Nassau, Bahamas – Arkansas expected to overwhelm its first summer opponent Friday night.
Instead, true freshman Maper Maker emerged as one of the night’s biggest winners in Arkansas’ 106-59 rout of the Bahamas National Team.
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The 6-foot-11 freshman finished with four points, six rebounds, five blocks and five steals in just over 21 minutes, leading all Arkansas post players in playing time.
Arkansas Razorbacks freshman forward Maper Maker goes through drills during practice at the Martin Family Basketball Performance Center. | Nilsen Roman – Hogs on SI
Maker’s length caused problems all over the floor and was able to show off his switchability as a defender at each level.
Arkansas associate head coach Kenny Payne got the call to lead the Razorbacks as head coach John Calipari watched from a box off the floor. Payne was pleased by his freshman’s play, which will probably earn him more of a rotational role in Saturday’s game against Carleton University out of Canada.
“I loved it. I loved the fact that he had five blocks, five steals,” Payne said of Maker. “I just talked to him, pulled him aside, and said, you’re playing the four, and you’re doing that. He never played the five tonight, he was on the perimeter a lot, and he did that from the perimeter.
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“So I like that, shows that he’s active, that he can move his feet, get his hands on balls with the steals, but also if he’s under that basket and you try to shoot it, he can block it. We need that. We didn’t have that last year.”
The Razorbacks had a deficiency in the post for much of last season although they were fine as rim protectors. Payne spent much of night experimenting with lineups that had at least two players 6-foot-11 or taller on the floor for much of the second half.
While the bigs were far from perfect, their ability to make opponents hesitate in their decision making allowed Arkansas’s perimeter defenders to recover and contest shooters.
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“[Blocks] definitely played a factor in this game,” Payne said. “There were times when they went to the basket, and they saw big coming out, and they decided not to shoot it. But 13 blocks speak for itself, but it wasn’t just the bigs, guards go up and block shots.
“[Abdou Toure] had a couple Jordan [Smith, Jr. ] blocked a shot, JJ [Andrews], Billy Richmond III. We have a bunch of really good athletes that defensively can hurt you in a lot of different ways.”
Speaking of guards who can do damage, Davion Thompson showed up in a big way on both ends of the floor.
The 17-year-old who is one of two players to reclassify to the 2026 class, showed off his ability as a two-way standout finishing with 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting, 3-of-7 beyond the arc and a perfect 4-of-4 mark at the free throw line.
His energy on the court was prevalent from the jump despite missing a handful of shots once he entered the game. Thompson is explosive with an extra gear in transition with the ability to create separation from his defenders in one step down the court.
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He also finished the night with three assists, two rebounds, and one steal in 20 minutes of action.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arkansas as Two Freshmen Shine in Debut During Razorbacks’ Opening Game in Bahamas.
