It happened. Just days after the Hogs suffered a “you better get you some men, coach” loss to Arizona, the guy who should solve a lot of their paint problems has now entered the portal.
Yep, it’s Georgia’s Somto Cyril:
If you didn’t know, Cyril was a four-plus star recruit in the 2025 class and was committed to John Calipari at Kentucky. When Cal came to Arkansas, Cyril didn’t follow, as the Razorbacks chose to pursue a veteran center in the transfer portal and ended up with Jonas Aidoo.
In Athens, Cyril has been fantastic. He’s an elite rim protector who is also very strong on the offensive end. Georgia enjoyed a solid season and reached the NCAA Tournament as an 8-seed, and our analytics say Cyril was their best player.
I have no inside information here, but I would assume that there’s mutual interest and that Cyril will be Arkansas’ top target. I have not heard anything about there being any hard feelings when Calipari and Cyril parted ways, and Cal isn’t really the type to burn bridges like that (Cam’Ron Fletcher may have a different opinion, but he’s one of the only ones).
Somto Cyril would be a perfect fit for the Hogs
Let’s make sure we’re clear: Cyril will be very expensive. Everyone is watching these forward-heavy teams dominate college basketball and knows they have to pay up for size. A lot of big men are about to get seriously overpaid because the market is that hot for centers who can defend.
The Razorback fan social media channels have tossed around a lot of names. Some of them are not so good:
People see size like that and lose their minds. McKeever would be a horrible fit at Arkansas. He’s extremely slow and unathletic. Despite taking all his shots around the rim, he was 13 of 45 from the field in games against Saint Mary’s best opponents: Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Boise State, and Texas A&M. I don’t even know how that’s possible. He scored zero points in 29 minutes in the NCAA Tournament loss to Texas A&M and looked very slow and bad while doing it.
Somebody’s probably going to overpay for McKeever, unless he’s just following his coach to Arizona State. But it’s not going to be Arkansas.
Cyril, on the other hand, is going to be worth the significant NIL deal he’s about to receive from someone. Here’s a quick look at Arkansas bigs compared to some top portal targets (including Cyril) and some of the nation’s premier rim protectors:
Cyril’s 15.9% defensive rebound percentage isn’t great. There are definitely times where he seems to give only half-effort, which needs to be corrected for him to be an elite player. But everything else looks amazing. He’s a serious shot-blocker at 10.7%, and generates a lot of stocks (steals plus blocks) without fouling, which is exactly what you want to see. Two of the best numbers are in the team stats on the right: teams shot just 52.9% at the rim while Cyril as in the game, and Georgia allowed 5.9 fewer points per 100 possessions at the rim with Cyril in the game versus on the bench.
Everything about Cyril’s stat profile suggests he’s capable of, at minimum, exceeding the defensive output of Aidoo in 2025. Last year’s Aidoo was hardly overwhelming, but he was solid, especially later in the season. But Cyril is much better as a shot-blocker and shot-contester already.
If you don’t like all the fancy stats, just watch some highlights and you can see the natural athleticism pop:
Watching those clips, you may be thinking, Wait, he looks pretty good on offense, too!
That’s the reason he’s worth so much: he’s a monster on the offensive end while being a strong rim protector. He averaged nine points per game and shot 76% from the field this season, which is insane. It’s easy to shoot a high percentage when you dunk everything, and Cyril is a prolific dunker. Arkansas led Division I this season in total dunks. Second place? Georgia, led by Cyril. He’s also a strong offensive rebounder and he draws a lot of fouls, which is a valuable skill in the modern game.
What would this mean for returning players?
At this point, Arkansas seems to be expecting to bring back Malique Ewin. Ewin is an elite offensive rebounder who can score at high volume around the rim, so he’s definitely a good player to have. But Ewin lacks both on-ball defense and a perimeter game on offense, meaning he’s not helpful against the huge rosters of teams like Florida and Arizona, who were able to shut him down (as did other drop coverage teams like Alabama and Oklahoma). Cyril offers the on-ball defense and physicality at both ends that Ewin doesn’t.
Should Ewin return and the Hogs sign Cyril, those would be your two centers. Ewin would probably be preferred against smaller opponents who lack serious size, while Cyril would get more minutes against Gorilla Ball teams. As mentioned before, I’d like to see Ewin play some 4 in bigger lineups, where he could be a power forward who catches the ball in the high post and has the option to pass to Cyril, pass out to the wing, shoot a floater, or attack off the dribble, all depending on how the defense plays him.
With Ewin and Cyril, the Hogs would use their last “big” spot on a true 4, probably a stretch-4 to replace Trevon Brazile. Utah’s Keanu Dawes has already been mentioned: he’s a 6’9 veteran who can shoot 3-pointers and rebounds well on defense, so his statistical profile is already similar to Brazile.
And what about Paulo Semedo? The 7’1 Angolan stretch big spent this season redshirting. He has shot-blocking potential and also has the capability to step out and knock down a 3-pointer, so he could create some mismatches. He is still extremely raw, and at just 225 pounds, he lacks the girth to be a true SEC rim protector. No one other than the staff and team have seen enough of him to know if he’s going to be able to contribute in any capacity next season. Best guess: I wouldn’t count on him to crack an 8-man rotation. His best-case scenario is probably as the tenth guy in the rotation who serves as an emergency third-string center if injuries or foul trouble become an issue.
What if the Hogs whiff on Cyril?
Expect Gorilla Ball teams like Florida and Michigan to make a run at Cyril, which is going to drive up the price tag for him. The Hogs are already spending a lot on the backcourt, so the funds to land one of the premier rim protectors in the game may not be there. That might not be a wise allocation of funds given the current state of the game, but the market is correcting itself on the value of these bigs, so a team willing to overpay for Cyril may end up underpaying for other key positions.
There are other good bigs out there, including Louisville’s Sananda Fru, who blocks shots and is a positive contributor on offense. He lacks the dominance of Cyril, but he’s still very good. And Georgia Tech’s Mouhamed Sylla, who the Hogs tried to sign out of high school last year, is risky because he’s still raw and his offensive value is questionable, but he blocks shots and rebounds at a high level.
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