Why is recruiting such a struggle here?

[WarPig88]

I just threw out names off the top of my head.  And, as has been said many times, no one is saying we have to recruit with KY.

I would please as could be if Mike would come in the next recruiting class and get 4 solid guards that you knew would be here 4 years. Nothing flashy, just solid ball handlers, decent shooters, and solid defenders. Then build around that.

And you think that would hush the "we can't recruit" crowd?

[MikePiazza]

I just threw out names off the top of my head.  And, as has been said many times, no one is saying we have to recruit with KY.

I would please as could be if Mike would come in the next recruiting class and get 4 solid guards that you knew would be here 4 years. Nothing flashy, just solid ball handlers, decent shooters, and solid defenders. Then build around that.

There's a guard at Fayetteville High School that meets that criteria and Mike still hasn't offered him...

[JayBell]

"Y'all have been blessed to have me come over here and win a National Championship. I have to work ten times harder recruiting kids here than y'all think I do. Ten times. Kids come here because of me. Me. The University of Arkansas ain't got nothing to do with it. Yeah, we've got a gym, and we've got a few fans, but most every school has those. I have to sell them on coming to play for me. I really hope that when I'm gone the next coach will be able to come in here and say, 'Hey, I've got a gym, I've got some fans, come play here.' I hope so. But I'll be surprised. Super surprised." - Nolan Richardson, 1995-96

So, your point is that Arkansas fans should not complain at all about the obvious lackluster recruiting?

[WilsonHog]

So, your point is that Arkansas fans should not complain at all about the obvious lackluster recruiting?

Just repeating a quote I heard first-hand.

Seems Nolan was somewhat of a prophet, no?

[Hawg Red]

There's a guard at Fayetteville High School that meets that criteria and Mike still hasn't offered him...

Willis needs an offer yesterday. Will be a solid, high-IQ glue guy for 4 years. Backbone player. Way too many scholarships on the table to not offer in the early period.

[Danny J]

Willis needs an offer yesterday. Will be a solid, high-IQ glue guy for 4 years. Backbone player. Way too many scholarships on the table to not offer in the early period.

Yeah...not sure the hold up.

[WarPig88]

So, your point is that Arkansas fans should not complain at all about the obvious lackluster recruiting?

I think he is saying that recruiting here isn't easy and that those who act like it is a contact a kid and offer him and comes thing don't know their history very well.

[Atlhogfan1]

Arizona near metropolitan area.
Duke and UNC are in the 7 most populous state in the union and that area is near Greensboro which has a vibrant african/american population.
Kentucky has a brand and a pop of 350k, Louisville is right there.
Kansas is near Kansas City.

Sorry, but when you look at basketball schools, proximity to a large metro area is a CONSTANT among them. Fayetteville, AR 79K.

NWA isn't exactly a bastion of culture for young African/Americans either.

Regardless of sport, proximity to home is the BIGGEST factor in recruiting. Last time I looked, U of A ain't exactly in a huge area of population.

Your first example Arizona will have one player from the state on its roster this next season and he is from the Phoenix metro area - not Tucson.  They recruit So Cal pretty well with LA being a 7 hour drive - farther than Fay to Dallas or Memphis.  Arizona is also one of the biggest brands in college basketball.

KU will have 3 from Kansas.  One is Perry Ellis from Wichita.  The other two are from Lawrence:  Manning's son and Self's son.  0 players from metro KC.  Ellis is the closest with Wichita a 2+ hour drive.  Again, another one of the biggest brands.  Same for the others you listed as you reached for the exceptions.  It isn't about proximity for them.

Now if you want to hold onto the lack of AA culture in NWA, then okay.  You can somewhat sell that as an excuse or at least something that may affect some recruits. 

[HogBreath]

Arizona near metropolitan area.

Kansas is near Kansas City.

Is this in code?

[HognitiveDissonance]

True but the redneck sob's refuse to listen and in doing so the situation won't be improved.

There you go. Nice. Fan the racial flames.

This has got to stop. You can't chide for using the n-word and other racial epithets and then turn around and call white people 'redneck SOBs'. Or, like Nolan, call them 't****' and a**holes'.

That double standard must end. Now.

[pigture perfect]

I think the "Basketball is an Urban Sport" argument is solid.

[WilsonHog]

So, none of the recruits have parents or grandparents? Of course they remember as do I , as do my parents, as do my kids.

I guess that's an individual family thing, then, huh?

