I’ll say it. PITIFUL

[hogsanity]

Yeah, and we struggle mightily with teams that have a true PG, which makes explaining the OU win difficult, when we saw what LSU's PG did to us in BWA. 

As unpopular as it was, early on, several posters identified the fact that as Macon and Barford go on the offensive end, so goes the Hog team.  That's a lot to ask for us for them to be hot every night to reach any level of consistency. 

As fans, we've analyzed MA's teams ad nauseum.  We get frustrated, because we see what appears to be the same reasons for losing over, and over again.  But...by contrast, when we win, we see the same reasons for winning, which are the nights we play solid defense, and make shots from the 3.  It helps a lot when the opponents misses them as well.  Right now with virtually no post game, it's difficult to see us finishing that well, and certainly not doing great in the NCAA tournament where we KNOW there will be solid point guards awaiting. 

We just can't seem to get all of the pieces of the puzzle on campus at the same time.  Adding a Portis at the 4 to complement Gafford, and a true PG like Beck to this team...and we would look completely different.  Right now...defenses don't really have to play that honest, and when we face teams with a strong center and/or 4, and a PG...we don't have answers.     

Actually, they did not even play very good defense against TN or OM, in the Tn game both Macon and Barford played hero, and TN ran out of bodies. OM put up over 90 as well. At GA they played pretty good, D m but GA is not very good offensively, and if not for Macon going 2nd half crazy, they lose that one by 10.

[Cargill A. BullHog]

That's why Kentucky and Kansas struggle from time to time, just at a higher level.

Well, in fairness, the ones auditioning at UK and KU are freshman, they KNOW thye'll be in the league.  Theres a little more desperation for a SR whos not sure if they'll make it or not.  But I see what youre saying

[99toLife]

Well, in fairness, the ones auditioning at UK and KU are freshman, they KNOW thye'll be in the league.  Theres a little more desperation for a SR whos not sure if they'll make it or not.  But I see what youre saying

I'll give you that. but teams like Kansas and Kentucky are playing for a #1 seed and not just getting into the NCAAT.

[Atlhogfan1]

The amount of road and home games looks good on paper, but when you look WHO we play at home...it's kinda scary.  Auburn...see above, SC...physical, tough out for us, and KY are three of the five.  I'll be stunned if we pull it together enough to win all three. 

I think it could very easily come down to us managing to beat Auburn with how it lays out with the road and home schedule.  It could make up for a stumble along the way that we otherwise might not be able to endure, and still get in.  We'll see...I just don't see them playing with the energy and desire to win enough with the caliber of teams we face ahead.  LSU and Vandy are really the only two that we SHOULD win, and the rest are going to be battles.  Maybe sneak a road win against Ole Miss or Bama...but man, tough row to hoe.     

True on who we have at home.

[Soooie21]

Needs to play a good half court offense, on the road when needed...not the one on five jackball..

[toshortrock]

Lol,,should have known

[urkillnmesmalls]

Actually, they did not even play very good defense against TN or OM, in the Tn game both Macon and Barford played hero, and TN ran out of bodies. OM put up over 90 as well. At GA they played pretty good, D m but GA is not very good offensively, and if not for Macon going 2nd half crazy, they lose that one by 10.

Agreed, but without playing defense, they are absolutely relying on Macon and Barford to go off, which is not going to happen every night out.  UGA just started missing the shots they made in the first half, and that saved our bacon.  But...we can't take away the wins, even if some were ugly, without acknowleding some of the losses like Miss State, where we could have easily won. 

I've conceded that MA could very well be our best option at coach.  We have no idea if anyone else can do better with recruiting, and we've certainly not shown that elite coaches are willing to come here, for whatever reason.  It may relate to recruiting...who knows?  The bottom line is...in two years, we will have a roster full of highly ranked recruits from HS, and if things don't look better then...I'll be more critical. For now...I truly think a lot of our issues are related to lack of energy on the court to execute Mike's system.  We may not like his system, but that's not going to change..ever. 

[Atlhogfan1]

Agreed, but without playing defense, they are absolutely relying on Macon and Barford to go off, which is not going to happen every night out.  UGA just started missing the shots they made in the first half, and that saved our bacon.  But...we can't take away the wins, even if some were ugly, without acknowleding some of the losses like Miss State, where we could have easily won. 

