Nick Smith had to wait until Arkansas’ seventh game to make his college debut, but he’s making up for lost time and beginning to earn hardware.
The Bradley Beal Elite alum earned co-Freshman of the Week honors from the SEC after making big contributions to wins over UNC Greensboro and Oklahoma for the 10th-ranked Razorbacks.
For those counting at home, it's our THIRD weekly SEC honor in a row.
This time @lif3nick grabs the headlines. pic.twitter.com/ZsObpKbyNP
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) December 12, 2022
SEC Co-Freshman of the week honors for @lif3nick pic.twitter.com/gaJakFjul7
— Eric Musselman (@EricPMusselman) December 12, 2022
Him. pic.twitter.com/o126DbTtER
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) December 12, 2022
In just his third game of the season last Tuesday, Nick played 39 minutes and posted a season-high 22 points on 6-of-14 from the field with four rebounds in three assists in a 65-58 Arkansas win over UNCG.
On Saturday, he followed that up with 21 points on 8-of-16 in a 88-78 win over OU.
Nick played just five minutes and was held scoreless in his debut against Troy on November 28, but since the beginning of December he’s averaging better than 30 minutes per game and nearly 20 points per game.
“Nick’s got a great pull-up game, great at attacking the rim,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said on his radio show. “He has the ability to stretch the defense with three-balls. He can be a high assist player as well. He’s a willing passer. Certainly we needed his points last week.”
Nick shared the SEC Freshman Player of the Week honor with Alabama’s Noah Clowney.