I remember it, it just makes me no difference. Both of my children graduated from UA. I doubt very seriously that they remember any details at all, because we never discussed it - no need to.

If I polled my high school's basketball team - probably 90% African-American - I doubt that 3 out of 15 could tell me who Nolan Richardson was...much less anything about a lawsuit.

[sigpooie]

Wow, a troll vs troll post. Most of you should go back to the trailer parks in bama or ky.

[Mike Irwin]

So, none of the recruits have parents or grandparents? Of course they remember as do I , as do my parents, as do my kids.

How many recruits are you around? I'm telling you that what happened to Nolan 14 years ago does not affect recruiting today. I can't see a recruit's grandpa saying to him, Mike Anderson may be dumb enough to go back to work for the school that fired his mentor but you should avoid that place.

[Pork Twain]

Huery, Lee, Todd, Big O, Scotty, Walker, Robertson, Robinson, Wilson, Bradley all say hello.

Sadly you can almost list all of our players to play in the NBA in one short sentence, although you did leave off Big Nasty.  What many want to ignore is that this system does not have a very good history of putting players into the NBA, especially those with long, successful careers.

[hogsanity]

Sadly you can almost list all of our players to play in the NBA in one short sentence, although you did leave off Big Nasty.

I was listing players from out of state.

[Billie44]

If you go to Iowa and ask a high school kid...Who coaches Razorback basketball? They wouldn't know. You could go to New York and do the same and get the same answer....They don't know. You can go out of the Country and ask a foreign kid who is the coach at Duke, NC, Syracuse or any Major program and they will know who it is. I like Mike Anderson, but kids these days don't really care for the school they play for, they want to play for certain coaches.  Swap coach Krzyzewski and Mike Anderson around and kids would line up to come play for Arkansas under coach K. No knock to Mike Anderson, that's the nature of the game.

[PonderinHog]

If you go to Iowa and ask a high school kid...Who coaches Razorback basketball? They wouldn't know. You could go to New York and do the same and get the same answer....They don't know. You can go out of the Country and ask a foreign kid who is the coach at Duke, NC, Syracuse or any Major program and they will know who it is. I like Mike Anderson, but kids these days don't really care for the school they play for, they want to play for certain coaches.  Swap coach Krzyzewski and Mike Anderson around and kids would line up to come play for Arkansas under coach K. No knock to Mike Anderson, that's the nature of the game.

Good point!

[TrueBlue]

If you go to Iowa and ask a high school kid...Who coaches Razorback basketball? They wouldn't know. You could go to New York and do the same and get the same answer....They don't know. You can go out of the Country and ask a foreign kid who is the coach at Duke, NC, Syracuse or any Major program and they will know who it is. I like Mike Anderson, but kids these days don't really care for the school they play for, they want to play for certain coaches.  Swap coach Krzyzewski and Mike Anderson around and kids would line up to come play for Arkansas under coach K. No knock to Mike Anderson, that's the nature of the game.

It actually is a knock on Anderson.

So the question begs to be answered, why do recruits not want to play for Anderson? That is the better question than why do they not want to play at Arkansas. It's not like he is a rookie coach.

[hogsanity]

It actually is a knock on Anderson.

So the question begs to be answered, why do recruits not want to play for Anderson? That is the better question than why do they not want to play at Arkansas. It's not like he is a rookie coach.

Mike only looks for a certain type of player. Given the chance, would he even have recruited a big guy like Kaminsky? So Mike eliminates a lot of players himself. 

[JayBell]

Mike only looks for a certain type of player. Given the chance, would he even have recruited a big guy like Kaminsky? So Mike eliminates a lot of players himself.

Which is one of the downsides of his rigidity.

[Billie44]

It actually is a knock on Anderson.

So the question begs to be answered, why do recruits not want to play for Anderson? That is the better question than why do they not want to play at Arkansas. It's not like he is a rookie coach.

A coach has to be able to sell his system and his personality. What is a coach known for? Putting guys into the NBA. A defensive coach? If a coach has nothing to sale....nobody is going to buy. What was Stan Heath selling? John Pelphrey? I'm not saying get rid of Mike but there is only a certain level of player that will come to Arkansas. A lot of guys come in highly recruited and play below average. The question is are we recruiting the wrong guys or not developing what we do recruit?

