• Arkansas’ shootaround and practice time was 10 a.m. Pacific and the team rolled in a few minutes before. Kamani Johnson walked up the ramp into the arena holding a big speaker that was blaring music. He is the vibe coordinator.
• I thought Ricky Council shot the ball well in the drills the Razorbacks went through. Have to believe he is coming into the week with sky-high confidence given how he played in Des Moines. Council, too, was feeling pretty bouncy and threw down some big one-handed dunks.
• Anthony Black walked into the arena with a boot on his left foot. He battled an ankle injury in the SEC Tournament and then tweaked it again in the Kansas game. Black checked out, got his ankle taped, changed shoes and went back in. I didn’t think his lift was great in today’s shootaround, but, again, only saw 15 minutes. I was told Black moved around great on Tuesday.
• Eric Musselman spent most of the time we were checking out shootaround talking with Kevin Harlan and Stan Van Gundy, who will be on the call for Thursday’s game.
I could look this up but I’m in the middle of eating lunch (3 lbs of boiled crawfish; when in Cajun country…). How much success did UK have in the Dance when Kamani’s brother played there?
Nick looked fine to me. He had a sleeve over the knee he’s been managing all season. Shot the ball fine from what I saw. First step looked like it was there in drills. I think he understands that Arkansas needs a more efficient game from him tomorrow.
Boudin was on the menu at this place too. But I was putting it on the employer’s tab and beer with lunch is a no-no. So I stuck to mudbugs, gumbo and tea.