FAYETTEVILLE — JD Notae has been providing instant offense off the bench for the University of Arkansas basketball team since the season started.
Now the 6-1 junior guard from Covington, Ga., is playing some impressive defense as well.
Notae, who redshirted last season after transferring from Jacksonville (Fla.) University, has nine steals the past three games — matching his combined total for the nine games prior. He has 34 steals on the season.
“I thought JD hit some big shots for us when we needed it,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said after Notae had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals while playing a season-high 32 minutes in the Razorbacks’ 83-75 victory over LSU last week. “But it was really about JD’s defense and how much he’s progressed.
“He had active hands and got a strip off a dribble, and then he also got his hands on a pass and deflected it off the guy that was making the pass, Javonte Smart.
“I thought he was really aggressive defensively, and quite frankly that’s been an area we’ve wanted him to improve on. I thought defensively on the ball he was really, really good.”
Notae opened the last three-game stretch with 12 points, 3 assists and 2 steals in 16 minutes of Arkansas’ 81-66 victory over SEC champion and current No. 8 Alabama.
“He’s going to be a great player for us,” Musselman said. “We’re just trying to teach him how to be a point guard and what a good shot is.
“But he’s an explosive player. He’s a guy the opposition really has to talk about in their game prep. He’s perfectly capable of having huge scoring nights.”
In the No. 12 Razorbacks’ 101-73 pounding of South Carolina on Wednesday night for their fourth consecutive SEC road victory, Notae had 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals in 30 minutes.
The steals were a season-high and matched a career-high. He twice had five steals at Jacksonville against Eastern Kentucky as a freshman and Florida Gulf Coast as a sophomore.
“Defensively, JD’s becoming a menace for the opposing team as far as getting us extra possessions,” Musselman said.
Notae, who is averaging 13.0 points and 3.1 rebounds, said he’s made playing tough defense more of a priority.
“In practice, Coach has us ‘Hand in the eyeball, active hands,’” Notae said. “So it’s just paying off.”
Freshman guard Moses Moody, averaging a team-high 17.0 points for the Razorbacks, said Notae’s defense is also fueling Notae’s offense after he was limited to two points in back-to-back games at Missouri and against Florida,
“I think when you play really good defense and you get a couple steals and a couple deflections, it hypes you up and gets you more motivated to play on offense,” Moody said. “You just feel better.”
Notae has played off the bench in 25 of 26 games this season and scored 12 or more points 18 times with a high of 22 twice — in an 87-76 victory over Oral Roberts and a 92-76 loss at LSU.
“If JD’s got the hot hand, he’s going to do his thing no matter what,” Arkansas junior guard Desi Sills said. “But on the defensive end, he’s just buying in and doing everything he’s supposed to do — good things.
“He’s jabbing at the ball, he’s rebounding. Coach emphasizes it each and every day in practice, and JD’s buying into it.”