NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The University of Arkansas basketball program didn't have to beat out any of its SEC rivals in the spring of 2018 to sign Mason Jones out of Connors State Community College in Warner, Okla.
Arkansas didn't have to battle any Big 12 programs, either, for Jones' signature. Or programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference -- where Jones' brother, Matt, played for Duke -- Big East, Big Ten or Pac-12.
No teams from the American Athletic Conference, any of the other "Big" conferences -- Sky, South, West -- nor Conference USA, Colonial Athletic Association, Horizon, Mid-American, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Summit League, Sun Belt or West Coast offered Jones a scholarship.