FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas basketball continues to look more and more like a John Calipari team, and Monday night’s 92-62 victory over Oakland followed a theme that’s followed the head coach since he arrived at Kentucky in 2009.
A dominant performance from five-star freshmen.
The Razorbacks (11-2) got 24 points from Boogie Fland, 17 from Karter Knox and eight from Billy Richmond III. Richmond also had four rebounds, four assists and didn’t miss any of his four shots from the floor.
Fland has been terrific all season, but the other two first-year players are rounding into form with the most important segment of the schedule approaching. Arkansas opens SEC play Saturday at No. 1 Tennessee. Knox and Richmond are gaining trust, and the Hogs will need them through the conference gauntlet.
“Karter got this opportunity to go play through some mistakes and do stuff. He needed it,” Calipari said. “He’s a freshman and he’s playing the way we’re asking him to play. He wasn’t early in the year, now he is. Billy is too. The way we need them to play, they’re playing.”
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Knox stumbled out of the gates. He failed to score in two of the first three games, and a 21-point breakout performance against Maryland Eastern felt more like an anomaly as he followed that with 14 combined points in the next four games.
But in the last three games, Knox is averaging 14 points and shooting 56% from the field. He’s started the last two contests with Johnell Davis sidelined, nursing a wrist injury, and the team hasn’t taken a step back. He went 3-of-4 from 3-point range Monday, stretched the floor, played strong on-ball defense and even got to the rim in the half-court.
According to his teammates, Knox’s growth is a product of staying the course, and having a simple mindset. Calipari instructed him to hit singles, not try and launch home runs.
“(Knox) just been like a sponge, just soaking everything in in practice and everything. He’s just trying to get better everyday and it’s showing on the court. He’s making simple plays,” said Adou Thiero, who scored 20 points against Oakland.
Richmond earned playing time and trust earlier than Knox, and his versatile game gives Calipari an intriguing option off the bench.
He can be a slasher off the wing and guard the opposing team’s point guard. It’s his hustle that’s most endearing to Calipari. The head coach has continuously praised Richmond’s willingness to dive for loose balls and be a pest on defense.
While Richmond and Knox have had to discover a rhythm, Fland strolled onto Fayetteville’s college campus already a smooth operator. He’s averaging 15.9 points and 6.2 assists. No freshman in America is dishing out more dimes per game.
And Fland seemingly has no fear of struggles. He started 0 for 6 against Oakland with just one point in the first half. He proceeded to make his next seven shots and made all five of his 3-pointers in the second period.
“I’m not trying to force it. The three ball is kind of like the game nowadays, so it started inside out,” Fland said. “Keep playing the course of the game and I’m not trying to force it like that because it’s not going to work.”
Now, Fland has support coming from his fellow freshmen. Arkansas is on a six-game winning streak, and even though the Hogs are about to embark on one of the most difficult conference schedules of all time, optimism is brewing inside Bud Walton Arena.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas basketball freshman power Hogs to blowout win over Oakland
