Hognobbing

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FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas’ basketball staff is trying to squeeze in as many recruiting visits as possible before the NCAA’s dead period begins on Saturday.

First-year head coach Eric Musselman welcomed four of the Razorbacks’ most wanted high school targets to campus last week and has hosted a few more so far this week, including a pair of heavily-pursued transfers.

Last week’s visit list included 2020 five-star guard Bryce Thompson of Tulsa (Okla.) Booker T. Washington, 2020 four-star center Jaylin Williams of Fort Smith (Ark.) Northside, and 2021 shooting guard Jalen Ricks, originally from Sherwood (Ark.) Sylvan Hills who will play at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia next season.

Thompson and Williams are longtime targets of Arkansas’ program, while Ricks hadn’t yet been offered until shortly after his unofficial visit with the staff last Thursday. Ricks is the first instate prospect to receive an offer from the Razorbacks for the Class of 2021.

This past Sunday, the Hogs hosted another one of the nation’s elite 2020 prospects in four-star guard Moses Moody, a North Little Rock (Ark.) native who now attends Montverde (Fla.) Montverde Academy. Moody, who is rated as the No. 40 overall prospect nationally, made an official visit with Arkansas’ previous staff last fall but was re-offered by Musselman’s staff earlier this spring.

On Monday, one of the more notable players left in the NCAA transfer portal – Delaware guard Ithiel Horton – began an official visit with the Razorbacks. Horton, 6-3, 200, visited Pittsburgh on Sunday and named the Panthers and Razorbacks as his two finalists before landing in Northwest Arkansas on Monday.

As a freshman in the 2018-19 season, the New Jersey native averaged 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while becoming the Colonial Athletic Association’s Rookie of the Year. Horton, who will have to sit out the upcoming season due to NCAA transfer rules, also shot 41-percent from three-point land this past year. He isn’t the only potential incoming transfer left on Arkansas’ board, though.

On Tuesday, Jacksonville (Ark.) native and Cleveland State sophomore guard Tyree Appleby made his way to the Hill for an official visit with the Hogs. Appleby, 6-1, 165, is an emerging name in the transfer portal after averaging 17.2 points, 5.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game this past season.

Appleby was considered a top-ten player in Arkansas when he graduated high school, but went un-offered by then-head coach Mike Anderson. He started 26 games as a true freshman at Cleveland State and finished with per-game averages of 11.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals.

The Razorbacks currently have one scholarship remaining for the upcoming season, following the recent departures of point guard Justice Hill (transfer), Khalil Garland (medical hardship), and committed transfer Isaiah Moss (flipped to Kansas).

Musselman and his staff have already landed a total of four transfers this offseason, including forward Jeantal Cylla (UNC-Wilmington), center Connor Vanover (California), and guards JD Notae (Jacksonville University) and Jimmy Whitt (SMU). As grad-transfers, Cylla and Whitt are immediately eligible to play this season while Vanover and Notae will be forced to sit out a year.

In addition to hosting several visitors, the Razorbacks have also extended notable new offers in the last two weeks. Last Monday, 2020 four-star guard KK Robinson, 6-0, 175, of Bryant (Ark.) became the fourth instate prospect for his class to receive an offer from the Hogs, and this past Saturday, 2022 combo guard Nick Smith of Sylvan Hills added an Arkansas offer after a strong showing at the Nike Elite 100 event in St. Louis.