Arkansas’ Whitt enjoying solid start to season

FAYETTEVILLE — A Nevada graduate assistant coach helped Jimmy Whitt return to the University of Arkansas basketball program.

When Whitt decided to explore his options of leaving SMU as a graduate transfer after last season, his older brother, Garrett, suggested he consider returning to Arkansas to finish his college career with coach Eric Musselman.

Jimmy Whitt, a 6-3 guard from Columbia, Mo., played at Arkansas as a freshman during the 2015-16 season for Mike Anderson, who as Missouri’s coach had recruited him out of Hickman High School.

After Whitt transferred to SMU, he never figured to be back in a Razorbacks uniform.

That changed when Anderson was fired after last season — he’s now St. John’s coach — and Musselman was hired at Arkansas after going 110-34 the previous four seasons at Nevada,

Garrett Whitt, who played guard at Columbia (Mo.) College for NAIA teams that combined to go 122-17, was a Wolf Pack graduate assistant for Musselman during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.

“My brother loved his time at Nevada and I had been up there to see him, and I got to know coach Muss a little bit,” Whitt said. “When I was considering leaving SMU, he He told me I had to talk to coach Muss. He said he wasn’t going to tell me what to do, because it’s my life, but he wanted me to talk to him.

“I came to Arkansas for a visit and coach Muss showed me some stuff I didn’t know about my game — some analytical things — and I loved what he did at Nevada. He won a lot of games with transfers.

“When you’re in that position, you want to be somewhere where the coach has a proven track record with guys that are just like you. That was big for me. That’s really what led me back to Arkansas.”

Whitt said he also drew recruiting interest from Villanova, Oregon, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech.

But Garrett Whitt’s recommendation helped him choose Arkansas.

“My brother, I take his word like the Bible,” Whitt said. “He’ll never give me bad advice.

“When he said what he did, and I came up here and met with coach Muss, I knew it was the right decision.”

It’s a decision that has worked out well for Whitt and Arkansas so far this season.

Whitt’s play is a big reason Arkansas has started the season 8-1 going into Saturday’s game against Tulsa in Walton Arena.

Starting at point guard, the 6-3 Whitt is averaging 14.9 points, a team-high 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 35.9 minutes.

“Jimmy’s definitely an impact player,” Arkansas sophomore guard Isaiah Joe said. “It helps him a lot being a grad [transfer]. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

“He knows how to set up plays and get everybody where they’re supposed to be. He’s a great defender and rebounder and he’s able to push the ball on the break. His vision is incredible.

“He’s just a game-changer for us.”

Whitt averaged 6.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 17.1 minutes as a freshman for the Razorbacks while starting in 10 of 32 games. After redshirting at SMU, he started all 63 of the Mustangs’ games the previous two seasons and averaged 10.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 33.2 minutes as a sophomore and 12.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 35.1 minutes as a junior.

“I felt like my life had gone full circle,” Whitt said of the first time he heard his named announced as a starter for Arkansas back in Walton Arena. “I started here and now I’m finishing my career here. It’s exciting.”

Whitt said it’s also been comfortable returning to Arkansas.

“Most grad transfers, they go somewhere and have to get used to a new environment,” he said. “I’d already been here and knew my way around.”

Whitt — who earned a sports management degree at SMU and is working on a master’s degree in adult education at Arkansas — said Musselman’s arrival as a new coach helped him fit in faster with the Razorbacks.

“A lot of our guys were here last year, but we’re all under a new coaching staff,” he said. “So we have to lean on each other and really grow together, which is a cool experience.”

Musselman said the Razorbacks have benefited from Whitt’s calm demeanor.

“Jimmy’s even-keeled on a daily basis,” Musselman said.

“He doesn’t get too high and he doesn’t get too low, which is good for me to have a point guard like that. That’s not like me. He’s mature.