[WarPig88]

Your first example Arizona will have one player from the state on its roster this next season and he is from the Phoenix metro area - not Tucson.  They recruit So Cal pretty well with LA being a 7 hour drive - farther than Fay to Dallas or Memphis.  Arizona is also one of the biggest brands in college basketball.

KU will have 3 from Kansas.  One is Perry Ellis from Wichita.  The other two are from Lawrence:  Manning's son and Self's son.  0 players from metro KC.  Ellis is the closest with Wichita a 2+ hour drive.  Again, another one of the biggest brands.  Same for the others you listed as you reached for the exceptions.  It isn't about proximity for them.

Now if you want to hold onto the lack of AA culture in NWA, then okay.  You can somewhat sell that as an excuse or at least something that may affect some recruits.

Not everyone is McD AA and statistics show that 80% of them will sign with a school inside a 300 mile radius of their home town.

Sorry that offends you. Also, the big name schools are near large population centers, but I guess that's just a coincidence, huh?

[WarPig88]

There you go. Nice. Fan the racial flames.

This has got to stop. You can't chide for using the n-word and other racial epithets and then turn around and call white people 'redneck SOBs'. Or, like Nolan, call them 't****' and a**holes'.

That double standard must end. Now.

It's the same people whining today. By the way, there are black rednecks too.

[Danny J]

If you go to Iowa and ask a high school kid...Who coaches Razorback basketball? They wouldn't know. You could go to New York and do the same and get the same answer....They don't know. You can go out of the Country and ask a foreign kid who is the coach at Duke, NC, Syracuse or any Major program and they will know who it is. I like Mike Anderson, but kids these days don't really care for the school they play for, they want to play for certain coaches.  Swap coach Krzyzewski and Mike Anderson around and kids would line up to come play for Arkansas under coach K. No knock to Mike Anderson, that's the nature of the game.

Exactly....

[hogsanity]

It's the same people whining today. By the way, there are black rednecks too.

So, were those calling for Heath to be fired racists?  And, lets keep in mind, I still have seen no one here calling for MA to be fired.

[PonderinHog]

So, were those calling for Heath to be fired racists?  And, lets keep in mind, I still have seen no one here calling for MA to be fired.

Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.

[WarPig88]

So, were those calling for Heath to be fired racists?  And, lets keep in mind, I still have seen no one here calling for MA to be fired.

Whose calling anyone a racist? A redneck is generally considered a very unsophisticated person, much like an Alabama football fan.

Redneck is not synonymous with racism people.

[Redbug]

Sadly you can almost list all of our players to play in the NBA in one short sentence, although you did leave off Big Nasty.  What many want to ignore is that this system does not have a very good history of putting players into the NBA, especially those with long, successful careers.

Left off Downtown Tony Brown....wonder if he's still coaching in the NBA...was an asst forever after playing a few years...

[nwahogfan1]

I think Mike needs to hire a successful recruiter who is very charismatic to help him rebuild this team.   I like Mike but he is  not a super star recruiter. It is just not part of his make up.  I think Recruits like him but he just doesn't put chills up and down recruits spines when he talks to them.   So he needs to get someone who will compliment that part of his personality that he lacks.

[Jim Harris]

You are being naive. Let's not act as if location does not matter because it does. The fact that there was no practice facility mattered. The programs that are signing a couple 4 stars and a 5 star are the elite fyi. Last I checked it wasn't the coaches decision whether a kid stays or not.

LSU and Texas A&M are not "elite" basketball programs. A&M may be an "elite" university, however, and both consider themselves "elite" football programs, though that may be debatable for A&M.

[HognitiveDissonance]

Whose calling anyone a racist? A redneck is generally considered a very unsophisticated person, much like an Alabama football fan.

Redneck is not synonymous with racism people.

Nolan liked to stand on the racial soapbox from time to time. When he used 't**** and a**holes' and 'redneck SOBs' I don't think anyone doubted where he was going with that or what he was implying, so methinks you doth protest too much.

[Arazorbackguy1]

I've been trying to recruit to Hogville for quite some time.  Constantly see 3 stars in and out of this place.  Very rarely do we get any 4 or 5 star posters these days.  The ones that are born and bred in Arkansas just lack talent of anything good to say.  Guess I'll keep on recruitin'

[jmalott86]

I've been trying to recruit to Hogville for quite some time.  Constantly see 3 stars in and out of this place.  Very rarely do we get any 4 or 5 star posters these days.  The ones that are born and bred in Arkansas just lack talent of anything good to say.  Guess I'll keep on recruitin'

Well I am sure you can find a graduate student from No Name State, along with a coaches kid walk on to join up. If you can steal them away from Missouri St that is. If you need any tips contact CMA.

