Trevon Brazile joins new Arkansas coach John Calipari.
Brazile re-committed to Arkansas on Tuesday, nearly two months after declaring for the NBA Draft on April 8 after his redshirt sophomore season. Brazile, a 6-10 forward with two collegiate seasons, is Calipari’s eighth recruit. Last season’s 16-17 Razorbacks only return one scholarship player. Arkansas coach Eric Musselman left after five seasons to coach Southern Cal.
Brazile, 21, attended the NBA Scouting Combine in Chicago before withdrawing from the draft on May 27, two days before the NCAA player eligibility deadline.b According to On3.com, NBA officials advised Brazile to return to college after two scrimmage games at the combine, averaging 4.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assist. His May 1 transfer portal entry allowed him to continue college while in the draft.
Brazile was a preseason first-team All-SEC pick and possibly a first-round NBA Draft pick last autumn, but knee discomfort kept him out of games. His second-round NBA Draft prediction followed last season. A redshirt sophomore, Brazile averaged 8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.2 blocked shots, and 25.6 minutes in 26 games with 23 starts last season. Brazile scored 14 points and 17 rebounds in 46 minutes in Arkansas’ double-overtime 77-74 Battle 4 Atlantis triumph over Stanford and 19 points and 11 rebounds in its 80-75 ACC/SEC Challenge win over Duke at Walton Arena.
Brazile played well in the remaining seven SEC games after missing seven in February due to knee problems. He had 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots in Arkansas’ 92-88 overtime defeat to Alabama and 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots in their win against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament.
Last season, Arkansas played Kentucky, where Calipari had coached for 15 seasons, without Brazile due to knee problems. Ky. triumphed 63-57 at Walton Arena.
In last season’s rematch versus Arkansas at Rupp Arena, Brazile fouled out after 15 minutes after hitting 4 of 5 shots, scoring 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 blocked shot.
Brazile shot 48.8% (79 of 162), 35.3% (24 of 68) from three, and 69.5% from free throws.
Springfield native Brazile transferred to Arkansas from Missouri after averaging 6.3 points and 5.0 rebounds as a freshman.
Brazile averaged 11.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocked shots as the Razorbacks’ sixth man as a sophomore before tearing his right ACL driving to the basket in the ninth game against North Carolina-Greensboro.
