Please bring back 90's basketball

[COACHINTEXAS]

For you young ones here, I feel for you when it comes to basketball - you haven't known or seen success in basketball and that's a sad but true statement. Let me just give you a hint of what basketball means to Arkansas fans. I live in DFW and in the 90's when Nolan was rolling, I would attend almost every basketball game played at Bud Walton. I was there when we beat the crap out of Missouri to officially open Bud Walton in 1993 ( i still have the ticket stub somewhere with Bud Walton on it) 120-68 and oh, by the way.....that Missouri team went on and won 28 games and was a perfect 14-0 in the Big Eight at that time. Saying that BUD WALTON ARENA was electric is an understatement. It had to be a top 5 loudest venues in those glory days. Why am I writing this............can you imagine me driving 325 miles to see a basketball game and I went to the ones duriing the week and drove home afterwards. Many of those games didn't start till 7 - 7:30 to accomodate TV, but I still drove home afterwards everytime. Why, because I knew we would WIN and I knew the adrenaline from the game would keep me up driving back 5 hours. When I got sleepy, I would just replay the game in my head or think about the fast breaks and dunks, the highlights. Man, it was something I won't forget and it was BASKETBALL. Those were the DAYS and I MISS them greatly. It's sad to see where the great game has sunk. I never thought I would witness it, but like many, I have. The glory days of Eddie and Nolan have faded and it's simply memories of what it use to be.  I would never think about driving like that now to see the basketball we play; but I'm hopeful it will return one day before I'm gone. Basketball does mean something to ARKANSAS!!!

[Tick Hog]

 Thanks for sharing! I hate to be negative but I don't think we will ever see these days again.

[LRHawg]

The game has changed, for the worse.

[SPAL]

No. We need to leave the 90's and adapt to the current game. We are in this mess because we can't separate ourselves from what once was.

We tried with pel and now with Mike and it's just not working. Winning will bring fans back. Find me a coach who teaches basic defense and can break down an opposing defense. I don't care if we score 50 or 100 as long as we win.

There is absolutely no reason why Arkansas isn't a top 25 program every single year.

[ShadowHawg]

You will never see that here again. Too many people with their heads in the clouds about our program.

Nolan said he was the reason that the kids came to Arkansas, not our buildings, fans, or "tradition". For the most part when you look at the biggest names he brought in they had a personal connection to Nolan in some way.

We are doomed to be UNLV. A has been who won't admit that their program is a reclamation project and not a rebuild.

[(notOM)Rebel123]

No. We need to leave the 90's and adapt to the current game. We are in this mess because we can't separate ourselves from what once was.

We tried with pel and now with Mike and it's just not working. Winning will bring fans back. Find me a coach who teaches basic defense and can break down an opposing defense. I don't care if we score 50 or 100 as long as we win.

There is absolutely no reason why Arkansas isn't a top 25 program every single year.

Agree.

[Sivad]

Nolan said he was the reason that the kids came to Arkansas, not our buildings, fans, or "tradition".

Even if you believed that, what kind of person would publicly say it?

[Captain Morgan]

For you young ones here, I feel for you when it comes to basketball - you haven't known or seen success in basketball and that's a sad but true statement. Let me just give you a hint of what basketball means to Arkansas fans. I live in DFW and in the 90's when Nolan was rolling, I would attend almost every basketball game played at Bud Walton. I was there when we beat the crap out of Missouri to officially open Bud Walton in 1993 ( i still have the ticket stub somewhere with Bud Walton on it) 120-68 and oh, by the way.....that Missouri team went on and won 28 games and was a perfect 14-0 in the Big Eight at that time. Saying that BUD WALTON ARENA was electric is an understatement. It had to be a top 5 loudest venues in those glory days. Why am I writing this............can you imagine me driving 325 miles to see a basketball game and I went to the ones duriing the week and drove home afterwards. Many of those games didn't start till 7 - 7:30 to accomodate TV, but I still drove home afterwards everytime. Why, because I knew we would WIN and I knew the adrenaline from the game would keep me up driving back 5 hours. When I got sleepy, I would just replay the game in my head or think about the fast breaks and dunks, the highlights. Man, it was something I won't forget and it was BASKETBALL. Those were the DAYS and I MISS them greatly. It's sad to see where the great game has sunk. I never thought I would witness it, but like many, I have. The glory days of Eddie and Nolan have faded and it's simply memories of what it use to be.  I would never think about driving like that now to see the basketball we play; but I'm hopeful it will return one day before I'm gone. Basketball does mean something to ARKANSAS!!!

