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Ranking The Best All-Time NBA Arkansans in Each Major Statistical Category

Among NBA Arkansans, who has the most career points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks? Here's a definitive Top 8 all-time list in all categories, with a few surprising names thrown in...

Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports

On Thursday, Hunter Mickelson announced plans to transfer from the Arkansas basketball program to Kansas. This move was motivated by a desire to find a program that a) served as a better fit for his style of play b) provided a change of scenery and coaching staff that will motivate his game to progress instead of regress like it did last year.

The ultimate goal, of course, is the NBA. Kansas coaches do "really well with their post guys," Mickelson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Bob Holt. "They put a lot of post guys in the NBA, and that's where I want to be."

It's the same goal incoming twin towers Bobby Portis and Moses Kingsley have. As well as pretty much any other high schooler who finds himself listed among the Top 100 players nationwide.

The silver lining for Hog fans is that even if it's the Kansas coaches who are ultimately responsible for developing Mickelson into a bonafide NBA prospect, his name will still help the Hogs' in recruiting. This program, like all major programs, flaunts the number of players it has sent to the big league (even those who leave in the not-best of circumstances) to convince recruits they don't have to go to Kentucky or Duke to make their pro dreams come true.

The Razorbacks, unsurprisingly, have produced the most NBA players of any college program in Arkansas.

I thought it would be interesting to see how these players stacked up against each other in terms of career NBA numbers. I made this particularly jambalaya even more spicy by throwing all native Arkansans into the mix. The end result: a list of the top eight NBA Arkansans in 11 statistical categories.

You'll notice plenty of Razorbacks in these rankings, along with much more obscure NBA "Arkansans":


Points (as of 4/21/13)


Total


Per Game

Scottie Pippen

18,940

Joe Barry Carroll

17,7

Joe Johnson

15,850

Joe Johnson

17.6

Joe Barry Carroll

12,455

Archie Clark

16.3

Sidney Moncrief

11,931

Scottie Pippen

16.1

Archie Clark

11819

Sidney Moncrief

15.6

Alvin Robertson

10,882

Alvin Robertson

14.0

Caldwell Jones***

10,241

Fat Lever

13.9


Steals - This, by far, is the category in which NBA Arkansans excel the most. Three of the top 12 ball thieves in NBA history rep Arkansas by birthplace (Lever), college (Robertson) or both (Pippen).



Total


Per Game

Scottie Pippen

2307

Alvin Robertson

2.71

Alvin Robertson

2112

Fat Lever

2.2

Fat Lever

1666

Scottie Pippen

2.0

Derek Fisher

1282

Michael Conley, Jr.

1.6

Darrell Walker

1090

Darrell Walker

1.51

Michael Cage

1050

Derek Fisher

1.50

Sidney Moncrief

924

Ronnie Brewer

1.29

Joe Johnson

850

Sidney Moncrief

1.2


For background on Lever, Carroll and Conley, as well as more all-time rankings in other categories, visit thesportsseer.com.

Follow Demirel on Twitter.