Celtics rookie is a ‘violent defender’

Violent defender.

That’s the term that Arkansas men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman routinely assigned to Jordan Walsh during his lone season with the Razorbacks. It’s a description that can’t help but promote intrigue in a player making an early leap to the pro level.

The Boston Celtics selected Walsh with the No. 38 pick in Thursday’s 2023 NBA Draft, and all the hype around the 19-year-old wing starts with the way he plays defense.

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“I used that term last year quite often,” Musselman told NBC Sports Boston. “It’s about violently jumping in passing lanes, violently going after rebounds, and rebounding the ball outside of his area. He can crash into bodies, he’s not afraid of contact. And, hence, the phrase, ‘Violent defender.’

“When you’re gifted with great defensive instincts and then you have toughness and you have will and enjoyment in playing that side of the floor, it certainly helps. He takes great pride in his defense, both individually and then the team defensive concepts.”

The selection of Walsh came the same night the Celtics formally traded longtime defensive anchor Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies to acquire Kristaps Porzingis. While it’s unfair to expect a teenager to replace any part of the defensive identity that Smart brought to the team, the Celtics are hopeful that Walsh’s style of play can help him eventually help him carve out a role on a team with title aspirations.

“Defensively, what Jordan Walsh does is he can guard a guy, individually, and take a premier scorer out of a game,” said Musselman. “That’s what he did at the college level, where we could assign him to a top player on the other team and then not have to give any help. So he’s a great lockdown defender, individually, and then off the ball.

“He’s a great loose-ball getter. He rebounds out of his area, defensively. So it just gives you a lot of…