Arkansas fans were thrilled with the edition of Ricky Council IV to the Razorbacks, and for good reason. The 6-foot-6 wing will provide depth, experience, and scoring, among other things:
Eric Musselman added his team’s fifth transfer addition of the offseason Friday, as Wichita State transfer Ricky Council IV committed to Arkansas.
A 6-foot-6 wing from Durham, N.C., Council adds size, scoring, experience and versatility to the Razorbacks' talent-filled roster. Prior to his decision, Arkansas' backcourt was severely lacking in the experience department, as it consisted of six freshmen plus rising junior Davonte Davis.
Experience
The former Shocker has two years of college experience under his belt, playing against good competition in the American Athletic Conference. In two seasons, he appeared in 49 games with eight starts.
Despite the small number of starts, Council played starter minutes as a sophomore and was a solid role player as a true freshman.
In his first year, Council averaged 15.6 minutes in a bona fide sixth-man role. As a sophomore, he still primarily came off the bench, but his playing time increased to 26.6 minutes per game, good enough for fourth on the team. For all intents and purposes, Council played the role of a starter his second season.
Playing in the AAC, Council has had the opportunity to showcase his talent against quality competition, including NCAA Tournament teams. He even has modest experience in the NCAA Tournament, playing nine minutes in a loss in the 2021 First Four.
The first two games of his collegiate career were against high-major competition in Missouri and Oklahoma State. In those two games, Council averaged 2.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes.
In that shortened season with schedules primarily made up of conference opponents, there were seven AAC teams - including Wichita State - that finished just under .500 in conference play or better. The Shockers won the regular-season title at 11-2, while the other teams - Houston, Memphis, SMU, Cincinnati, UCF, and Tulsa - clearly made up the competitive group in the 11-team conference.
Against those six teams in his freshman season, Council averaged 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 49.2% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc in 15.6 minutes. Despite playing virtually the same minutes, his numbers were actually better against tougher competition than his overall season averages.
That trend continued during his sophomore year.
This past season, there were more non-conference games, including four matchups against high-major opponents, and eight teams in the AAC with a winning overall record, including the Shockers.
In matchups with Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Kansas State, Council averaged 9.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 24.8 minutes. He also shot 53.8% from the field, 66.6% from three and 42.9% from the charity stripe in those games.
Those numbers were impressive enough for a sophomore against top competition, but against the best competition in the AAC, he averaged 13.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 29.4 minutes. However, he shot just 32.3% from the field and 27.7% from deep -- while his free throw percentage increased to 87.9%.
The biggest takeaway is that Council has played a lot of games against quality opponents over the last two years and performed well. He consistently scores at a high level, whether he’s hitting jump shots or getting to the free throw line, and is a pretty consistent rebounder as well.
Considering the talent and youth in Arkansas’ back court, Council should be able to get back to a more efficient offensive output while being a veteran presence in the locker room and on the court.
Skillset
Listed at 6-foot-6, Council will maintain the Razorbacks’ incredible size and length for next season. Aside from his height, the transfer’s total skillset will compliment the other pieces on the roster very well.
Council will play on the wing, but has the ability to handle the ball at any given time and even get to the bucket at will. That’s something Arkansas didn’t have last year out of their wings, but should have in droves this year with Nick Smith, Jordan Walsh, Anthony Black, Davis and now Council all able to play on the wing and all able to create off the bounce.
When driving, he is completely fluid with his movement and can go around interior defenders while maintaining his dribble. On top of that, he shines at finishing at the rim, even through contact. Council also has great court vision and is a willing passer who uses his size to see cutters over defenders and even has the ability to throw passes over the top.
As previously mentioned, he is a threat to score at all levels with career percentage splits of 43.2/33.9/77.6. Those numbers should be even better at Arkansas with the role he will play on the team. As a shooter, he thrives in the catch-and-shoot motion, but has proven he can take and make tough, contested shots off the bounce, as well.
With his size, he can post up smaller defenders inside and score over the top of them, and even has some post moves in his arsenal. Council’s midrange game is pretty effective, too, as he can hit floaters and midrange jumpers fairly consistently.
Musselman should also be ecstatic with the wing’s rebounding numbers, as he averaged 5.4 rebounds per game this past season and 4.6 over his two seasons at Wichita State. Council has a feel for getting in the right spot for rebounds, particularly on the defensive end, and puts forth the effort to fight for boards and go get them.
