It’s May, and Arkansas State head men’s basketball coach Bryan Hodgson looks pretty relaxed. He’s wearing a polo shirt and baggy shorts, and his mingling with the faithful at Arkansas State University System Office in Little Rock, where the Red Wolves Caravan has made its annual stop. He approaches the small gaggle of reporters with his usual mix of affable goodnatured jabs and greetings. In the background, a freshly acquired piece of his roster, 6’5″ shooting guard Joseph Pinion out of Morrilton, is meeting his new fans. Pinion had spend his first two collegiate seasons in Fayetteville.
“As one of the top players in the state of Arkansas, Joseph spent two seasons in the SEC, and gained valuable college experience,” Hodgson is quoted as saying when Pinion signed. “He has a bright future at Arkansas State and we can’t wait to have him join us here in Jonesboro.”
If you’re playing for Arkansas State, you probably do have a bright future ahead of you. In his second year, Hodgson has assembled a basketball team unlike any seen in Jonesboro – one imbued with a balanced mix of shot blockers, shooters, defenders, three-point specialists and rebounders. As a result, there is an unfamiliar buzz around A-State basketball these days; a sense of anticipation instead of anxiety.
In the months following a conference tournament finals loss to James Madison, Coach Hodgson and his staff worked to build on the momentum. There were hiccups, but Hodgson didn’t just hold his breath to fix them. When star forward Freddy Hicks Jr opted to put his name in the transfer portal, the staff responded by picking up the Sun Belt’s most prolific scorer – 6’6″ forward Kobe Julian, who averaged better than 17 points a game last season. When useful role players like 6’6″ forward Julian Lual and 6’10” Lado Laku opted to test greener pastures, the program responded by picking up 6’8″ forward Rashaud Marshall from Ole Miss and 6’5″ guard Joseph Pinion from Arkansas. When certified Arkansas State Man™ Caleb Fields graduated as a legend, the team added blue chip recruits like Justin Johnson, R’Chuan King and Josh Hill – the best class in the Sun Belt.
Red Wolves In The Crosshairs
In mid-October, the Sun Belt coaches named Arkansas State the team to beat in the Sun Belt, garnering 12 first place votes (James Madison and Troy each received a vote). Louisiana transfer forward Kobe Julian was named the Preseason SBC Player of the Year, and he was named to the SBC First Team. Sharp-shooting Senior guard Taryn Todd was placed on the Second Team, and shot-blocking junior forward Izaiyah Nelson was granted Third Team honors.
Coach Hodgson was understandably pleased with the recognition, but he harbors no illusions. Sun Belt basketball has toughened across the board. “We’re well aware that none of that means anything,” said Hodgson on the Red Wolves #1 ranking. “This is a great basketball league: fourteen great programs with fourteen great coaches. There isn’t a gimme game on the schedule.”
The transfer portal seems to have energized the conference, with programs like Georgia State, James Madison, and Old Dominion filling gaps in the roster with vagabond talents. (The Panthers went especially heavy in the portal, picking up seven players, five of them 3-star rated talents from 247.) Additionally, Sun Belt programs seem more motivated than ever to improve recruiting. Arkansas State’s haul (Josh Hill, R’Chaun King and Justin Johnson) was ranked 49th in the nation. Old Dominion, James Madison and Georgia State also recruited well.
Arkansas State may be widely considered the team to beat in the Sun Belt, but there will be no shortage of contenders. The bottom half of the SBC coaches poll is stacked with proven contenders: Marshall, ODU, South Alabama and Georgia State among them. Meanwhile, the two teams also receiving first place votes – Troy and James Madison – are formidable, with Scott Cross’ Troy retaining 12 players and the Dukes, now led by Preston Spradlin from Morehead State, have reloaded with a haul that has included two 6’11 transfers.
Team Transfer: Size, Size, Size
| Player | No. | Pos | From | Height | Weight |
| Rashaud Marshall | 0 | F | Ole Miss | 6’8″ | 225 |
| Cody Head | 4 | G | Lipscomb | 6’2″ | 194 |
| Joseph Pinion | 5 | G | Arkansas | 6’5″ | 200 |
| Kobe Julian | 8 | F | Louisiana | 6’6″ | 217 |
| Kameron Johnson* | 13 | F | Collin College | 6’7″ | 223 |
Past Red Wolves teams relied on undersized guards to create space with speed and ball movement. Bryan Hodgson likes speed and ball movement as much as the next basketball coach, but he also sets a premium on size, loading the roster with big bodies that can move in and out of the paint – and shoot.
Joseph Pinion, a talent out of Morrilton who spent time with Arkansas, is a guard who bears small forward size with a three-pointer’s touch. Rashaud Marshall, a four-star recruit from Blytheville, is a bit of a linebacker, who can create a shot or secure a board by powering though opposing players. Cody Head, who has put on more than 20 pounds since his high school days in Cleveland, averaged better than 8 points per game for Lipscomb and was named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team. Kobe Julien, well known by Sun Belt enthusiasts, earned three Sun Belt Player of the Week distinctions last season while averaging 17.3 points per game. Kameron Johnson played his freshman season at Murray State College before moving to Collin College in Texas, where he averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.
The Recruits: Stars Stars Stars
| Player | No. | Pos | From | Height | Weight |
| Josh Hill | 1 | F | Wheeler HS (GA) | 6’11” | 201 |
| R’Chaun King | 25 | F | Bartlett HS (TN) | 6’6″ | 230 |
| Justin Johnson | 2 | F | Putnam Science Academy (FL) | 6’8″ | 195 |
According to 24/7, the four highest ranked recruits in Arkansas State Basketball history have committed to Arkansas State under Bryan Hodgson, with the three listed above and forward Onix Nnani this year. As you can see, Hodgson has a thing for recruiting high-functioning forwards.
