FAYETTEVILLE -- Whether he definitely knew Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls were returning to his Arkansas Razorbacks or knew they weren't, Mike Anderson said he "never stops recruiting."
So while Southeastern Conference player of the year Portis and SEC/NCAA Tournament star Qualls pause to ponder whether they should turn pro now after leading the Razorbacks to a 27-9 campaign two rounds deep in the NCAA Tournament or return to the UA for their respective junior and senior seasons, their coach proceeds business as usual.
"You've just got to continue recruiting," Anderson said at his wrapup press conference Friday. "We never stop. Right now those guys are here. That's my mindset, they're here. The day they say they're not here, they're not here. But right now they're here in my mind and we'll continue to recruit like always."
For now Portis and Qualls complete their UA spring break this weekend while their coach gives them space to discuss their options with their families and digest whatever information they get on their own added to what Anderson can provide.
"Obviously they had really good years, and we will hopefully get some information for those guys," Anderson said. "Certainly the key is gathering information about their prospects in the NBA and then have an opportunity to sit down with them and their families and have a frank discussion and see what they want to do."
So far Anderson has recruited to replace his two departing seniors, versatile 6-5 guard Ky Madden and 6-6 power forward Alandise Harris.
During the November early signing period, the Razorbacks inked highly touted 6-4 guard Jimmy Whitt of Hickman High School in Columbia, Mo., and have received a verbal commitment from 6-9, 240 power forward Ted Kapita of Melbourne, Fla., and Huntington (W.Va.) Prep.
No college coach can comment on Kapita until he signs, but Anderson's projections for Whitt are publicly in place.
"I think Jimmy is going to be an elite guard," Anderson said. "He just does so many things. He can create for himself, he can create off the dribble, he is a wiry guard that is pretty athletic. He is real sneaky athletic. I love it because he can play the passing lanes and is just an instinctive player. He can really rebound for a big guard."
Anderson projects Whitt doing a variety of things with a variety of people.
"He is a versatile basketball player," Anderson said. "That's what I love. He can play multiple positions. He can play 1, 2, 3 and defend. So he is going to have a bright future here."
Another addition was here all year. Shooting guard Dusty Hannahs of Pulaski Academy sat through a mandatory redshirt year upon transferring as a two-year Texas Tech letterman.
"He is going to give us a guy that can really extend the defense because he can really shoot the basketball," Anderson said. "He has tremendous range. There were days where he just screwed up my practice where we are just busting our chops trying to guard and press and he will just pull up from 30 feet out and just drain it."
Junior guard Anthlon Bell, streaky when called upon as the three-point buster against the zone defenses the Hogs saw so frequently in both the 2014 and 2015 SEC seasons, will have both help and competition with Hannahs active next season.
"I think it is going to be good competition," Anderson said. "Now we are going to really see what Anthlon does and how much he puts in on his game. Because if not, 'Next.'"
And if both shoot well, so much the better, Anderson said, recalling Scotty Thurman, Al Dillard, Dwight Stewart, Clint McDaniel and Roger Crawford all shooting big-time threes for Arkansas' 1994 national championship team.
"The national championship team -- we had multiple guys that could shoot the basketball," Anderson said. "Having another guy will help."
Trey Thompson, the 6-9 forward freshman forward from Forrest City whose dedication impressed the staff as he lost over 30 pounds but still only logged 33 total minutes mopping up in 14 games, could project for considerably bigger time next season should he improve like others did during last summer's offseason, Anderson said.
"The summer is going to be big for him getting a lot of repetitions," Anderson said. "In practice, he has shown that he is capable of being a guy that we can throw the ball into.
"His basketball IQ is probably -- of all the big guys -- one of the best. With him it is just getting experience."
Game experience was hard to get behind big men Portis, Harris, Jacorey Williams and Moses Kingsley, Anderson said.
"This year we had some guys were playing a high level," Anderson said. "But now Alandise has moved on, and now it is going to give Trey an opportunity to step up his game. I feel he got his body in shape so now mentally he he just got to stay in tune and improve in a lot of different areas."
Sports on 03/29/2015