The most wonderful thing about the Hogs' encouraging Bahamas tour wasn't found on the court
Arguably the best thing about Arkansas basketball's successful run at the Baha Mar Hoops Summit over the past week was not found on the court itself.
If you followed not just the basketball games themselves, but also the commentary surrounding them from college basketball experts and insiders across the United States, you heard a number of things over the past several days.
You heard about how good the backcourt is. You heard about how promising Caleb Ourigou is in the paint. You heard about the dynamic defense. You heard about JJ Andrews being better than expected. You heard about Jeremiah Wilkinson being a good passer in addition to a talented shooter and scorer. You heard about Arkansas' depth. You heard about this team's ability to force turnovers and be disruptive to opposing offenses. You heard a lot, and all of it was fundamentally accurate.
What you didn't hear, and didn't see, was how good Miikka Muurinen is. That's right: Arkansas did all of this, and looked very good, without one key piece to the puzzle. Muurinen was mired in an eligibility complication, ensnared in a procedural thicket. He didn't get to play all week. While that was and still is immensely frustrating, let's look on the positive side: It allowed more players to get more minutes and learn how to play more fully. Muurinen's absence accelerated the growth process for a number of freshmen on this very young roster. That's a huge plus, even though it came at the cost of Muurinen not being able to play.
Now John Calipari faces a challenge in terms of getting Miikka Muurinen up to speed and making sure he doesn't get left behind as a result of his lack of action over the past week. Calipari needs to make sure Muurinen and the rest of the roster are on the same page, and that this one player isn't a drag on the flow or functionality of the team as the regular season begins. Assuming Calipari can do that, and integrate Muurinen into the rotation, Arkansas will have an even higher ceiling than what we already saw in The Bahamas.
Just imagine Muurinen spacing the floor even more than what we saw this past week. Just imagine Muurinen helping on the boards and providing a measure of frontcourt help. Just imagine Muurinen shooting well and adding to the quality shooters we saw in this exhibition tour. Miikka Muurinen can add to an already-impressive team.
It might be the biggest reason to be even more jazzed about Arkansas hoops this coming season.