Josh Hill, with offers from Xavier, Alabama, St. Johns and Georgia State among others, is the highest rated recruit to play as a Red Wolf. His size makes him a natural paint presence, but he’s not afraid to step back a pop a three. R’Chaun King, who held offers from Florida, Alabama, Memphis and Ole Miss, is known throughout NEA for his bruising inside presence and scored more than 1,000 points in his high school career. Justin Johnson, who fielded offers from Georgetown and Tulsa, averaged 15.6 points, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals while playing for one of the top prep schools in the nation.
“This part of Arkansas loves basketball,” said Coach Hodgson when asked about his recruiting success. He credited the game crowds, the community buy in, and the team’s NBA style of play as contributing factors.
The Returners: Proven Commodities
| Player | No. | Year | Pos | Height | Weight |
| Derrian Ford | 3 | Junior | G | 6″3″ | 212 |
| Taryn Todd | 6 | Senior | G | 6’4″ | 177 |
| Zane Butler | 7 | Senior | G | 5’11” | 166 |
| Avery Felts | 10 | Senior | G | 6’2″ | 192 |
| Terrance Ford Jr. | 11 | Sophomore | G | 6’1″ | 177 |
| Jacob St. Claire | 30 | R. Freshman | G | 6’3″ | 175 |
| Izaiyah Nelson | 35 | Junior | F | 6’10” | 218 |
| Dyondre Dominguez | 45 | Senior | F | 6’8″ | 208 |
Zane Butler and Avery Felts return as the team’s downtown brothers, racking up threes when threes are needed most. All Sun Belt members Taryn Todd and Izaiyah Nelson give the Red Wolves a great outside-inside scoring option, while Terrance Ford Jr. is expected to take over for legendary Caleb Fields at point. Dyondre Dominguez, who at times last season was the team’s best player, lends his considerable tools and experience to the Red Wolves for another year, while Arkansas transfer Derrian Ford will only become more dangerous as a rebounder, shooter and defender.
And what about redshirt freshman Jacob St. Claire? He led Sand rock High School to a Final Four berth by dropping 27 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.4 rebounds. Let’s see if he gets his feet on the hardwood in 2024-25.
“We have 15 guys who want to be on the floor,” said Coach Hodgson, referencing the depth of talent on the team. Finding minutes for all will be a nice challenge to solve.
A Bunch of Arkansas Boys
If Red Wolves fans find familiarity with the line-up, it may be because so many players on the roster hail from the Natural State: Joseph Pinion (Morrilton), Rashaud Marshall (Blytheville), Derrian Ford (Magnolia), Zane Butler (Paragould), and Avery Felts (Bono) are all local talents.
Let’s Look at That Sched
On October 26th, Red Wolves football host the Troy Trojans at Centennial Bank Stadium at 6:00 PM. Come way early, though, because at 11:00 AM, Arkansas State men’s basketball hosts its one and only exhibition game against mighty Trevecca Nazarene (who are also the Trojans). For the first time, Red Wolves fans will get to see this new hoops assemblage in action.
Then it’s all business. The season opens with the MAC Challenge on November 4th to take on the Akron Zips, whose preseason KemPom ranking is 129 (to Arkansas State’s 121). On paper, this would seem an even-steven matchup, and the Zips finished second in the MAC last season with a 24-11 record. It’s an ideal test for this team, and a fine one for a home crowd to witness.
Like last year, the Red Wolves harden their steel in the crucible of tough road game competition, taking on Alabama, Memphis and UAB on their home courts. For additional challenge, the Red Wolves will also visit Indiana State, Hoftra and Rice at the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship. At F’N Bank Stadium, the Red Wolves host UA Little Rock (who received votes in the preseason AP Top 25 poll), Stephen F. Austin, UT Arlington and a Jackson State team that upset A-State last season. So, not the easiest slate of games.
The conference slate isn’t a picnic either, with road-trip only visits to James Madison, Old Dominion and Marshall, but also Appalachian State and Georgia State in Jonesboro. The season ends on the road (reasonably) with a game against Louisiana (who will be without Sun Belt first-team forward Hosana Kitenge thanks to a season ending injury) and ULM, who is picked to finish next to last in the Sun Belt.
Wrap Up
This is a college basketball season unlike any Red Wolves college basketball season. Expectations aren’t necessarily new to the program, they’re just generally tempered with the understanding that Arkansas State will most likely fall short – after all, the program hasn’t seen the NCAA Tournament since 1999.
Bryan Hodgson seems motivated to bring something special to Jonesboro, and set a new example for what a Red Wolves basketball program can look like. Two years ago, you might have said that Arkansas State basketball is not a program for 4-star prospects. You might have thought of A-State as a program that filled its roster at the last moment with malcontented transfers and NAIA journeymen. You may have set the ceiling for wins at 18, and did so optimistically. You likely talked yourself into believing that size doesn’t matter in the Sun Belt. Coach Hodgson has exorcised all of those cursed beliefs.
Nobody knows anything until tip-off. Are these Red Wolves prepared to win the regular season, and dominate the Sun Belt Tournament? Can this team beat Jackson State and UA Little Rock – two programs that got the better of Hodgson last year. Does it have the depth to survive a 30+ game season – the Red Wolves were clearly spent by the time it met James Madison in the SBC tournament finals.
Nobody really knows, but man, we have a good feeling about it.
Images a mixture of mine, Sun Belt Media and Arkansas State Athletics
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