“He’s a great defender that we can put anywhere, on the point guard or the [power forward]. Every night he gets assigned the top [scoring opponent] that he could possibly guard based on his size.”

Musselman said that with the Razorbacks having an undersized lineup after 6-11 Daniel Gafford entered the NBA Draft, Whitt’s rebounding ability has been a key.

“We knew when the recruiting process went on with grad transfers that with Daniel leaving, the No. 1 priority was how do we become better rebounding at any position?” Musselman said. “I certainly think Jimmy has filled that void. We think he’s the best rebounding point guard in the country.”

Whitt had a season-high 12 rebounds in the Western Kentucky’s 86-79 overtime victory against Arkansas last Saturday. He had a career-high 13 rebounds against Tulsa and Bradley as a sophomore.

“I think as a point guard, you kind of luck out,” Whitt said of grabbing a lot of rebounds. “A lot of point guards really don’t try to rebound. You watch games, and when the ball goes up, the point guard is trying to get an outlet pass or he’s going back on defense.

“I think I can take advantage of that by being athletic and having long arms.”

Along with Whitt’s rebounding prowess and defensive versatility, he’s been a good scoring option for the Razorbacks. He twice has matched his career-high with 24 points this season against South Dakota and Northern Kentucky. He also scored 24 points against Cincinnati last season.

Whitt is shooting 52.3% from the field (58-of-111) and has hit 36-of-75 jump shots (48.0%) inside the three-point arc.

“We don’t really run plays for Jimmy,” Musselman said. “He just finds spots on the floor where he’s comfortable shooting the ball from 12 to 17 feet, he gets the ball off quick and it goes in.

“He’s got long arms — a 7-foot wingspan — and he jumps quick off the floor, so nobody is going to block his shot.”

Whitt, who has hit 16-of-65 three-pointers for his career, hasn’t attempted a shot from behind the line this season.

“I haven’t addressed it with him,” Musselman said. “He knows his sweet spots, and he gets in them.

“People have put their power forward on him and put their point guard on him. He just does a great job of understanding his strengths as a player and where needs to be, and that’s where he’s taking his shots.”

Whitt had seven points, nine rebounds and two assists in the Razorbacks 79-64 exhibition victory against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

“Jimmy is an old-school player,” said UALR coach Darrell Walker, an All-American guard at Arkansas who played in the NBA for 12 seasons. “He’s not going to do anything he can’t do. He’s not going to jump up and shoot threes. He’s going try to get in the paint — the same way I did as a player — and operate from there. I think he’s just a stabilizing force out there for Eric.

Whitt said he’s hasn’t felt the need to take a three-pointer with teammates who are better perimeter shoots in Joe, Mason Jones and Desi Sills.

“If I can get to my shot every time that I’m comfortable with, then there is no point forcing up a shot I’m not comfortable with,” he said. “If it’s there I’ll take it, but when you have a lot of three-point shooters that can stretch out the floor, you want everybody to kind of play to their strengths.”

Whitt said he gives a lot of credit to his father, James, for the development of his mid-range shot.

“I always say he taught me how to shoot a mid-range jump shot before a layup,” Whitt said. “It’s a shot that I’ve shot my entire life. It’s something that has set me apart.

“It’s something I can use if I can’t get all the way to the basket. It’s a shot that keeps the defense honest because even though I don’t shoot the three, they do have to be honest once I start playing off the bounce and getting to my area.

“They have to commit and that helps me to make plays and be efficient while I’m out there.”

Whitt is averaging a career-high in points so far this season, but he said scoring isn’t a focal point.

”I pride myself on being dependable in a lot of different situations,” Whitt said. “Sometimes if I need to score, sure, I’ll step up and score.

“If I need to rebound, get an assist, play defense, I’ll do that. I think the thing I’ve realized as I’ve gotten older, the team success is going to give everybody their individual success at the end of the day.

“I’m more focused on what I can do for the guy next to me rather than what I can do for myself out there.”

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