Basketball Report

[Theolesnort]

Pseudorabies and I also dropped by the basketball practice after football. They were practicing set offensive plays and the new coach was involved heavily. Thomas, Hunter and the new guard impressed (Mccurdy) Pookie looked good. Brewer was his usual self but Townes was having a little trouble with his shot. The big news is Hill. Remember the gaulky frosh of last year? Well he seems to be a thing of the past. He seems to know what to do and what he wants to do now. Last year he seemed to only being comfortable at blocking shoots. This year he is comfortable on the blocks and setting screens and attacking the basket. Dare I say it he looked almost how should I put this er athletic. I hope I didn't get your hope to high but yes I said athletic. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him attack the basket in a furious way.

[razorback4life]

Pseudorabies and I also dropped by the basketball practice after football. They were practicing set offensive plays and the new coach was involved heavily. Thomas, Hunter and the new guard impressed (Mccurdy) Pookie looked good. Brewer was his usual self but Townes was having a little trouble with his shot. The big news is Hill. Remember the gaulky frosh of last year? Well he seems to be a thing of the past. He seems to know what to do and what he wants to do now. Last year he seemed to only being comfortable at blocking shoots. This year he is comfortable on the blocks and setting screens and attacking the basket. Dare I say it he looked almost how should I put this er athletic. I hope I didn't get your hope to high but yes I said athletic. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him attack the basket in a furious way.

I think attacked the basket was an understatement....He flat threw down on those guys....Rattled the building!!! 

[WILL CLINTON]

I dont mean this in a negative way towards you, but I will reserve my thoughts about Hill.  Not that I dont believe you or Hope like HELL you are right, but I want to see that big 7 footer take one at the top of the key and dunk on someone's face.  Until then, well, we can hope.

[Theolesnort]

I think I saw him do that but then it might have been a illusion.

[Gman]

I dont mean this in a negative way towards you, but I will reserve my thoughts about Hill. Not that I dont believe you or Hope like HELL you are right, but I want to see that big 7 footer take one at the top of the key and dunk on someone's face. Until then, well, we can hope.

Go up and watch for yourself.  Let us know what you think.

[Biggus Piggus]

What about the defense?

[razorback4life]

I think I saw him do that but then it might have been a illusion.

I guess we both had bad taco before we went dad.....I could have swore I saw the same thing. 

[Hog Bounty Hunter]

What about the defense?

party popper

[WILL CLINTON]

If I could, believe me, i would.  I didn't mean any disrespect at all or any negativitiy, I just didn't want to get my hopes up and then HE not deliver. Right now, bball is my only hope of pulling for a winning hogs sport (I know track, but I dont follow it)  I am sure he did it, i just hope it carries over to a game. 

[Theolesnort]

The new tranfer guard from Miss ST was dogging Mccurdy All the way up and down the court. I'm thinking we may have a big line up. The new coach was telling the offense when they stop for a teaching session and then would go and tell the defense what they should have been doing. As for how good the defense was all can say is the effort was there.

[e_dub]

This great news has given me semi-wood    Thank you all

[TulsaHogFan]

My heart skipped a beat when I saw him attack the basket in a furious way.

Are


You


Shittieing


Me???

I remember when Bball tickets were hard to get.  And i remember during that time, Football tickets were bought on game days lol.  It has come full circle....

[Theolesnort]

If I could, believe me, i would. I didn't mean any disrespect at all or any negativitiy, I just didn't want to get my hopes up and then HE not deliver. Right now, bball is my only hope of pulling for a winning hogs sport (I know track, but I dont follow it) I am sure he did it, i just hope it carries over to a game.

Yep you are right. I've been there myself. All I can say for sure is there is real hope.

[pioneerhog]

. As for how good the defense was all can say is the effort was there.

So we suck on defense, that's great. I am glad to hear that Hill is coming around though, that will add another dimension to the team.

[Biggus Piggus]

Will they play both Townes and Hill at the five, or try to get both on the court at the same time?

I really wonder about how much sense it makes to put Hunter or Thomas on the court if it means Hill or Townes is on the bench.  With Hill in the game, less pressure on Townes to defend.  He better rebound though.

Heath wants Ferguson to be the backup two guard.  I really think the way that works is

PG Brewer
SG Ferguson
SF Modica

with Ferguson taking the PG assignment on defense, Modica rotating to two, Brewer to three.

They really need somebody out there who can feed the ball to Brewer, rather than the other way around.

[razorback4life]

. As for how good the defense was all can say is the effort was there.

So we suck on defense, that's great. I am glad to hear that Hill is coming around though, that will add another dimension to the team.

NO, he didn't say they sucked on D-fense.  They did pretty good for the most part.  I did notice that they played about 30 times more physical on D than they did last year. 

