All Razorback basketball transfers accounted for

Rumors ran rampant that one or two newcomers would not make it to Fayetteville earlier in the holiday weekend. However, Arkansas has at the very least seen all their transfer guards make it or en route to campus.

Hearing rumblings that the Muss Bus could lose a passenger or two. Something to keep an eye on in Fayetteville.

— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) May 26, 2023

Khalif Battle, Tramon Mark, Jeremiah Davenport, Keyon Menifield and El Ellis all come to Fayetteville with at least one year of experience at the division one level. At one point the class was ranked first overall before Kansas and West Virginia overtook them, according to 247sports.

Here’s a recap of their 2023-23 seasons:

Tramon Mark

Was one of only two Cougars to start all 37 games… Finished fourth on the team with 10.1 points per game and added 4.9 rebounds per contest… Ranked 11th in The American with a 77.6 free throw percentage.

His offensive statistics don’t blow you away but Mark is one of the best two-way players in the portal. No one plays at Houston without possessing the ability to defend at a high level.

Now, at Arkansas he has the opportunity to be an alpha defender in the best conference in America.

Jeremiah Davenport

While at Cincinnati, he finished with 1,060 points in his career, good for 49th in school history. The Ohio native was the 56th Bearcat to exceed 1000 points in a career. He appeared in all 36 games, starting the first 15.

Davenport would spend the rest of the season in a sixth man role where he improved his three point shooting by 5.7-percent. Last season, the former Bearcat averaged 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds over 25.6 minutes per game. He erupted for season-high 22 points (6-9 3FG) as the Bearcats coasted past Wichita State.

Keyon Menifield

As a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team member, the former Washington Huskies guard recorded 10.0 points, 3.1 assists and a 1.8 assist-turnover ratio which led all Pac-12 freshmen last season.

As the lead guard in 2023, Menifield was the only Husky to play in all 32 games, making 21 starts.

He became first Washington freshman to lead the team in scoring in consecutive games since Isaiah Stewart in 2020. Menifield scored a career-high of  26 points against Utah Tech. Zoning in with four made three baskets.

Menifield would go off against some of the Pac 12’s best programs including 21 points against no. 6 Arizona, his most points scored in a conference game. He would also lead Washington to an overtime win against Oregon with career-high 27 points and an efficient 11-for-15 shooting. That performance earned him Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.

El Ellis

One of the surprises hauls in the transfer portal was the former Louisville guard, Ellis. During his second season as a Cardinal, he averaged team-high 17.7 points and 4.4 assists while starting all 32 games and averaging 36 minutes per outing.

Ellis was named to the All-ACC Honorable Mention team following the 2022-23 season.

The former junior college product performed at a high level for a dreadful Cardinal team under first year coach, Kenny Payne. Ellis produced 28 double-digit scoring games in his senior season, as well as 13 games with 20-plus points.

He is an elite bucket-getter and volume scorer. Ellis was used more as a ball dominant point guard but could excel in space as a shooting guard.

During the month of February, Ellis went off averaging 25.8 points per game against the ACC’s league’s top four teams. Miami (33 points), Virginia (21 points), Clemson (28 points and at Duke (21 points and 7 assists).

Khalif Battle

During his third year at Temple, the high-scoring guard averaged 17.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game with the Owls.

Battle shot 41-percent from the field and 35-percent  from three in his third season with Temple. His 2.85 made three point baskets made per game were second best in the American Athletic Conference in 2022-23.

Free throw shooting left much to be desired throughout the season for the Razorbacks. However, Battle shot an AAC leading 89.9-percent from the charity stripe.

Certainly, the Razorbacks are waiting to hear official word on the status of Davonte “Devo” Davis before the roster is finalized. Ron Holland decommitted from Texas in April but Texas didn’t release him from his letter of intent until last week. Arkansas’ roster could be far from a sure thing after all.