Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Oklahoma State point guard Fred Gulley has joined the Arkansas basketball team. Gulley was on the bench in street clothes for the Razorbacks’ victory against Auburn on Wednesday and Coach Mike Anderson confirmed a day later that the Fayetteville native is part of the team.

Currently, Gulley is a walk-on and not on scholarship. Because he left OSU at semester, Gulley will be eligible to play after fall grades are posted in December 2012. He’ll have a year-and-a-half of eligibility to play for the Razorbacks. Gulley was a redshirt sophomore at Oklahoma State.

Anderson recruited the former Fayetteville High star while at Missouri. He said he has a relationship with Gulley dating back several years.

“We recruited him,” Anderson said. “I’ve known Fred for quite a while. He and my daughter actually played when they were like 8, 9 years old. They played on a little team here in the city.”

Anderson said it was too early to know what sort of impact Gulley’s addition would have on the team. Gulley, who averaged 4.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 18.4 minutes per game, does provide the Razorbacks with another body in practice and when eligible he’ll give them more depth at guard.

While Gulley can’t help the Razorbacks on the floor, Anderson said he does anticipate getting minutes out of forward Brandon Mitchell in the near future. Mitchell, the back-up quarterback for the Razorbacks, walked on last week and has been learning the basics of Anderson’s system.

Mitchell, at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, provides the team a sturdy, athletic option off the bench. He could give the team an additional body inside as Marvell Waithe continues to be sidelined by a strained calf.

Arkansas did not use Mitchell in Wednesday’s 56-53 victory against the Tigers, but Anderson said he is hopeful playing time will come for the former high school basketball star.

“If there’s an opportunity we’ll get him in there,” Anderson said. “He’s a big, strong body. He’s athletic. We’ll see what he can do.”