With Lorenzo Jenkin’s Transfer, the 2015 Arkansas Basketball Recruiting Class is No More
By Cory Thone
Lorenzo Jenkins has announced that he will be transferring from the University of Arkansas. The last remaining recruit from the 2015 class for Mike Anderson, Jenkins played in just one game in his time with the Arkansas basketball program, and only scored 3 points. His transfer isn’t the worst news for Anderson and the program, but it’s the final nail in the worst year of Mike Anderson’s career as a head coach.
Losing Doobie Jenkins is not, to put it bluntly, a big deal for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Jenkins was added on the the 2015 class at the last minute, basically as a body for the practice squad. He was never going to be a big contributor at Arkansas. He knew that, Mike knew that, and all of us fans knew that. So it isn’t surprising that he’s decided to transfer out from Arkansas.
What IS surprising is just how bad 2015 was for Mike Anderson. The 16-16 Arkansas basketball overall record was bad enough, but with Jenkins transferring out of the program, Arkansas has exactly zero recruits from the 2015 class left on the roster. That is practically unheard of for a major program.
Ted Kapita never made it to campus, and Jimmy Whitt and Jenkins have now transferred out. How does this happen? This is a year that Anderson would like to forget, for sure. It was officially his worst recruiting job, and his worst overall record, and he did it all after coming off of a 27-9 season the year before. Any and all goodwill that he had built up with the previous 2 years has now been washed away.
Granted, it’s not all bad news for the Hogs. Rumors continue to swirl that there’s going to be a big transfer land in Anderson’s lap for this season, and that he would contribute immediately to the team. Maybe that is why Jenkins’ decision to leave was “mutual”.
However, until someone actually takes that scholarship, it’s just another hole in the team’s depleted roster. And like so many other situations surrounding the Arkansas basketball program, along with the fate of it’s head coach, the situation is all about big time “ifs”.
IF these JUCO players are as good as advertised….IF Jenkins’ scholarship goes to a transfer…IF Moses Kingsley stays for his senior season…
All of these IFs have got to be taking a toll on Mike Anderson. Because IF he wants to keep his job after next season, he’s definitely going to need these IFs to pan out his way. That means they DO get a transfer, Kingsley DOES stay, and these JUCO kids CAN play.
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While the staff is left with ifs, the rest of us Razorbackers are left hoping.