[Theolesnort]

I think you might better order your tickets while you can. Wait to late and there may be a waiting list again.

[pioneerhog]

. As for how good the defense was all can say is the effort was there.

So we suck on defense, that's great. I am glad to hear that Hill is coming around though, that will add another dimension to the team.

NO, he didn't say they sucked on D-fense. They did pretty good for the most part. I did notice that they played about 30 times more physical on D than they did last year.

OK sounds good to me, thanks for clearing that up, sorry for the confusion. A more physical D would be a big improvement over last year.

[Theolesnort]

Hill and Townes were together with Pookie and Brewer and Mccurdy untill they got to far ahead then Hill and Thomas switched and his team started catching up. Maybe the gurus knew what they were talking about a year ago when they were so high on Hill . Last year I could not see it except for shot blocking ability.

[Biggus Piggus]

That five you cite is the favored one with Heath right now.  I wonder how well that group will defend.  What kind of D is McCurdy going to offer against somebody like Rajon Rondo, Mario Moore, Tre Kelley, C.J. Watson, Ron Steele, Jamall Edmondson, Tack Minor, Sundiata Gaines?

Q. Among the whole roster, who was recruited for defense?
A. Hill.

Q. Who can play really good defense?
A. Ferguson and maybe Hill.

Modica could have been a fine defender under Nolan.  Heath has not shown any ability to teach defensive mentality.  The new guy Hipsher supposedly can.  Dontell Jefferson ought to be able to defend.  He just ought to.  Didn't do jack last year.  Charles Thomas ought to defend.  Vince Hunter, I don't know, seems like a man who needs to play a position that isn't open.  Kinda like Mike Jones. 

I'm having flashbacks.  I remember some jokes coming on here in 2003 telling me I need to stick to basketball because I don't know football.  Then somebody else, ironically enough, telling me I need to stick to football because I don't know basketball.  Back when I was saying how weird the basketball team was going to be.

This time I have faith that the coaching staff is in good shape.  Heath has somewhere to turn when he doesn't have an answer.  He has good advisors not Darren Sorenson and Taliaferro as his righthand men and Flaska strapped to a desk.  Not Boudreaux for goodness's sake.  Heath has somebody who can take care of details he can't get to.  Hipsher and Thompson are complementary.  It's a good setup.

This team still doesn't have enough guards, but Brewer and Modica are ready to play some guard.

[mbgrulz]

we have really got to have a solid PG. if we leave it up to brewer, we take our most threatening player out of scoring position. he needs to be on the wing ready to break defenders down and either feed Townes for the dunk or nail the 16 footer. IMO, when all is said and done, ferg will start at PG and McCurdy will play some relief minutes.

i also watched Hill a lot this summer in workouts and he did look a heck of a lot better. i hope his improvements still shine through in SEC play. he was puttin it on Townes at times.

[Biggus Piggus]

They will run a lot of motion offense (which they should have done from the start last year).  Eddie Sutton never had point guards at Arkansas.  Ran motion offense all the time.  Heath wants McCurdy in there for his set plays, but they will play a lot of motion.

[corndo]

Why has it always seemed that every center that is at least 6'11 and has received a lot of hype always flops? I'm really hoping that Hill will break that trend.

[Razorod]

I know it's been asked before, but can somebody clear this up for me a little bit. I know what a set offense is, but am not sure about a motion offense. WHat kind of players do we need for it?

[mikeirwin]

They're gonna start the season 0-4.
Heath should have recreated last year's Nov-Dec schedule.

[Filthy_McSwine]

They're gonna start the season 0-4.
Heath should have recreated last year's Nov-Dec schedule.

buzzkill.

[Biggus Piggus]

They're gonna start the season 0-4.
Heath should have recreated last year's Nov-Dec schedule.

I think they will start the season 3-1.  It may be a longshot, but...

we might win the Maui Invitational because they're going to use experimental rules.  Wider lane, 20-9 3-pt arc.  That will be our EDGE!

Seriously, we're not going 0-4.  We start with a game against Portland State at home.  They aren't beating us.

UConn has both its point guards suspended.  They'll start

G Rashad Anderson, 6-5, 215, sr
F Denham Brown, 6-6, 220, sr
F Rudy Gay, 6-9, 220, soph
C Josh Boone, 6-10, 237, jr

and a freshman.  They'll play 10.  We can take 'em.  They have a big fat preseason ranking and no Charlie Villanueva and no point guard.  Just like us.

After that it's the winner of Kansas/Arizona, two teams gutted by personnel losses and full of bright shiny recruits.  We can take 'em.  After that is probably Michigan State, and that may be the one we lose.

Hey, I'm being optimistic.

[Biggus Piggus]

I just hope we don't come back from Maui 2-2.  That probably would mean we lost our first two and finished with Chaminade.  Who knows though, might be good for us to get real before December.