I've conceded that MA could very well be our best option at coach.  We have no idea if anyone else can do better with recruiting, and we've certainly not shown that elite coaches are willing to come here, for whatever reason.  It may relate to recruiting...who knows?  The bottom line is...in two years, we will have a roster full of highly ranked recruits from HS, and if things don't look better then...I'll be more critical. For now...I truly think a lot of our issues are related to lack of energy on the court to execute Mike's system.  We may not like his system, but that's not going to change..ever.

My following comments are in no way a suggestion or even start of a discussion of firing MA.  Just an opinion on our recent coaching hire history.

Each of our hires since Nolan has had unique circumstances.

Nolan's replacement was affected by the lawsuit.

Heath was being replaced by a very qualified coach.  We know he left after a day exposing a situation which made the job less attractive.  A situation which certainly shouldn't be in place now and we don't have a chancellor and AD situation we had then.

The Mizzou 2008-9 season ensured we wouldn't have a coaching search when Pelphrey was fired.


So I'm not sure what level of coaches we could have hired or hire now.  Elite coaches usually don't leave their current situations.  Good coaches in good situations rarely leave.  So the odds we would get one to leave for us may not would be good.  But, and this goes for all sports including football, when it is time to make a change, make it.


Repeating disclaimer:  no reason to actually discuss a coaching change right now. 

[Kevin]

Mike will be fine next year.  This year is just tough becuase there's a lot of selfishness on the floor.  Tough to get guys who are auditioning for their jobs to work together instead of working for themselves.  Next years younger team should be much better.

they can audition for teams in Europe at camps when the season is over. I wish people would speak the truth to players. there is not a senior on this team that will play in the nba. they need to be working together to make this year special.

because they are going to be in for a rude awakening, next year playing in the B or C league in Germany, or Turkey

[Cargill A. BullHog]

they can audition for teams in Europe at camps when the season is over. I wish people would speak the truth to players. there is not a senior on this team that will play in the nba. they need to be working together to make this year special.

because they are going to be in for a rude awakening, next year playing in the B or C league in Germany, or Turkey

No argument here.  Unfortunately, Coach A has a bit of a selfish team this year and it shows.  When our guards are hot, we look like a top 10 team, when they're not we look like a bottom feeder.  Coach A is just trying to cajole this group of individuals into the NCAA's the best he can.

[tkclark]

The point is, you said "Go back and look at his road record every year he has been here.  Brutal." Which obviously is bull. Yes, while he was building to both Madden and Harris' senior year rebuilding after Portis and Qualls left early, they struggled to win on the road. So did Pelphrey, so did Heath. So do most teams that are mediocre. The two teams Mike has had here that advanced to the NCAA Tournament both went 6-3 on the road. So, in this case, I'll pick TWO years that fit my argument, the two that were NCAA Tournament teams.

It is obviously bull in your head but elsewhere, less so.  Also, you cherry picked your two years which doesn't invalidate in any way my argument that Anderson over his career at Arkansas has a poor road record.    As I previously stated, we all can play the cherry picking game and I win that one - 4 of 6 years vs your 2 of 6.  That is factually inarguable by someone who does the math.  A 33% winning percentage over 6+ years isn't cutting it.  As for the last sentence of your statement, not sure that means much of anything except Anderson got us to the NCAAs twice in 6 years (and was promptly exited on the opening weekend which isn't exactly impressive).  To close, how does the road record look this year in his SEVENTH freaking year.  It is terrible.  He isn't building anything.  It is called regression to the mean and that mean is 33%

Looking at next year's situation, there is nothing there that suggests some vast improvement over this year.  In fact, a step back from the current situation looks possible and that is just 

[hawgball40]

No argument here.  Unfortunately, Coach A has a bit of a selfish team this year and it shows.  When our guards are hot, we look like a top 10 team, when they're not we look like a bottom feeder.  Coach A is just trying to cajole this group of individuals into the NCAA's the best he can.

I agree with bolded sentence. remember we looked like darn at this point last season. but watkins was the heart and soul of that team and i think he might have been the one who pulled us together(pure speculation on my part)

[urkillnmesmalls]

I agree with bolded sentence. remember we looked like darn at this point last season. but watkins was the heart and soul of that team and i think he might have been the one who pulled us together(pure speculation on my part)

If anyone here is doing something besides speculating, then what message board are we on??   