[HF#1]

It's easy, we have sucked for so long, kids have no idea the potential that exists at Arkansas.  Sure, we produce a player like Portis once in a blue moon.  I think sometimes Arkansas fans overrate their own program and it's relevancy.

A nostalgic hire didn't mean it was going to produce nostalgic results.  The Michigan football program keeps going to that well to get a "Michigan man" and it hasn't exactly worked out for them.  We'll see how Harbaugh does.

[TomBigBeeHog]

Love the Harbaugh hire.

[Pancetta]

1. Do the coaches consistently and effectively use social media?
2. Do they start reaching out to the top 100 8th, 9th, and 10th graders through mailings, social media, and camps?
3. Are they a presence at AAU tourneys?

None of these things are slimey or require charisma. They require effort and planning. You cast a wide net early and winnow it down as the kids get older. You go from the original 100 down to the 5-10 you see fitting your program.. By the time they hit their JR HS year you have a long term relationship established and you are way more likely to get an in home or campus visit. 
If CMA answers no to any above he needs to fix that.
If the answer is yes to all of the above then the answer is, "do it better"

[LittleRockHog2120]

What about his style of play?  The game of basketball evolves (see Golden State Warriors.)  If you were a stud recruit with NBA dreams would you want to play on team where 10 guys play about 20 minutes each and full court press the whole game? Or would you rather play in a more modern offense?

[Big Nasty 34]

What about his style of play?  The game of basketball evolves (see Golden State Warriors.)  If you were a stud recruit with NBA dreams would you want to play on team where 10 guys play about 20 minutes each and full court press the whole game? Or would you rather play in a more modern offense?

Offense is very freely ran so I don't think the drawback would be offense. According to your post it would be our defense and substitutions disallowing a player to play 35+ minutes.

[Pork Twain]

I was listing players from out of state.

Oops...

I guess I will stick with, this scheme does not put guy in the NBA like many others.

[hogsanity]

Whose calling anyone a racist? A redneck is generally considered a very unsophisticated person, much like an Alabama football fan.

Redneck is not synonymous with racism people.

really, you are going to play that way? Just go through all the threads recently about MA, and you will find either outright claims of racism, or people who dance around it but do not have the guts to come out and say it.

[yraciv]

Arizona near metropolitan area.
Duke and UNC are in the 7 most populous state in the union and that area is near Greensboro which has a vibrant african/american population.
Kentucky has a brand and a pop of 350k, Louisville is right there.
Kansas is near Kansas City.

Sorry, but when you look at basketball schools, proximity to a large metro area is a CONSTANT among them. Fayetteville, AR 79K.

NWA isn't exactly a bastion of culture for young African/Americans either.

Regardless of sport, proximity to home is the BIGGEST factor in recruiting. Last time I looked, U of A ain't exactly in a huge area of population.

There is this to an extent, but college kids don't travel an hour to the nearest metropolis all that often.  Especially student athletes who come from lower income families.  Their focus is usually basketball first and foremost, education for some, and then it is the nightlife.  Fayetteville has multiple options for bars and nightclubs that cater to the African American crowd these days.  Much so more than it ever did in the 90s, and it is becoming a better college town with more and more to do every day.  There are obvious cities it can't compare to, but in terms of just the college town and if you don't count cities an hour away.  It certainly holds its own to Lawrence, Bloomington, Tuscaloosa, Chapel Hill, and others.

[hogsanity]

It's not like there haven't been attempts to discuss and examine this though.  Clearly, it is an uncomfortable subject for some. 

One can find multiple references of "MA is here as long as he wants" as if there is some unbreakable connection (almost a penance) the university is serving with respect to the events during NR's time as head coach.  Yes, MA was here during NR's tenure but does that translate into an attitude of MA gets as long as he wants because of those events? 

It's as if some people seemed to be chained to the past. 

MA has also been given a lot of credit for handling the academic issues he inherited.  Mike Irwin (and others) have said many don't realize how close the university was to some major problems in that area.  Due to privacy concerns, there is only so much that can be said about how the academic matters were handled, but if MA handled that situation as well as some have suggested, I would like to have seen the university publicly acknowledge MA for the accomplishment(s) surrounding the academic situation (without violating any student privacy of course).     

