normal weekday look. I’ve never experienced it in all the years, not all, but in the eight years I’ve done college, I’ve never experienced an exhibition game during the week or during a school day. So it will be a good learning experience for me as well."

While this looks like a David versus Goliath on paper, one only has to remember back to the preseason last year when Arkansas had to rally to defeat East Central University 77-74 after trailing by double digits. Musselman was asked if he will remind his team of that game?

"No, I’ll let them figure it out," Musselman said. "A lot of them think that they’re gamers and when the lights come on that maybe practice isn’t as important as a game, so we’ll let them feel their way through that process Monday, then the Texas game, as well. That’s why we’re playing Texas in Austin, is to get a good feel for the level of competition we’re about to encounter."

Freshman guard Nick Smith has been named CBS' preseason All-American (second team) and the SEC preseason Freshman of the Year. While not much is overlooked about Arkansas' talented freshman, but Musselman talked about that area on Friday.

"I think his competitiveness stands out," Musselman said. "His ability to score. I think Nick has had such a spotlight on him that there's probably not a lot that hasn't been said because he's had such bright lights on him for not just since he's got to Arkansas but well before he got here."

Arkansas finished 28-9 in 2021-22.