The 2023 NBA Draft is officially three days away and there are four Arkansas basketball players who are hoping to hear their names called Thursday evening.
Freshmen Anthony Black and Nick Smith Jr. are both basically locks to be selected in the first round, while freshman Jordan Walsh and junior Ricky Council IV are looking at being potential second round picks.
The closer the draft gets, the more clear the picture seems for some NBA teams as players have been visiting and working out with select franchises over the past month or so.
For Black, his stock has slowly risen since the end of the Arkansas’ season in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament. The 6-foot-7 point guard filled up the stat column all season, averaging 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
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Black received an invite to the NBA Draft green room, where he won’t have to wait long as he’s commonly projected as a top-10 pick. The teams commonly paired with Black in mock drafts are the Washington Wizards at No. 8 and the Orlando Magic at No. 6. NBA’s consensus mock draft has Black going at No. 8 to the Wizards.
Smith also received an invite to the NBA Draft green room. His stock has seen a drop after he entered his freshman year being projected as a top-5 pick. Following a season derailed by a right knee injury, Smith is being projected outside of the lottery (top 14 picks) more often than not.
The 6-foot-5, 185 pound North Little Rock High School product played 17 total games for the Razorbacks this past season. He averaged 12.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game as a Hog.
Of the four mock drafts used by HawgBeat, all four have Smith being selected outside of the lottery and two have him dropping into the 20s.
Walsh took a while to make his decision, but he ultimately chose to forgo his remaining college eligibility and stay in the draft. That was probably a good choice for the 6-foot-7 Desoto, Texas, native.
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As a freshman, Walsh played in 36 games and started 22 of them during his only season in Fayetteville. The McDonald’s All-American averaged 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds while having 40 steals and shooting 34.4% from three over his final 19 games.
At one point, Walsh was not a guarantee to show up in some two-round mock drafts, but he has since climbed into the top part of the second round following a strong combine showing and good workouts with teams.
A transfer from Wichita State, Council led Arkansas in scoring this season with an average of 16.1 points per game. He improved on that number in the postseason, averaging a team-best 18.7 points per game for the Razorbacks.
Council earned Coaches and AP Second Team All-SEC honors after he ranked fifth in the league in scoring this year. He scored in double figures in 31 of 36 games for Arkansas this season, and he scored at least 20 points on 11 occasions.
It seems Council’s stock has done the opposite of Walsh’s, as he was once a high-second round pick. All four of the mock drafts used by HawgBeat have Council being selected near the end of the second round and one even has him and Black both being selected by the Wizards, the team that former Hog Daniel Gafford plays for.
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Below is a look at where the four future Pro Hogs were selected in recent mock drafts from ESPN, The Ringer, The Athletic and CBS.
The NBA Draft will be held at 7 p.m. CT Thursday at the Barclays Center in New York. It will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN.
While the Arkansas Razorbacks have been hitting the transfer portal hard, it is partially as a result of having more than 20 scholarship players decide to enter the portal after a 6-6 regular season that was capped off with a Liberty Bowl win over Texas Tech on Dec. 27.
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The transfer portal officially opened Dec. 9 and it was open for a 30 day window through Dec. 28. There is also an additional five-day window for players to enter once their season is over, plus there will be an additional 10-day portal window from April 16-25.
ALSO READ: Arkansas Football 2025 Roster Tracker
HawgBeat provides a look at where former Razorbacks have transferred so far…
Note: “GP” denotes games played. Even if a player appears on special teams, that counts as a game played.
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OL Patrick Kutas – Ole Miss
From: Christian Brothers High School (Memphis, TN)
MEMPHIS –While Beale Street is famous for being the Home of the Blues, red was the color of the day Dec. 26 at the Beale Street Parade, where many watchers were clad in red — a team color for both teams playing in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl the following day.
Marching bands, vintage vehicles, cheer squads and floats marched, strutted and cruised down the historic street in downtown Memphis as fans of the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Texas Tech Red Raiders lined the streets, cheering as bands and cheer squads from their schools passed by.
The University of Arkansas Razorback Marching Band, cheerleaders and pep squad brought up the rear of the parade, creating a grand finale as they marched to meet Texas Tech’s Goin’ Band from Raiderland at Beale Street’s Handy Park for a festive Bash on Beale Pep Rally. Both the parade and the pep rally were sponsored by the Beale Street Merchants Association.
— Story and photos by Cary Jenkins
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Maddie Hayley, Kim Hayley, Spphie Haley, Layne Haley, Toomy Haley, orey Hale and Abbie Hayley on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Caden, Colton, Amber and Drew Cates, all of Little Rock, on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
D.J. Stutts, Shante Stutts and DAnte Stutts of Batesville, mother and siblings of the late Razorback football team member Dion Stutts on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Aspen Coad, Mattie Grace Fortenberry, Aylin Coad, Milli Fortenberry and Mac Fortenberry on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Aspen Coad, Mattie Grace Fortenberry, Aylin Coad, Milli Fortenberry and Mac Fortenberry on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Rhett, Dana Asher and Cooper Daniel of Rogers on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Jeff Box of Memphis on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Elivs Moya, Jennifer and Hunter Yurachek on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Sue E. Pig on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Sue E. Pig on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Jonathan and Brittany Hays with Paxton and Brooke Kellett, all of Jonesboro. on 12/26/2024 on Beale Street, Memphis, Liberty Bowl Parade. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Watch the postgame press conference from Arkansas head coach John Calipari and center Jonas Aidoo after the 71-63 loss to Florida on Saturday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Visit our homepage for complete coverage of Arkansas basketball, including everything you need to know from the Hoop Hogs’ game.