Julysses Nobles, who started 14 games for the Hogs while Fortson was on a disciplinary suspension, returns for his sophomore season. He was the only option at the point for Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey until Fortson was re-instated for Arkansas' final nonconference game against Texas.
Nobles will joined by Iowa transfer Jeff Peterson becomes eligible next year after redshirting last season by mandate of NCAA regulations. Peterson, a 6-0, 192-pound junior from Springfield, Mo. Peterson started all 25 games of his sophomore season at Iowa, averaging 10.6 ppg., 4.2 apg., 2.4 rpg. and 1.2 spg.
Peterson was 24th in the Big Ten in scoring, seventh in assists, seventh in free throw percentage (.825, 80-97), 13th in steals, 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.34) and 11th in minutes played (32.96). His three-point percentage of .397 would have ranked sixth with two more made shots to qualify for the statistic. Overall, he shot 45 percent (81-180), which was the best on the team for players with 100 or more attempts.
Arkansas coach John Pelphrey liked what he saw from Peterson during the young man's red-shirt season.
"I think Jeff is a young man who has got three years experience and two years playing in the Big 10 at Iowa and I think he averaged 11 points a game as a sophomore," Pelphrey said of Peterson's valuable experience. " Last year he had a chance to sit out and learn and be a part of our system. He’s a hard worker. I think he is going to have a chance to be a very good leader for us. He’s a good player on both sides of that basketball. He’s got a level of toughness, and it means something to him. He’s a tremendous human being off the court."
Pelphrey, who redshirted as a freshman at Kentucky, was impressed that Peterson didn't just bide his time during practices last season, but worked to improve
"You know a lot of those guys it’s always very difficult," Pelphrey said. "I know that as well as any because I had to redshirt. It’s very, very difficult regards to practice to get as many reps as somebody else. But he got quite a few reps in regards to an individual instruction standpoint. Jeff would come in early before games and get his workouts in. He didn’t take it as a a year just to chill. He tried to get better.
"I believe he feels he has gotten better. I am excited about his attitude. I think it has the chance to be infectious. Jeff Peterson never left practice without making 50 three-point shots at the end. That was his routine. He didn’t walk out of the building until he did it. I think that tells you something about him. He took the year as an opportunity to get better and improve."
When Peterson arrived at Arkansas he had a broken left wrist, but he is fully recovered from the injury, Pelphrey said.
Should Fortson return for his junior season, he would certainly start for the Hogs, but would he see more time at No. 2 guard spot as he did late in the season for the Hogs in 2010?
"I think all those things are a possibility," Pelphrey said. "As a coach you just want to get your best players on the floor, maybe on your team or at that moment in time.
"A lot of times guys talk a lot about positions, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, and coaches do that as well. But we are looking to get the five best players out there, and if it’s the five best players at that moment in time, that’s O.K., too.
So, yeah, whatever combination works for us. We’ll see how that goes."