[akp4105]

They're gonna start the season 0-4.
Heath should have recreated last year's Nov-Dec schedule.

I think they will start the season 3-1. It may be a longshot, but...

we might win the Maui Invitational because they're going to use experimental rules. Wider lane, 20-9 3-pt arc. That will be our EDGE!

Seriously, we're not going 0-4. We start with a game against Portland State at home. They aren't beating us.

UConn has both its point guards suspended. They'll start

G Rashad Anderson, 6-5, 215, sr
F Denham Brown, 6-6, 220, sr
F Rudy Gay, 6-9, 220, soph
C Josh Boone, 6-10, 237, jr

and a freshman. They'll play 10. We can take 'em. They have a big fat preseason ranking and no Charlie Villanueva and no point guard. Just like us.

After that it's the winner of Kansas/Arizona, two teams gutted by personnel losses and full of bright shiny recruits. We can take 'em. After that is probably Michigan State, and that may be the one we lose.

Hey, I'm being optimistic.

josh boone and rudy gay...two names you're gonna hear alot that night on tv...but i believe we can stay with them in it..i wont predict a win yet..

[Lando Calrissian]

I'm not at all prepared to predict success or failure for this team yet.

Common sense would tell me that after the 2nd half of last season, that this one would be more of the same.  If I were smart that's where I'd stand.

The other part of me really wants to believe they have a good shot of making some noise in the SEC and *gasp* even in the NCAA tourney.

So consider me neutral. 

Slightly off-topic:  Anybody else notice how much muscle weight Steven Hill has put on?  Not that it means he's developed any basketball skills, but somebody needs to figure out a way to piss him off before every game so he'll take it out on the other team.  If that guy developed any sort of remedial basketball skills AND a mean streak, I truly think opponents would be scared to death to face him.  Just random wishful thinking on my part.

I do think losing Olu helps more than it hurts.  I couldn't tell you exactly why.  I'm sure somebody out there has all sorts of stats to prove me wrong, but it's just one of those gut feelings of mine. 

[WhenPigsFly]

Mike Irwin, how do you figure an 0-4 start?  We open with Portland St. at Bud Walton.  Even if we lose the first two at Maui, then wouldn't we play Chaminade in the loser's side?  Surely we'd have a good shot a beating them.  Looks like, at worst, a 2-2 start to me.

[return2glory]

   I think that 2-2 is pretty realistic. Rudy Gay is a big time player. Several early draft prediction have him going #1 next year. Rashad Anderson is a pretty solid player as well. I think UConn beats us. I think that we can hang in with Arizona/Kansas loser. We could possibly win that game. I think that the experience in Maui will give them an edge come SEC league play.

[Theolesnort]

They will run a lot of motion offense (which they should have done from the start last year). Eddie Sutton never had point guards at Arkansas. Ran motion offense all the time. Heath wants McCurdy in there for his set plays, but they will play a lot of motion.

We have a couple of good point guards now. The trouble is the best one can't play yet due to transferring in this year. What is really encouraging is that he has taken Mccurdy under his wing and is coaching him up both on offense and defense. I love this transfer he is already a team leader if not the team leader.

[Theolesnort]

I'm not at all prepared to predict success or failure for this team yet.

Common sense would tell me that after the 2nd half of last season, that this one would be more of the same.  If I were smart that's where I'd stand.

The other part of me really wants to believe they have a good shot of making some noise in the SEC and *gasp* even in the NCAA tourney.

So consider me neutral. 

Slightly off-topic:  Anybody else notice how much muscle weight Steven Hill has put on?  Not that it means he's developed any basketball skills, but somebody needs to figure out a way to piss him off before every game so he'll take it out on the other team.  If that guy developed any sort of remedial basketball skills AND a mean streak, I truly think opponents would be scared to death to face him.  Just random wishful thinking on my part.

I do think losing Olu helps more than it hurts.  I couldn't tell you exactly why.  I'm sure somebody out there has all sorts of stats to prove me wrong, but it's just one of those gut feelings of mine. 

Landro I noticed. He has been transformed( I hope Decker had nothing to do with it) The heck with the in your face slams yesterday, it was the aggressive nature of his play that that got to me. Maybe I caught him at the right time and he will not look like that again but I am telling you he was getting after it yesterday. I think he is a little taller too. He towers over Townes 3 or 4 inches.

[Nutt_Hate_Me]

One thing to remember about Hill is that the poor kid lost his mom right before the season or right before school last year.   So I think we have to excuse last year somewhat.  I can't blame the kid for not being agressive or 100% there, or just not caring at times.

I'm sure he and his family are in a better situation now and he's ready to get after it.

Now I just want to see some fire from Heath during games.  That's what the team and the fans need.