My point of view, take it for what its worth

[NATEHOGG216]

When Stan was hired away from the illustrious program known as Kent State, he was labeled an up and comer.  Sure he had taken that team to the Elite 8 in only his first year as head coach.  That being said, he did so with someone else's team.  That team was a senior and junior dominated squad.  Those seniors and juniors had been primarily coached and learned the basics/fundamentals (rebounding, free-throws, EFFORT, heart, will to win, and composure) by the previous coach.  It is also some-what well known that from the moment he had arrived on that campus that he had a tough time getting those players to "buy" into his system.  I am not trying to completely discredit the job he did there because he definitely had "something" to do with their success, but it was not entirely HIS doing.
       When Stan arrived here in Fayetteville, many if not most believed in the guy and his coaching ability.  Stan said from day one that this was going to be a tough up "hill" battle to rebuild this program back to what it once was.  He said that it could even end up taking 3-4 years to do.  Most of us understood that it was going to be an up hill battle and were willing to stick it out with him. 
        In Stan's first year hear to say we struggled would be like saying we were a decent basketball team in the mid '90s.  We all know how "bad" we really were that year.  Now in that year I don't care if we would have had Phil Jackson coaching us we wouldn't have been a real contender.  So I am really OK with his first year considering the lack of TRUE D1 bball players on campus. 
       In the second year under Stan, people began to say that we were going to be a little bit better.  And we were a tiny bit better.  Still a very sub par team to say the least.  Not able to win a road game, unable to play well together, to play as a "team".  We had Modica doing what he does, and that is score.  Now I am not bashing Pookie, hell if it wasn't for him we would have been blown out in a lot of games his freshman and sophomore years.  This is also the year that Brewer came to town.  Just by getting Ronnie to come to UA many of the fans almost forgot about how bad we really were the previous year, and for that matter that year as well.
      By the time year three rolled around and we had added some much need big men, I for one along with many many of my fellow HOG CRAZY fans thought that we would be an extremely improved team.  Then we went through a very light non conference schedule filled with a bunch of "cupcakes".  That is all fine and good to start the conference play with a 12-1 record and our confidence soaring, as long as it is an accurate portrayal of things to come.  Then came the conference play.  We all remember how that went.  The team litterally fell apart much to the dismay of myself, Stan, the players, the media, the fans, and anyone else paying attention the Razorback basketball.  Toward the end of that season, the season where the program was supposed to turn around, we managed to squeak by the gimmie games in the SEC and lose all of the real tests.  I know I know there are no gimmie games in the SEC, but we all know that there are a some teams in the SEC that are just weak as compared to the upper teams.  Toward the end of that season everyone on the team and for that matter in the state had given up on that team.  Stan was not able to hold them together throughout all of the heart aches that come with choking game in and game out through a season.  Maybe its not Stan's fault, maybe we just have weak willed players some Stan supporters would say.  I say that is BS.  It is the coaches responsibility to hold his team together through thick and thin(see OK St a few yrs ago when the tragic plane crash ripped their team apart and Sutton was the glue that kept them whole).  Stan didn't appear to have that ability.   Then to end the season Stan decided that it was best for his team/himself not to endure a crushing loss to ASU in the first round of the NIT.  I'm not saying it would have gone down like that but I am saying you know that had something to do with the decision to not accept a bid to the tourney.  I wondered last year if that was the only reason for our nonacceptance or if there was an alteriar motive.
        Now comes this year,  all the hype, all the anticipation, all the talent, its going to be a good year.  Everyone can smell it.  Everyone can feel it, the excitement building.  We start out by getting a moral victory by playing step for step with UCONN for much of the game.  Now we all realize that they were without one of their top guards but still a very good team.  Then we are able to hold off a freshman dominated team in Kansas.  I'm not saying that beating Kansas wasn't a step in the right direction, because it definitely was and maybe even a jump.  But then came Maryland, and I don't know how many of you watched much Maryland bball, but they have struggled, and were not worthy of their ranking as shown by their not being ranked today.  We struggled, no we didn't struggle, we just flat out got out played.  Not because they were better b/c I believe we have equal if not more talent.  Just they played harder, played together, they just wanted it more.  To me if you get beat b/c the other team wants it more that is a show of poor coaching.  I wasn't ready to give up on my team though.  I really believed that that would be a life lesson, now I know we have had many life lessons the last few years but come on, surely this will get their attention.  Maryland is not half the team UCONN is and they beat us much worse than UCONN ever thought about beating us.  So we go on with the rest of our nonconference schedule beating cupcake after cupcake, although not always in good fashion, remember Texas St. and Missouri St. and the other few games that Stan allowed our team to play down to the competition and barely squeak out W's.  OK OK at least we won, I'm not just extremely upset, disappointed yes, pissed off no.  Then comes the conference schedule, oh darn now we have to play real teams with real talent and real coaching.  Those things are a recipe for disaster when you are a poorly coached team even if you have equal or greater talent.  We all know how this conference season has played out as of yet. 
          Now to get to my point, sorry for that crazy long as preface but I really thought it was relevant.  I was watching the game last night wishing I was bald so that I could stop pulling out my hair due to our lack of intensity we were showing for the first 35 minutes of the game.  While I was watching I began to think about the "fall out" that we experienced last year and about us not accepting an NIT bid, which we all know that we are not "above" the NIT given our level of play the last 6-7 years, and why did Stan think we didn't need the extra experience the NIT would have given us.  AND IT HIT ME.  Just like that I had a revelation, the reason Stan still has some support is b/c he has showed "improvement" every year.  Everyone you talk to that defends SH, they all have one argument, steady improvement.  Maybe Stan didn't want to accept the NIT b/c he felt as though if we struggled again this year with this team's lack of passion surely we could at least make the NIT.  Maybe Stan knew if we went to it last year, then this year if that is all we could muster it wouldn't be seen as improvement but rather as a lateral movement and therefore he nor his supporters would have an argument as to why he deserves to be coach.  Now I am not saying this to be fact, just seems interesting that's all.  Believe what you will but if we only make the Not Interested Tournament this year, that is not an improvement over last year, rather just the same b/c we turned the invite down last year.  I am fed up with the situation our program has "sunk" to and it is time for change. 

[Biggus Piggus]

Flaw in your whole thing is the assumption it was Heath's decision not to go to the NIT.  It was not.  That decision came from Broyles.

[NATEHOGG216]

ya you are probably right.  Maybe JFB is trying to help keep him around.

[hogswillsurvive]

no wonder nate cant sell any houses, you spend all your time on here writing books. lol  i'm still a fan natedog

[NATEHOGG216]

whos this?