This nostalgia stuff is the number one problem. This isn't the 90s anymore. This is 2017. Better coaching at lower levels and better development by the time they reach college. Now coaches have to develop a lot of those players and the prodigy of the 1990s is not coaching up these guys. 

[jkstock04]

90s or not...the tv timeouts nowadays are like nails on the chalkboard. That is a huge black mark on the sport.

[Hogginintheville]

This nostalgia stuff is the number one problem. This isn't the 90s anymore. This is 2017. Better coaching at lower levels and better development by the time they reach college. Now coaches have to develop a lot of those players and the prodigy of the 1990s is not coaching up these guys. 

Yes AAU is a lot bigger than high school and they don't develop the kids.

[SPAL]

You will never see that here again. Too many people with their heads in the clouds about our program.

Nolan said he was the reason that the kids came to Arkansas, not our buildings, fans, or "tradition". For the most part when you look at the biggest names he brought in they had a personal connection to Nolan in some way.

We are doomed to be UNLV. A has been who won't admit that their program is a reclamation project and not a rebuild.

I disagree. There is absolutely no reason why we can't return to basketball glory. At the very least, we should be a top 25 program and safely in the dance come March.

[Cubbie08]

I was at the 93 game as well. I was young, but I was there. The game has changed, unless the rules change again that style is not coming back. Even if they change all teams have athletes now, not just Arkansas, so it probably would not look the same. It can be exciting again, but the style will be different.

[LRHawg]

I can't stand the TV timeouts but they aren't going anywhere, unfortunately.

[Boardon Hamsay]

Being nostalgic about 90's basketball is what got us MA. How bout we look out the windshield instead of staring in the ##^%*{ rear view mirror for a change.

[sickboy]

Basketball, in general, has changed drastically in this country. And for those that don't know why, it's AAU basketball. Some for the better, some for the worse. There are more kids playing very competitive basketball from an early age than there were in the 80's and 90's. Because of that -- there's far more parity than there's ever been. But the style of AAU basketball has changed the prototypical 18 year old kid's tool set as they're entering college ball. With the one and done rule, coaches don't have time to teach a kid, so they use what he's good at to win quick before he leaves. This creates no depth in the game at all. Add to that the shot clock getting shorter and shorter, the extension of the three point line, and the rise of touch fouls and players at the line...

It's just a different game.

[rtr]

Thanks for sharing! I hate to be negative but I don't think we will ever see these days again.

Never say never. 

[ricepig]

No. We need to leave the 90's and adapt to the current game. We are in this mess because we can't separate ourselves from what once was.

We tried with pel and now with Mike and it's just not working. Winning will bring fans back. Find me a coach who teaches basic defense and can break down an opposing defense. I don't care if we score 50 or 100 as long as we win.

There is absolutely no reason why Arkansas isn't a top 25 program every single year.

This, the game is different, you can't play the same as the 90's, so no need bringing it back. Now, I'll take the win totals!

[Cmheinley]

Basketball, in general, has changed drastically in this country. And for those that don't know why, it's AAU basketball. Some for the better, some for the worse. There are more kids playing very competitive basketball from an early age than there were in the 80's and 90's. Because of that -- there's far more parity than there's ever been. But the style of AAU basketball has changed the prototypical 18 year old kid's tool set as they're entering college ball. With the one and done rule, coaches don't have time to teach a kid, so they use what he's good at to win quick before he leaves. This creates no depth in the game at all. Add to that the shot clock getting shorter and shorter, the extension of the three point line, and the rise of touch fouls and players at the line...

It's just a different game.

Very informative. Thank you sir

[ChicoHog]

It's also changed to a very guard oriented type game.  Long gone are the days of big time centers playing with their back to the basket.  Now everyone wants to shoot the 3 and dribble down the court and many of the big guys can do it.  Because of the size of the court (too small now for 10 players) it has led to offensive players standing way away from the basket so their defender does not clog up the lane and give the defense a chance to stop the dribble penetration.  I'm not a fan of the new style but it is what it is and everyone needs to adjust.  I would love to see the 3 point shot go away and more emphasis on taking closer shots or change the game to 4 on 4 but that will never happen either.  Regardless I just hope we get a new coach and one that values good shooting, rebounding, does not press and plays great half court defense without fouling.  And probably the most important thing is recruiting good players.