LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — University of Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr. will be out of the lineup indefinitely for right knee management, the university announced on Wednesday.
The freshman has played in five games this season and is averaging 12.4 points per game on 38.9% shooting. He's also averaging 1.8 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game. When active, Smith is tied for second on the team in scoring with freshman guard Anthony Black.
The No. 10 Razorbacks (11-1) are undefeated when he touches the court this season as he wasn't available in Arkansas's 90-87 loss to Creighton on Nov. 22 due to a right knee injury; the same injury that forced him to miss six games at the beginning of the season before making his debut on Nov. 28 against Troy.
Smith, who was the 2022 USA TODAY National High School Boys Basketball Player of the Year, scored 25 points against Bentonville to help North Little Rock to a Class 6A State Championship last season. He was also the state tournament's most valuable player and a McDonald's All-American.
Arkansas begins SEC play on Dec. 28 against LSU. Coverage from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La., begins at 8 p.m. Central on ESPN2.