Ok, he cleaned that stuff up, but this team is his, not one player left who he did not recruit and sign. So, how long does he keep getting points for a problem that no longer exists?

I will go back to a question I asked when he was being pursued as the HC. IF Mike Anderson had not been an assistant at the University of Arkansas under Nolan Richardson, would he have been the only real target for the job once they decided to let Pel go?

Some hog fans and some of the PTB most definitely are chained to the past, to the warm memories of something that happened over 20 years ago, and that means NOTHING to 99.9% of recruits, which is the lifeblood of any program.

[hamARchy in the USA]

Good points.  Additionally, as far as cleaning up the academic situation, did MA do anything in that regard that couldn't have been done as well or better by other coaches ?   

[PonderinHog]

Good points.  Additionally, as far as cleaning up the academic situation, did MA do anything in that regard that couldn't have been done as well or better by other coaches ?

I'm not 100% sure, but didn't we hit the magic 1000 APR score recently?

[Mike Irwin]

Nolan liked to stand on the racial soapbox from time to time. When he used 't**** and a**holes' and 'redneck SOBs' I don't think anyone doubted where he was going with that or what he was implying, so methinks you doth protest too much.

People have referred to that situation over the years without the context that would explain it.

Here are the facts:

Nolan Richardson usually arrived at his office sometime around 1:30 pm. Terry Mercer would give him his phone messages.
During this period there was an incident with Jason Gilbert, a shooting guard from Mt. Home. The kid wasn't playing a lick of defense and no matter how well you shot Nolan wanted you to make an effort to improve your defense. So he told Notes to take a collection of video from several games and show Gilbert examples of his teammates playing good defense and him playing no defense. After the video session Gilbert got mad and quit the team. Bob Holt called him and Gilbert told Holt that he felt like he was being singled out by Notes because he was white.

All hell broke loose. Terry Mercer started fielding anonymous, hate filled comments the morning that Gilbert's comments appeared in the newspaper. Nolan came to town early that morning unaware of the controversy. He came by his office while Mercer was at lunch. He hit playback on the answering machine to listen to his messages and what he heard was a lot of people calling in using the N word to describe Notes. By the time he was finished listening he was pissed.

Later that day in a press conference he referred to those callers as tur*s and a$$holes and redneck SOB's. He never said all fans were that way or all white people. He made it very clear that he was referring to anonymous callers who were using the N word to describe his son.

I know this because I was there. However it was not surprising to me when certain fans piled on this message board and starting accusing Nolan of labeling Arkansas' fanbase as tu*ds and a$$holes and redneck SOBs. It was a stupid claim.

[The_Iceman]

People have referred to that situation over the years without the context that would explain it.

Here are the facts:

Nolan Richardson usually arrived at his office sometime around 1:30 pm. Terry Mercer would give him his phone messages.
During this period there was an incident with Jason Gilbert, a shooting guard from Mt. Home. The kid wasn't playing a lick of defense and no matter how well you shot Nolan wanted you to make an effort to improve your defense. So he told Notes to take a collection of video from several games and show Gilbert examples of his teammates playing good defense and him playing no defense. After the video session Gilbert got mad and quit the team. Bob Holt called him and Gilbert told Holt that he felt like he was being singled out by Notes because he was white.

All hell broke loose. Terry Mercer started fielding anonymous, hate filled comments the morning that Gilbert's comments appeared in the newspaper. Nolan came to town early that morning unaware of the controversy. He came by his office while Mercer was at lunch. He hit playback on the answering machine to listen to his messages and what he heard was a lot of people calling in using the N word to describe Notes. By the time he was finished listening he was pissed.

Later that day in a press conference he referred to those callers as tur*s and a$$holes and redneck SOB's. He never said all fans were that way or all white people. He made it very clear that he was referring to anonymous callers who were using the N word to describe his son.

I know this because I was there. However it was not surprising to me when certain fans piled on this message board and starting accusing Nolan of labeling Arkansas' fanbase as tu*ds and a$$holes and redneck SOBs. It was a stupid claim.

Mike Irwin with another Truth Bomb, embarrassing the ignorant Hogville posters once again.

[PonderinHog]

Thanks, Mike!

[hogsanity]

I know this because I was there. However it was not surprising to me when certain fans piled on this message board

Hogville was around in the 99-2000 season?

Seriously, how in the world do people get those numbers to call to begin with?

[WilsonHog]

Nolan described those people appropriately.