Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

For this old-timer it doesn't seem that long ago, in Arkansas' early years in the Southeastern Conference, that the football Hogs would be regularly trounced by the big boys while the fan base would be anxiously looking forward to basketball season and the next hoops signing day.

Those days may be back. In the middle of Arkansas being routed 52-0 by Alabama on Saturday, the one glimmer of hope came from Mike Anderson's basketball program when Moses Kingsley announced his commitment to the hoop Hogs and it was reported first via Twitter.

Kingsley is a 6-9, 220-pound low post player who started alongside Little Rock's Bobby Portis for the Arkansas Wings 17-and-under national championship team. Kingsley is a big-time rebounder, shot blocker and dunker. The scoring outside the lane from the Wings' post players came from Portis, the long-armed, 6-foot-10 Little Rock Hall center with a fluid shooting touch. Portis has remained committed to Arkansas for several months.

Arkansas has signed plenty of guards in recent years. The key to success in the SEC and advancing in (or to) the NCAA Tournament is the muscle inside. As CBS.com recruiting blogger Jeff Borzello reported:

His offensive game is still somewhat raw but he has consistently showed flashes of his potential. Kingsley has a decent post-up game and knows how to pass out of a double-team. Moreover, he's very good on the glass and has improved his ball-handling. Defensively, he blocks shots and uses his strength to get good position down low.

An interesting aspect to Kingsley is he was recently diagnosed with malaria after going home to his native Nigeria in order to renew his visa. He was in the hospital for several days, including a stint in the intensive care unit. His temperature was as high as 105 degrees during the ordeal. Kingsley has told reporters he is feeling much better now.

With Portis and Kingsley to anchor his frontcourt, Anderson could have a perennial SEC contender brewing in Fayetteville.

Kingsley had several big-time programs (North Carolina, Memphis, Florida, to name three) after his commitment, with Louisville and Coach Rick Pitino apparently being the Hogs' chief contender for the New Albany, Miss., product. Kingsley plays his high school basketball at Huntington (W.Va.) Prep.

Kingsley and Portis, if their commitments hold for another month and a half, will sign in the November early signing period and arrive on the UA campus for the 2013-14 season.

TOUCHDOWN CLUB SCHEDULING: Next Monday's featured speaker at the Little Rock Touchdown Club is Razorback head football coach John L. Smith.

If Arkansas doesn't beat Rutgers this Saturday, particularly if the Hogs get starting quarterback Tyler Wilson back in the lineup, the big question is whether Smith will even show. He wouldn't cancel on his own — he likes to talk, obviously — but Arkansas may not want to trot the beleaguered fill-in for Bobby Petrino in front of the masses.

Maybe it might be a good time for club president David Bazzel to reach out to Houston Nutt for an emergency appearance. Nutt is everywhere on TV these days. Sunday night, he was part of the CSS "Talking Football" panel that at times features Tony Barnhart and other Atlanta-area based media. Nutt, out of coaching for the first time since his college football playing days ended, is also part of CBS's football analytical team.