FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Success in college basketball has paid off for the Razorbacks in recent years as the program continues to improve its standing in the NBA.

For many years, the Arkansas brand was represented by the likes of Joe Johnson and Ronnie Brewer throughout the 2000’s and 2010’s. The recent uptick in winning for the traditional basketball school is turning eyes around the league. Two former Hogs will represent the school during the conference finals.

Daniel Gafford, who played for the Razorbacks under Mike Anderson from 2017-19, currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks. Gafford’s team will meet the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday evening in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

He was traded midseason by the lowly Washington Wizards and has bolstered the Mavs front court. Since his arrival in Dallas, Gafford played in 29 games with 21 starts and has averaged 11 points, seven boards, two assists and two blocks per game. He’s been a force on the offensive end connecting on 78% of his field goal attempts at 22 minutes per game.

Former 5-star McDonald’s All-American Jordan Walsh will play in the Eastern Conference Finals for Boston. The Celtics will play this Tuesday night against the red hot Indiana Pacers who make their first conference finals appearance since 2014. Walsh is a rookie and was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the No. 38 pick of the second round.

He was in and out of the G-Leauge for much of the seaon playing with Boston’s Maine affiliate. Through nine regular season games, Walsh recorded nearly two points and two rebounds per game. He shot the ball well when given the opportunity, knocking down 40% of his field goal attempts.

The Razorbacks are one of seven schools to have at least two players in the conference finals this season. Duke leads the way with four, Kentucky has three, and Iowa State, Arizona, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Arkansas each have two.

HOGS FEED:

• Van Horn confident Razorbacks will adjust to new rules in SEC Tournament

• SEC Baseball Tournament Schedule

• Numbers both hopeful, disturbing in regard to Hogs’ College World Series aspirations

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Southern Arkansas University begins negotiations with Bruno Hicks as next president

Today at 11:27 a.m.

by Ryan Anderson

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Submitted photo of Bruno Hicks, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Dalton State College and finalist for Southern Arkansas University president.

Southern Arkansas University’s board of trustees voted unanimously Monday to begin negotiations with Bruno Hicks — provost and vice president of academic affairs at Dalton State College in Northwest Georgia — to become SAU’s next president.

If Hicks can agree to terms, he has indicated he could start his new duties as early as June 17.

The SAU board selected Hicks over in-state finalist Phillip Wilson, the chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Rich Mountain since 2011.

Laura Winning, chairperson of the board of trustees. called it “a very important decision” and said SAU was “excited about what (Hicks) can bring to” the 5,127-student university in Magnolia.

Before starting his tenure at Dalton State College in 2020, Hicks was the founding dean of the school of education from 2016-2020 at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts.

He spent nearly two decades at the University of Maine at Fort Kent as a professor of education and environmental studies. He also served as chairman of the education department for 12 of his 18 years there.

Former SAU President Trey Berry departed at the end of last year to become chancellor of Henderson State University on Jan. 1,.

David Rankin, who retired as SAU president on June 30, 2015 and is SAU President Emeritus — is filling in temporarily as SAU president.

Nate Evers, the board of trustees’ vice chairman, said he made the motion “with much enthusiasm” to begin negotiations with Hicks.

Winning, the board of trustees’ chairperson, expressed gratitude to everyone who helped with the search, from faculty and staff, to the search committee led by fellow trustee Monty Harrington, and to members of the community.

The University of Arkansas women’s golf team saw its deep postseason run come to an end Monday at the NCAA Championships in Southern California.

The No. 10 Razorbacks put two golfers in the top 20 while shooting a 12-over 300 to fall to 25 over for the tournament, five shots shy of the cut to the final eight teams at the Omni La Costa North Course in Carlsbad, Calif.

For the fourth day in a row, the Razorbacks were in good shape at the turn but slipped on their back nine to lose ground to par. Arkansas spent part of the day inside the cut line before finishing in 10th place, three shots behind defending NCAA champion Wake Forest (+22) in ninth and five shots behind Auburn (+20) for the final slot of match play.

Texas A&M’s Adela Cernousek followed three rounds of 68 with an even-par 72 to take medalist honors at 12 under for the tournament. She won the individual title by three shots over Florida State sophomore Lottie Woad.

The match play field is loaded with four Pac-12 teams and three SEC schools to go along with Clemson of the ACC.

No. 1 Stanford and LSU tied for the stroke play win at 2 under. Those schools will be joined in the match play quarterfinals Tuesday morning by Texas A&M (+5), Southern Cal (+13), Clemson (+18), UCLA (+19), Oregon (+19) and Auburn, with the semifinals taking place in the afternoon. The championship match is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Razorbacks were led by freshman Maria Jose Marin, who began the round at 5 under as one of 14 players under par, along with junior teammate Kendall Todd.

Marin shot even-par 72 to tie for fourth place. The native of Cali, Colombia, became the fifth Razorback to notch a top-5 finish at the championships, joining medalists Stacy Lewis (2007) and Maria Fassi (2019), second-place Kelli Shean (2011) and Gaby Lopez, who tied for second in 2015.

Todd could not find a birdie Monday and completed her round with a 77. She finished 4 over and in a tie for 19th place.

Sophomore Reagan Zibilski had her best round of the tournament, a round of 74 with a team-high three birdies that brought her to 22 over and tied for 78th place. The other counting score for the Razorbacks was senior Kajal Mistry’s 77, which left her at 16 over and tied for 70th.

Senior Miriam Ayora had the non-counting score for Arkansas, a 78 that moved her to 20 over and tied for 75th.