Throughout Musselman’s time as a college head coach, he’s seemed to have a few criteria he looks for in transfer guards, and Council checks all of those: size, rebounding and a three-level scorer.
The defensive end is where Council will need to improve to have the most opportunities to play with the Razorbacks. His help-side defense and rotations aren’t bad at all, but he could definitely be better at on-ball defense. That's something to keep an eye on when next season rolls around, but he will have an entire offseason to work on that.
Role at Arkansas
Council was just named the AAC Sixth Man of the Year for Wichita State. While he did start seven games last season, he came off the bench in the other 21 and played the fourth-most minutes on the team. As well as he played last season, he had plenty of coaches calling when he entered the transfer portal, many from high-major programs.
Transferring from a smaller program to a bigger one can sometimes see a star player’s role diminish, similar to Stanley Umude for Arkansas this past season. Other times, they can take on the same role at the larger school. Council falls into the second category.
Arkansas will have a backcourt loaded with young talent next season. Council will have plenty of college experience to provide leadership, but is also talented in his own right. I would expect him to transfer up to a national title contender and maintain his sixth-man role as a major scoring threat off the bench to spell some of the young guys.
Because he won’t be relied on as heavily to be the go-to scorer or put the team on his back, Council should be able to get back to more efficient performances at Arkansas. He will be able to catch-and-shoot on the wing and drive from the wing in the flow of the offense rather than being forced to create for lack of other scoring threats.
It would not shock me to see Council get close to 40% from three again, or even better, addressing the lack of shooting on this roster that gave fans such anxiety after bringing in the four transfer forwards.
What it Means
With the addition of Council, Arkansas is set firmly at 13 scholarships if Jaylin Williams does not return. At this point, I would expect him to stay in the draft and the other 13 would make up Arkansas’s final roster heading into next season, but Williams still hasn’t made his decision yet.
If Williams does ultimately decide to come back, the coaching staff will have to figure out how to get that number back down to 13 again.
Makhi and Makhel Mitchell from Rhode Island
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Analysis: What Arkansas is getting in Wichita State transfer Ricky Council
HawgBeat takes a closer look at Arkansas' most recent transfer addition, Ricky Council IV from Wichita State.
arkansas.rivals.com
Eric Musselman added his team’s fifth transfer addition of the offseason Friday, as Wichita State transfer Ricky Council IV committed to Arkansas.
A 6-foot-6 wing from Durham, N.C., Council adds size, scoring, experience and versatility to the Razorbacks' talent-filled roster. Prior to his decision, Arkansas' backcourt was severely lacking in the experience department, as it consisted of six freshmen plus rising junior Davonte Davis.
Experience
The former Shocker has two years of college experience under his belt, playing against good competition in the American Athletic Conference. In two seasons, he appeared in 49 games with eight starts.
Despite the small number of starts, Council played starter minutes as a sophomore and was a solid role player as a true freshman.
In his first year, Council averaged 15.6 minutes in a bona fide sixth-man role. As a sophomore, he still primarily came off the bench, but his playing time increased to 26.6 minutes per game, good enough for fourth on the team. For all intents and purposes, Council played the role of a starter his second season.
Playing in the AAC, Council has had the opportunity to showcase his talent against quality competition, including NCAA Tournament teams. He even has modest experience in the NCAA Tournament, playing nine minutes in a loss in the 2021 First Four.
The first two games of his collegiate career were against high-major competition in Missouri and Oklahoma State. In those two games, Council averaged 2.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes.
In that shortened season with schedules primarily made up of conference opponents, there were seven AAC teams - including Wichita State - that finished just under .500 in conference play or better. The Shockers won the regular-season title at 11-2, while the other teams - Houston, Memphis, SMU, Cincinnati, UCF, and Tulsa - clearly made up the competitive group in the 11-team conference.
Against those six teams in his freshman season, Council averaged 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 49.2% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc in 15.6 minutes. Despite playing virtually the same minutes, his numbers were actually better against tougher competition than his overall season averages.
That trend continued during his sophomore year.
This past season, there were more non-conference games, including four matchups against high-major opponents, and eight teams in the AAC with a winning overall record, including the Shockers.