To me....with the players we have, we are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.  Realistically. if someone could x and o this offense in the halfcourt, and run set plays with effective screens, I think we could do a lot better on offense.  We have a guard who is a scorer, and one who is a 3 point specialist and occasional slasher.  We have a big man who can play away from the basket to screen and clear the lane, and use his quickness at times to pick and roll, and crash the offensive boards. 

They are a step slow compared to most SEC guards, so a motion offense isn't working very well.  We're really not strong enough on defense to play a true running style, because we don't have the quickness to cause a vast amount of turnovers. 

As much as it pains me to KEEP saying it, this team is really missing components needed to run MA's style.  A true PG that is quick and can front the oppositions PG to neutralize him, and at least one more guy who can score beyond our two guards. 

Now...that's on MA.  He's got to find those guys and get them on campus if he's going to succeed.  He's not going to adjust and run half court sets, and switch to a matchup zone predominantly to hide our lack of quickness, so we always fall back into the "Well, just wait until he gets guys in that can run his system."  It's a blatant EXCUSE at this point if he isn't able to get the guys on campus that can effectively run his style, whether it is missing talent components, or just pure lack of willingness to exert maximum effort at all times.   

We're waiting...patiently, and have been for awhile now.  I'm willing to wait a little longer, because I'm not convinced that we will do better than MA, and I would like to see what happens with a true PG.  I'm not convinced that another coach will come in and recruit any better, and being an x and o expert will only get you so far without mediocre talent.  Calipari is no x and o expert either, but he's done OK with raw, pure talent. 

I keep hearing about all these Arkansas kids that are on their way to save the program.  I guess we'll see, because if we're not significantly better by the 2019-20 season, then in my mind, we've seen all MA can do.   

[jgphillips3]

I'm beginning to believe he may be the HDN of basketball.  Pulls out some games he shouldn't, loses games he shouldn't, wins enough to make firing difficult but never really does anything.

[hamsam]

I'm beginning to believe he may be the HDN of basketball.  Pulls out some games he shouldn't, loses games he shouldn't, wins enough to make firing difficult but never really does anything.

🤢 I'm afraid you may be correct

[99toLife]

I'm beginning to believe he may be the HDN of basketball.  Pulls out some games he shouldn't, loses games he shouldn't, wins enough to make firing difficult but never really does anything.

I agree!

[ChicoHog]

I'm beginning to believe he may be the HDN of basketball.  Pulls out some games he shouldn't, loses games he shouldn't, wins enough to make firing difficult but never really does anything.

Jump Ball post of the year! 

[tkclark]

The crap play on the road continues...

Folks, after 6+ years we know what we have.  This is what an Anderson team looks like for the majority of games played on the road.  We have a big enough sample so we don't need to see anything else.  Maybe Jim Harris can jump back on this thread and cherry pick a season or two. 

Same coaching (or complete lack of) = same result

[Augustus]

We will get to the SEC Tourney championship game again, and will go dancing.

Mike A's team finish strong.

Mark it down.

[Atlhogfan1]

We will get to the SEC Tourney championship game again, and will go dancing.

Mike A's team finish strong.

Mark it down.

Maybe so. Wouldn't doubt it. Yawn. 

[code red]

Mike will be fine next year.  This year is just tough becuase there's a lot of selfishness on the floor.  Tough to get guys who are auditioning for their jobs to work together instead of working for themselves.  Next years younger team should be much better.

BS.  BS.  This style of basketball requires the best athlete's in the nation.  Mike doesn't  recruit or coach defense.  Again BS.  THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDIN.  Pull the trigger now.  It's time.  PS....is it not the coaches job to squash selfish play?

[Sivad]

Mike will be fine next year.

Yes Mike will be fine with his $2.5 Million paycheck.
Razorback basketball under his "leadership" not so much.

[Nickle-Pig]

Sorry for my comment before. I now also think we are pitiful.

[Cargill A. BullHog]

Oooh.  That was a tough loss.  The players just don't respond to Coach A's coaching.  I watch him over there, pacing back and forth like Nolan used to do, sweating like a Hog trying to coach up these players.  He's always yelling "Defense" and "Intensity" and "Get your hands up" and I see him trying to will 3 pointer after 3 pointer into the basket like Carlton Fisk in the 75 Series.  Just not sure what more Coach A can do.  Maybe he can catch that magic in the bottle during the SEC tourney.  We still have a decent shot at running thre table there if our guards get hot.