Coach Eric Musselman and the Arkansas men’s basketball team secured their first recruiting class of 2023 commitment on Saturday with guard Layden Blocker, who last season played at Sunrise Christian Academy in the suburbs. from Wichita to Bel Aire, Kan.

Blocker, a Little Rock native, held an announcement ceremony at Little Rock Christian, where he played his first two seasons of high school basketball before transferring to Sunrise.

Blocker, 6-2, 172 pounds, is ranked by ESPN as the No. 7 point guard and No. 28 player nationally for the 2023 class. He is the first commitment for Arkansas after its recruiting class of 2022 which has was ranked No. 3 in the nation by ESPN.

“The class that just came in, it was very impressive,” Blocker said. “[With] three McDonald’s All-Americans, that tells you Coach Musselman is doing a really good job over there in Arkansas.”

Musselman led the Razorbacks’ back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, and that success has continued to attract rookies like those in the Class of 2022.

But it was a blueprint of the things Blocker excelled at and the things Musselman and his team said they thought could help him improve the most.

“When I saw this detailed chart I thought, ‘Yeah, this is the place,’ https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/jun/26/blocker-commits-to- hogs/” the blocker said.

Last season, Blocker helped lead Sunrise to a 26-1 record against a schedule that included wins over many of the nation’s top prep schools, including IMG (Fla.) Academy, Oak Hill (Va.) Academy and Link (Mo.) Academy.

Gradey Dick, who signed with Kansas, joined Blocker on Sunrise’s roster last season; Mark Mitchell, who pledged to Duke; Dillon Hunter, who signed with Clemson; and Cam Corhen, who signed with Florida State.

Going into his senior year of high school, Blocker said he wanted to settle his commitment now, rather than fielding calls throughout his senior season.

“I just wanted to go into my senior year with a fresh mind, just so I could focus on basketball rather than where I am. [going to] engage,” Blocker said. “It takes the weight off my shoulders.”

Blocker said he was targeting the NBA after his time in Fayetteville. So while he has goals for his time in Arkansas, he said Musselman can also help him become the next Razorback to make it to the NBA, following in the footsteps of Moses Moody and Jaylin Williams – former Razorbacks. who have been taken in the past two years. NBA drafts.

“When I get to college, I want to win a national championship, and that’s why I chose Arkansas,” Blocker said of his college career aspirations. “Coach Musselman, you know, he’s a very high level coach, an NBA style coach, and I want to go there, I can get to where I want to be – that is – say the NBA and win a national championship.”