Arkansas star freshman Nick Smith Jr., the No. 1 recruit within the 2022 class and a projected NBA lottery decide in 2023, is out indefinitely on account of “proper knee administration,” in accordance with the college.
Smith, who emerged in December as probably the most productive gamers in faculty basketball, missed the primary six video games of the season for a similar cause. He averaged 19.7 factors per sport in a three-game stretch to open the month of December. Nonetheless, he confirmed discomfort and checked himself out of the sport early vs. Oklahoma on Dec. 10 and left Saturday’s sport vs. Bradley within the second half in obvious discomfort. It is unclear if he’s coping with a brand new harm or if it is an aggravation of the identical harm that has plagued him this 12 months.
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman tried to quell fears of a probably critical harm after the Bradley sport, saying emphatically “no” postgame — thrice in fast succession — when requested if Smith had suffered a critical harm. Musselman as an alternative described it extra as discomfort.
“He received taped at halftime, after which the tape felt a bit uncomfortable,” Musselman mentioned. “I simply did not actually really feel the necessity to put him again in when he received taped up at halftime after which left to get re-taped. By that time, I simply felt like, and I mentioned it on the bench, with the movement and the way in which the sport was going, there wasn’t a must put him again in at that juncture.”
Smith left the Oklahoma sport with simply over 5 minutes remaining and missed the ultimate 17 minutes of the sport vs. Bradley on Saturday.
Arkansas is ranked No. 10 within the newest AP High 25 and is 10-1 via 11 video games, marking its greatest begin since 2019-20. With out Smith, the Razorbacks have a loaded roster led by high scorer Ricky Council IV and five-star freshman Anthony Black, however it dramatically lowers the group’s ceiling if Smith isn’t at full power.
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