In matchups with Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Kansas State, Council averaged 9.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 24.8 minutes. He also shot 53.8% from the field, 66.6% from three and 42.9% from the charity stripe in those games.
Those numbers were impressive enough for a sophomore against top competition, but against the best competition in the AAC, he averaged 13.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 29.4 minutes. However, he shot just 32.3% from the field and 27.7% from deep -- while his free throw percentage increased to 87.9%.
The biggest takeaway is that Council has played a lot of games against quality opponents over the last two years and performed well. He consistently scores at a high level, whether he’s hitting jump shots or getting to the free throw line, and is a pretty consistent rebounder as well.
Considering the talent and youth in Arkansas’ back court, Council should be able to get back to a more efficient offensive output while being a veteran presence in the locker room and on the court.
Skillset
Listed at 6-foot-6, Council will maintain the Razorbacks’ incredible size and length for next season. Aside from his height, the transfer’s total skillset will compliment the other pieces on the roster very well.
Council will play on the wing, but has the ability to handle the ball at any given time and even get to the bucket at will. That’s something Arkansas didn’t have last year out of their wings, but should have in droves this year with Nick Smith, Jordan Walsh, Anthony Black, Davis and now Council all able to play on the wing and all able to create off the bounce.
When driving, he is completely fluid with his movement and can go around interior defenders while maintaining his dribble. On top of that, he shines at finishing at the rim, even through contact. Council also has great court vision and is a willing passer who uses his size to see cutters over defenders and even has the ability to throw passes over the top.
As previously mentioned, he is a threat to score at all levels with career percentage splits of 43.2/33.9/77.6. Those numbers should be even better at Arkansas with the role he will play on the team. As a shooter, he thrives in the catch-and-shoot motion, but has proven he can take and make tough, contested shots off the bounce, as well.
With his size, he can post up smaller defenders inside and score over the top of them, and even has some post moves in his arsenal. Council’s midrange game is pretty effective, too, as he can hit floaters and midrange jumpers fairly consistently.
Musselman should also be ecstatic with the wing’s rebounding numbers, as he averaged 5.4 rebounds per game this past season and 4.6 over his two seasons at Wichita State. Council has a feel for getting in the right spot for rebounds, particularly on the defensive end, and puts forth the effort to fight for boards and go get them.
Throughout Musselman’s time as a college head coach, he’s seemed to have a few criteria he looks for in transfer guards, and Council checks all of those: size, rebounding and a three-level scorer.
The defensive end is where Council will need to improve to have the most opportunities to play with the Razorbacks. His help-side defense and rotations aren’t bad at all, but he could definitely be better at on-ball defense. That's something to keep an eye on when next season rolls around, but he will have an entire offseason to work on that.
Role at Arkansas
Council was just named the AAC Sixth Man of the Year for Wichita State. While he did start seven games last season, he came off the bench in the other 21 and played the fourth-most minutes on the team. As well as he played last season, he had plenty of coaches calling when he entered the transfer portal, many from high-major programs.
Transferring from a smaller program to a bigger one can sometimes see a star player’s role diminish, similar to Stanley Umude for Arkansas this past season. Other times, they can take on the same role at the larger school. Council falls into the second category.
Arkansas will have a backcourt loaded with young talent next season. Council will have plenty of college experience to provide leadership, but is also talented in his own right. I would expect him to transfer up to a national title contender and maintain his sixth-man role as a major scoring threat off the bench to spell some of the young guys.
Because he won’t be relied on as heavily to be the go-to scorer or put the team on his back, Council should be able to get back to more efficient performances at Arkansas. He will be able to catch-and-shoot on the wing and drive from the wing in the flow of the offense rather than being forced to create for lack of other scoring threats.
It would not shock me to see Council get close to 40% from three again, or even better, addressing the lack of shooting on this roster that gave fans such anxiety after bringing in the four transfer forwards.
What it Means
With the addition of Council, Arkansas is set firmly at 13 scholarships if Jaylin Williams does not return. At this point, I would expect him to stay in the draft and the other 13 would make up Arkansas’s final roster heading into next season, but Williams still hasn’t made his decision yet.
If Williams does ultimately decide to come back, the coaching staff will have to figure out how to get that number back down to 13 again.
Transfer Scouting Reports
Trevon Brazile from MissouriMakhi and Makhel Mitchell from Rhode Island
Jalen Graham from Arizona State
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