Razorbacks’ Frontcourt Puzzle: Ewin, Pringle, and the Search for Balance
FAYETTEVILLE - Sometimes, a single play tells the whole story. Early in Arkansas’ 85-77 loss to Kentucky, Brandon Garrison missed a floater in the paint, grabbed his own rebound, and scored. Just like that - two points, one offensive board, and a snapshot of the Razorbacks’ biggest issue this season: controlling the paint.
Kentucky came out firing, hitting 11 of their first 13 shots and finishing with 44 points in the paint. They added 10 offensive rebounds and 35 total boards.
That’s not just a hot start - that’s a full-on statement. And unfortunately for Arkansas, it echoed some season-long trends that have been hard to ignore.
Let’s start with the numbers. Arkansas ranks 240th nationally in 2-point defense, and 14th out of 16 SEC teams in that category.
On the glass, the story doesn’t get much better - their defensive rebounding percentage sits at 193rd in the country. They’re better on the offensive boards, ranking 116th, but even that has come with a catch.
The Razorbacks’ frontcourt rotation has been a bit of a Rubik’s Cube all season, especially when it comes to Nick Pringle and Malique Ewin. Both bring different strengths to the floor, but neither has emerged as a complete solution.
Pringle is a strong offensive rebounder - his 10.7% offensive rebounding rate puts him in the 76th percentile nationally, according to CBBAnalytics. But here’s the twist: Arkansas' offensive rebounding numbers actually drop when Pringle is on the floor, compared to when Ewin is manning the middle.
Ewin, meanwhile, is a monster on the offensive glass. His 15.7% offensive rebounding rate ranks in the 97th percentile.
But when he’s in, the Razorbacks’ defensive rebounding numbers take a hit. It’s the classic give-and-take - one guy helps you on the boards at one end, the other helps you at the opposite.
Then there’s the impact on team efficiency. When Pringle is at center with Trevon Brazile at the four, Arkansas posts an offensive net rating in the 94th percentile and a defensive net rating in the 82nd.
That’s solid. But swap in Ewin, and the offense jumps - 98th percentile with Brazile, 99th without him.
Defensively, though, it’s a different story - those ratings dip to the 28th and 71st percentiles, respectively.
Against Kentucky, those trends played out in real time. Ewin gave the Hogs 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, grabbed five boards, and added a steal.
Pringle? He didn’t attempt a field goal, missed his only free throw, didn’t record a rebound, and turned the ball over once.
And while plus-minus can sometimes mislead, it’s worth noting Ewin and Billy Richmond were the only Razorbacks in the positive.
Head coach John Calipari didn’t sugarcoat it.
“It wasn’t one of [Pringle’s] better games, but I love the kid,” Calipari said. “He’s got to give us more - defending, rebounding, flying up and down the court.
We throw him lobs and all that stuff. Trying to get Malique Ewin to get going, which stole some of his minutes.
And Malique started playing pretty well and rebounded, so we left him in.”
Calipari made it clear - it’s not about losing faith in Pringle. It’s about finding the right mix on a team still searching for consistency.
One option that’s been floated before: playing Pringle and Ewin together. It’s only happened for 19 minutes this season, all during nonconference play.
But in that tiny sample size, the numbers were eye-catching. Arkansas posted offensive and defensive ratings in the 100th percentile.
They did give up a fair number of free throws and saw a dip in shooting efficiency, but the rebounding? Off the charts.
Offensive rebounding was in the 100th percentile, defensive rebounding in the 89th - the best marks of any frontcourt pairing involving Pringle and Ewin.
“I think we tried it a few games, and we kind of dominated on the boards when we did,” Pringle said after Arkansas’ win over South Carolina. “But that’s definitely something I feel like we’re going to do more, especially in SEC play - a lot of physical teams, a lot of older teams.”
Still, the coaching staff has been cautious. That duo hasn’t seen time together in recent weeks, and Calipari previously noted there hasn’t been much practice time to work on it. After the Kentucky game, Arkansas had both Sunday and Monday off, and with a full week before their next matchup at Mississippi State, there’s at least a window to experiment - if they choose to take it.
“The last piece to this is me playing both those guys together and figuring it out,” Calipari said after the South Carolina game. “The problem happens when you’re playing two games a week. You’re almost experimenting in games, and these are league games.”
That’s the tightrope Arkansas is walking - trying to find frontcourt balance in the middle of a demanding SEC schedule. Brazile has logged 52 minutes as a small-ball five this season, and while the offense has thrived in those stretches (92nd percentile in scoring per 100 possessions), the defense has fallen off a cliff - 1st percentile in points allowed per 100.
So where does Arkansas go from here? That’s the million-dollar question.
The pieces are there - Pringle’s athleticism, Ewin’s motor on the glass, Brazile’s versatility - but the right combination is still elusive. And in a league where physicality and rebounding often decide games, time is running short to find the answer.
The Razorbacks don’t need perfection. They just need a frontcourt that can hold its own - one that can finish plays like Garrison did on that early possession, instead of watching them slip away.