FAYETTEVILLE — There's a difference between being the best professional prospect on the team and entering the season with potential to have the highest ceiling.

That's the case for 5-star true freshman and Razorback legacy guard JJ Andrews out of Little Rock. The 6-foot-6, 235 pound guard put on a show in a 76-72 exhibition victory over No. 15 Gonzaga by nearly pulling off a double-double with 10 points, nine rebounds, one assist and one steal in just over 23 minutes of action.

It's not the scoring that makes him a special athlete for the Razorbacks, it's the intangibles along with his size that will make him hard to guard or put on skates defensively. Andrews has the ability to be a two-way standout, and already showed that to be the case as a member of the group that forced Gonzaga into nine straight stops in the second half on Saturday.

His motor keeps churning throughout the game and appeared to get stronger the longer he stayed on the court. He willingly chased after loose balls, fought on the boards and makes effort plays count.

That was never more evident than in the second half when he connected on both of his three-point attempts and showed off his "Spiderman" celebration to the liking of the student section.

Andrews can contribute in several ways without demanding the basketball, which should make him an important piece of Calipari's rotation as the season progresses. And that's something Arkansas coach John Calipari said he is having to be patient with as the season develops because he may want to tinker with the flow of the offense.

“Let's just talk about how many months we've got: November, December, January, February, March and, hopefully, April,” Calipari said during his radio show Monday at Walk-On's. “I shouldn't be in a hurry.

"We got a lot of time, and when you get a good team, but they're really young, they develop over a period of time. I think we've got a good group that'll battle. They're competitive. They want to win every drill.”

Whatever Calipari decides to do, Andrews is likely going to be at the forefront because of what he can physically do with the basketball. Having a potential NFL Hall of Fame offensive lineman for a father gives him the body type that can absorb contact when attacking the basket while having enough mobility to defend smaller guards along the perimeter.

His mentality toward attacking the basket for rebounds gives the Razorbacks a physical presence capable of clearing the glass to carry over to the next possession, and even create second chance opportunities for his team.

If Andrews can continue developing his jumper while improving his ability to create offense off the dribble, there's reason to believe he could become not only one of the more difficult matchups in the SEC, but playing with house money to become a possible 2027 NBA Draft Lottery selection come this spring.

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