FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas coach Mike Anderson sensed freshman Daniel Gafford and the Razorbacks were in for a big day Saturday.
And they were. Senior guard Anton Beard set up Gafford for the first basket in a 97-93 win for the Razorbacks (13-6, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) over visiting Ole Miss (10-9, 3-4). Gafford finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots and three official steals.
Gafford also had an unrecorded deflection which led to a key steal and layup by senior guard Jaylen Barford. They were all instrumental in the SEC win at Bud Walton Arena.
"I was really impressed with Daniel Gafford," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. "Man, what a tremendous player. He's long, he's athletic, he chases balls and he's a presence on both ends of the floor."
His first double-double as a Razorbacks came on Wednesday when he had 14 points and 11 rebounds plus a blocked shot during an 88-73 road loss to the Florida Gators (14-5, 6-1). The performances earned Gafford the SEC Freshman of the Week award from the league office in Birmingham, Ala.
"One thing about a big guy is if you start off getting him the ball, feeding him, then they go to work," Anderson said Monday. "We saw that the other night. Like the tip dunk that he had... I mean, he ran from one end to the other end."
Gafford joins NBA players Bobby Portis and Patrick Beverley as the only Razorbacks to earn the honor multiple times. He is one of three players in the league to claim it twice this year.
Free throws, just 49 of 92 for 53 percent before the Ole Miss game, had been about the only chink in Gafford's armor. He sank 3 of 4 against the Rebels, including two with 6:05 left Arkansas' 16-point lead was reduced to four.
Fellow freshman Darious Hall has also struggled with free throws. Hall hit 8 of 8 against Ole Miss.
"Maybe it's their time now," Anderson said. "You have to go through some things to be the player you want to be. So, that means now they're paying more attention to that. Now they're seeing, 'I'm shooting 50 percent from the free throw line and that isn't going to help our team."
Gafford averages 13.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in SEC play. Anderson said he is impressed Gafford excels even with SEC teams paying him more attention.
"They're targeting him," Anderson said. "They're putting one or two people at him and I think he's adjusting. That's a sign of a young man that's getting better. The more he plays, the better he's getting."
Arkansas will need solid post play tonight in Athens, Ga., as the Razorbacks face the Georgia Bulldogs (12-6, 3-4). The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network (Resort Channel 79) at 5:30 p.m.
Georgia is led by 6-8 senior Yante Maten, the SEC's most renowned big man, who is averaging 19.6 points and 9.1 rebounds.
"It's going to be a war," Anderson said. "He's going against the best in our league. So we'll find a little more out about Daniel and our basketball team. Because it's going to be more than just Daniel when you have a guy that talented that has been around a long time. Daniel is going to have to maybe lean on some of the older guys in terms of getting advice, but he's also going to learn by fire going out there against him and competing."
Sports on 01/23/2018