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The incoming Arkansas basketball recruiting class has folks pretty excited for next season. And the official Razorback Basketball Twitter account and Moses Kingsley just gave fans another reason.
"I'm looking forward to wearing that Razorback jersey for one more year." - @KingMoses_
— Razorback Basketball (@RazorbackMBB) May 9, 2016
➡️ https://t.co/zYWOR3BxwF pic.twitter.com/EpuSyomMhN
Kingsley returning gives Arkansas much more stability for the 2016 season and, if the newcomers provide what is expected, it could be a special year for Arkansas and Mike Anderson, who could really use one.
The 6-10 junior forward did not receive an NBA Draft Combine invite, which wasn't all that shocking, and wasn't really considered to be a player who would get drafted, but you just never know these days with the abundance of options guys have. He was named second team All-SEC and to the SEC All-Defensive Team last season, and grew a lot in just one offseason after stepping out of Bobby Portis' shadow, averaging nearly 16 points and 10 rebounds. It's also nice for bigs like Trey Thompson to have another year to learn under an experienced player instead of being thrown in to be the guy inside.
We still haven't seen the junior college guys play together yet, obviously, and won't get to until Primetime at the Palace this fall. But having Kingsley back to shore up the frontcourt is really crucial. Should the guards be college-ready from the jump it could go a long way in Arkansas having a season similar to 2014-15.
Some are already predicting since the announcement that Arkansas will to go to the Sweet 16, and that's possible, sure. If everything transitions smoothly and the team gels they could certainly be of that caliber. I'll hold out and wait to see them all playing together before making a judgement, but there's definitely reason for optimism at this point.