We may be busy with football practice, but there’s a rush on basketball news tonight.

Alex blogged a little while ago on West Memphis big man Anthony Borden, who is heading off to junior college and won’t be heading to Arkansas for at least two years now. The news means the Razorbacks will have 12 scholarship players on the roster next season, one under the NCAA limit.

But Arkansas coach John Pelphrey appears to have added a nice first piece to his 2010 signing class.

According to our good friend Dudley Dawson over at Hawgs Illustrated, Memphis-area prospect Mardracus Wade has verbally committed to Arkansas. Wade is a 6-3 guard who is rated as a four-star prospect according to Scout.com. Wade also is rated No. 74 in Scout.com’s top 100.

To read more about the addition and subtraction, make sure you check out tomorrow’s paper. Dudley will have a story on both these developments.

While we’re at it, Arkansas also announced that it will not raise basketball season ticket prices this season, either. The good news: the Razorbacks played 20 home games last season and have 22 this year. So, it seems, you can get more for your money — in theory — for the 2009-2010 season.

But let’s be honest: Arkansas really couldn’t raise prices after the team’s troubles in 2008-09 could it?

Anyone wanting season tickets can call 1-800-982-HOGS or go online to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

  Now that Arkansas has opened football practice, not much attention is being paid to John Pelphrey and the Razorbacks’ basketball team.

  Well, there is a little bit of basketball news to come out today. 

   Pelphrey announced Monday evening that basketball recruit Anthony Borden will enroll in a junior college this upcoming season instead of joining the Razorbacks.

  “Anthony will not be joining us this fall,” Pelphrey said in a statement released through the university. “He will be going to a junior college. I have a lot of respect for Anthony and his family, and we wish him well.”

  Borden signed with Arkansas during last year’s early signing period after starring at West Memphis High. 

  We will have more about this, as well as Pelphrey’s latest additon, in Tuesday’s edition of The Morning News. 

Well, the signing ceremony is over and the fax has been sent in.

Wayne Brent, the boys basketball coach at Callaway High in Jackson, Miss., told Hawgs Illustrated’s Dudley Dawson a few minutes ago that point guard Julysses Nobles signed and faxed in his letter-of-intent to Arkansas this afternoon.

A finalist for Mississippi’s Mr. Basketball award, Nobles (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) chose Arkansas over Iowa, Wichita State, UAB, Tulane and Georgia State. Florida State also recruited Nobles, who averaged 21 points, six assists and five rebounds this past season as his Callaway team won a state championship.

Nobles joins John Pelphrey’s 2009-10 recruiting class, which also includes West Memphis center Anthony Borden (7-0, 230), power forward Marshawn Powell (6-8, 250) of The Miller (Va.) School and Cloud County (Kan.) Community College wing Jemal Farmer (6-5, 215).

Arkansas coach John Pelphrey took time out of his Tuesday news conference to comment about each of his three new recruits. Pelphrey hadn’t received copies of their letters of intent when meeting with the media last week on national signing day. So this is the first time Pelphrey has commented publicly since the trio signed.

The Razorbacks signed 7-foot center Anthony Borden, of West Memphis, 6-5 junior college wing Jemal Farmer and 6-7 forward Marshawn Powell.

Here’s the release from the UA athletic department.