COLUMBIA, S.C. – It was such a simple action. One might even consider it a non-play.
But in the grand scheme of a 65-63 nail biter on the road against South Carolina, it may have been the most important play of the game.
In a show of extreme growth and maturity, freshman Arkansas guard Anthony Black simply stepped aside.
At 7-0, 255 pounds, Josh Gray had five inches and 57 pounds on Black. He had already dominated the Mitchell twins and Jalen Graham for 18 points in the first 38 minutes of the game.
Black was already in a bit of a mismatch against senior forward Hayden Brown. Despite the 2-inch height advantage, Brown packed on 36 more pounds of muscle than Black, making it difficult to not get pushed around.
Meechie Johnson, who had been burying Arkansas from deep, was desperate for breathing room now that junior guard Davonte Davis had been switched from G.G. Jackson to him.
As a result, he dropped the ball down inside to Brown on the block.
Black did what he could to hold his ground, but he noticed something out of the side of his eye. Graham was coming up from behind to double Brown.
The young guard recognized immediately that Gray had been abandoned. Unfortunately, so did Brown.
Brown immediately whipped a pass around Graham to a wide open Gray. Because of his quick recognition Black was on him before Gray could get off the ground.
However, the same instinct that helped Black recognize Gray would be open allowed his brain to overtake his natural instinct to try to go up and disrupt the shot.
Not only would his much smaller body be of little use in stopping the shot, he would be called for a foul and send Gray to the line.
At the last possible second, Black jerked his body back out of foul's way. If he hadn't, Gray not only would have put South Carolina up 63-62, the crowd would have been rocking as Gray went to the line to extend the lead.
Instead, the Gamecocks fans, thirsty to finally see an SEC win on their home floor were almost immediately shut up. Black calmly walked the ball up the floor, waited for a screen from Graham, then weaved his way past three defenders, including gray, and knocked down a lay-up to instantly give Arkansas the lead for good.
Back in December, Black would have committed that foul, which likely would have meant another road loss for the Razorbacks.
His willingness to not make a play not only showed wisdom, it provided a much needed turning point in the season.
Fans may get hung up on how many points Arkansas won by after history indicated the Gamecocks should have been easy prey on their home floor. However, in this case, the number of points didn't matter.
All that mattered was winning a game on the road.
Six points spread across two road games is all that separates Arkansas from a six-game winning streak, so getting that first victory in an unfriendly environment was the only goal.
Much like how when digging out of debt it's important to pay off the lowest bill to get a feeling of accomplishment and build momentum, just getting a win at another SEC school is the mental break through this team needed.
No matter who it was against. No matter by how much.
And Black's non-play proved the difference in making that happen.
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