The Portal and The Importer - Week of April 9

The Portal And The Importer

Arkansas Head Coach Eric Musselman has been deemed “The Importer” by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Rothstein is known for his tweets that act as mottos for programs and coaches. This past season, Eric Musselman finally earned one of those mottos. He is The Importer!

The Arkansas staff contacted 75 transfers last recruiting cycle and that’s just the ones that were reported.

Each week I will update this with the new contacts Arkansas has made in the portal. Plus, updates on commitments and cut lists.

Something to remember about the transfer portal. Just because Arkansas has contacted a player doesn’t mean they are a top priority. If there’s anything we have learned about this staff is they are thorough. It is realistic to think that they have a list of their top priorities and then backups.

Another thing to remember is just because Arkansas makes a cut list for a recruit means they would take them. Recruits often add top programs to their cut lists for notoriety.

What Happened This Week

Wow….It has been a busy week in the portal. There’s been so much to keep up with. I’ll update anything new that happened here and then will have the updated comprehensive list below.

New Contacts

There were 5 new reported contacts this week for Arkansas. One was Chris Lykes who listed Arkansas in his top 2 and then committed to be a Razorback. It had not been reported that he was on Arkansas’ radar. The other 4 were:

Tanner Groves – Eastern Washington

You may remember Groves playing a great game against Kansas in the 1^st round of the NCAA Tournament. He and his brother, Jacob, are both in the portal and looking for a new school.

Chandler Lawson – Oregon

Lawson is the brother of 2021 recruit, Johnathan, that Arkansas recruited. Johnathan eventually committed to Oregon, but has been released of his NLI. Now both brothers are available.

Damari Montsanto – East Tennessee State

Monsanto was a new contact reported when he released his top 6 this week that included Arkansas.

Taze Moore - Cal State- Bakersfield

This new contact was reported on Thursday when it was announced that Moore had included Arkansas in his Top 4.

Updated Commitments and Cut Lists

Noah Gurley released his Top 8 that did not include Arkansas.
Parker Fox released his Top 8 that did not include Arkansas.
Marreon Jackson released his Top 4 that did include Arkansas, but he committed to Arizona St. on Thursday.
Jayden Gardner released his Top 5 that included Arkansas.
Xavier Pinson released his Top 4 that included Arkansas.
Myreon Jones committed to Florida.
Fatts Russell committed to Maryland.
C.J. Felder committed to Florida.
Nimari Burnett committed to Alabama.
Justin Powell committed to Auburn.
Davion Warren committed to Memphis.
Alexis Yetna committed to Seton Hall.
Donovan Williams committed to UNLV.

Committed to Arkansas

Chris Lykes – Miami (FL)
5-7, 160
15.4 points, 1.1 steals, and 38.1% 3P%.

Au’Diese Toney – Pittsburgh
6-6, 210
14.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.4 steals, 46.4% FG%, and 34.0% 3P%.

Stanley Umude – South Dakota
6-6, 210
21.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 35.5% 3P%.

Arkansas Makes Cut List

Jayden Gardner – East Carolina
6-7, 235
18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds.

Arkansas has made Gardner’s Top 5 along with LSU, Miami, North Carolina St., and Virginia

Cam Holden – UT-Martin
6-5, 200
14.9 points and 8.3 rebounds.

Arkansas has made Holden’s top 6 along with Cincinnati, New Orleans, Towson, USF, and Wichita St.

Marvin Johnson – Eastern Illinois
6-6, 190
15.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.9 steals, 45.5% FG%

Arkansas has made Johnson’s Top 4 along with Drake, Mississippi St., and New Mexico St.

Damari Monsanto – East Tennessee St.
6-6, 225
11.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 35.4% 3P%.

Arkansas made Monsanto’s Top 6 along with Butler, Iowa St., Oklahoma St., Virginia, and Wake Forest.

Taze Moore – Cal State-Bakersfield
6-5, 210
12.2 points, 4.0 rebounds. 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals.

Arkansas made Moore’s Top 4 along with Ball St., Creighton, and Houston.

Xavier Pinson – Missouri
6-2, 170
13.6 points and 2.6 assists.

Arkansas made Pinson’s Top 4 along with Auburn, Georgia, and Nebraska,

Contacted By Arkansas

Christian Bishop – Creighton
6-7, 220
11.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, and 68.1% FG%.

David Collins – South Florida
6-4, 220
11.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 37.2% 3P%.

Antonio Daye Jr. – Florida International
6-1, 188
17.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.7 rebounds.

Phlandrous Fleming – Charleston Southern
6-4, 210
20.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.8 steals.

Myron Gordon – Samford
6-3, 180
15.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 46.6% FG%.

Tanner Groves - Eastern Washington
6-9, 235
17.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks.

Chandler Lawson – Oregon
6-8, 205
4.4 points and 3.5 rebounds

Noah Locke – Florida
6-3, 203
10.6 points and 40.4% 3P%.

Seth Lundy – Penn St.
6-6, 219
10.1 points and 4.2 rebounds.

Marlon Ruffin – Omaha
6-5, 195
13.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 38.3% 3P%

Contacts That Eliminated Arkansas

Paul Atkinson – Yale —> Notre Dame
Jamison Battle – George Washington —> Minnesota
A.J. Bramah - Robert Morris —> Arizona St.
Izaiah Brockington – Elected to stay at Penn St.
Nimari Burnett – Texas Tech —> Alabama
Matt Cross – Miami —> Louisville
Danilo Djuricic – Harvard —> Santa Clara
C.J. Felder – Boston College —> Florida
Parker Fox – Northern St.(D2) —> Down to 8 schools
Greg Gantt Jr. – Providence —> North Carolina St.
Noah Gurley – Furman —> Down to 8 schools
Jamir Harris – American —> Seton Hall
Marreon Jackson – Toledo —> Arizona St.
Zep Jasper – College of Charleston —> Auburn
Myreon Jones – Penn St. —> Florida
Charles Manning Jr. – LSU —> South Alabama
Caleb Mills – Houston —> Florida St.
Justin Powell – Auburn —> Tennessee
Sean Rhea – Texas-Rio Grande Valley —> Cal Poly
Fatts Russell – Rhode Island —> Maryland
Stef Smith – Vermont —> St. John’s
Parker Stewart – UT-Martin —> Indiana
Kevion Taylor – Winona St.(D2) —> Valparaiso
Jase Townsend – Denver —> San Diego
Tyson Walker – Northeastern —> Michigan St.
Davion Warren – Hampton —> Memphis
Donovan Williams - Texas —> UNLV
Alexis Yetna – South Florida —> Seton Hall