By Kevin McPherson
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas has reached into the transfer portal for the first time in the 2022 recruiting cycle to pick up Missouri freshman Trevon Brazile, who announced via Twitter on Wednesday that he has committed to the Razorbacks.
Brazile (6-9, 215, forward, native of Springfield, Mo.) started in 23 of the 25 games he played in last season while averaging 6.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 21.5 minutes per game while shooting 53.4% from the field, including 33.3% from 3, and 62.0% from the free throw line on a Missouri team that went 12-21, including 5-13 in the SEC.
Brazile — he’ll have three years of playing eligibility remaining — had also been contacted by Kentucky, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Cincinnati among others since entering the portal.
Brazile has already flashed plus-defensive ability as a rebounder and rim-protector — his per-40-minute averages are 9.5 rebounds and 3.6 blocks — using his combination of length, athleticism, and quick leaping ability. Those qualities appear to be a fit in Arkansas’ system that demands execution on the defensive end of the floor as the Razorbacks finished the 2021-22 season with the 11th-ranked adjusted defensive efficiency in Division 1 according to KenPom analytics.
The fact he knocked down a respectable 11-of-33 from the three-point-line makes him an intriguing face-up threat in pick-and-pop and pick-and-roll schemes on offense.
Brazile also provides size and depth on an Arkansas frontline that last season had only two players that stood taller than 6-7.
In two games against Arkansas last season — both losses — Brazile averaged 5.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He averaged 10.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in his final five games of the season as Missouri went 2-3 in those games with wins over Ole Miss and Georgia and losses against LSU twice and South Carolina.
In his season-finale loss against LSU in the SEC tournament second round on March 10, Brazile recorded a season-high 15 points to go with 8 rebounds. Brazile’s “breakout” game came in early January when he notched 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 assists, and 1 steal in Missouri’s upset home win over then-No. 15 Alabama.
Brazile scored in double figures a total of four times last season and had one game of at least 10 rebounds. He had seven games of at least 8 rebounds, and he had 17 games with multiple blocked shots (including a season-high of 6).
Counting Brazile, the Razorbacks have added 15 scholarship transfers over the past four recruiting cycles.
