The Arkansas basketball roster for 2022-23 continued to shrink on Tuesday. Guard Ricky Council announced his declaration for the NBA Draft.
A transfer from Wichita State, Council led Arkansas in scoring during his first and only season with the Razorbacks. He averaged 16.1 points per game in an average of 34 minutes a night.
A junior, Council became the third Razorbacks player to announce intentions to turn pro this offseason. Freshman guard Nick Smith Jr. declared eight days ago and junior guard Devo Davis declared the following day.
Smith is all but guaranteed as a first-round selection, though he is no longer considered a lock for the lottery. Davis is largely unlisted on NBA draft projections, suggesting a return to Arkansas is likely. Council fits somewhere in-between: most sites have him going in the mid-to-late second round, a la Daniel Gafford in 2019 and Isaiah Joe in 2020.
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman expected such announcements and has been active in the transfer portal. Two of the most highly-touted entrants into the portal announced the Razorbacks as a finalist earlier this week.
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