Hogs Starting to Play as We'd Expected?

[Fan701]

With Macon and Barford, we arguably have the best backcourt in the league.  In addition, with Gafford we have a first round draft pick in the middle.  A team with those weapons should never have struggled the way we have at times in league play. We should be one of the best teams in the conference, and we shouldn't be a bubble team.  We've looked good the last three games.  Are we finally rounding into the team we're capable of being, or is it just that the last three games were against the bottom of the league?  We're about to play some the top of the league in the next five games, so we'll find out.

[The_Iceman]

We've been very fortunate to play the three worst teams in the SEC, and one on the road whose players and coach have literally quit on the season.

[jgphillips3]

3 average to bad teams yielded 3 wins as they should have.  It's hard to say anything other than we should have won those games and did.  The next 5 games will tell us whether we are playing better or not. If we go 3-2 or 4-1 then we are playing better.  2-3 or worse and we are still what we have been.

[Bacon_Bitz]

The improved defense is hopefully for real. SC is terrible on offense but Vandy and Ole Miss are at least top 60 in Kenoom AdjO so they're not pushovers. It's the increased intensity on defense that has turned things around.

[hogsanity]

The improved defense is hopefully for real. SC is terrible on offense but Vandy and Ole Miss are at least top 60 in Kenoom AdjO so they're not pushovers. It's the increased intensity on defense that has turned things around.

Did you watch the Vandy and OM games? Those teams in the 1st half of each could not throw the ball in the ocean from a boat in the middle of it. Even Zimmerman on the radio, the ultimate homer, last night commented on how many wide open shots OM had missed. At one point they missed 21 of 22 shots.

To draw any conclusion other than SC, Vandy & OM are terrible is a stretch.

2 weeks ago Jerry Palm said the one thing the Hogs had to do was beat the teams left on the schedule that are not going to the ncaat. They went 3-1 in those games, which is pretty good, but they lost to the one team in that bunch that has a good PG. OF the 5 remaining games, all 5 poses matchup issues that the Hogs have not handled well all season. Oddly enough, of the 5 left, KY is probably the one that is the best matchup. They do not shoot well, and they are sloppy with the ball.

[Cotton]

With Macon and Barford, we arguably have the best backcourt in the league.  In addition, with Gafford we have a first round draft pick in the middle.  A team with those weapons should never have struggled the way we have at times in league play. We should be one of the best teams in the conference, and we shouldn't be a bubble team.  We've looked good the last three games.  Are we finally rounding into the team we're capable of being, or is it just that the last three games were against the bottom of the league?  We're about to play some the top of the league in the next five games, so we'll find out.

Macon was awful last night.

[The_Iceman]

3 average to bad teams yielded 3 wins as they should have.  It's hard to say anything other than we should have won those games and did.  The next 5 games will tell us whether we are playing better or not. If we go 3-2 or 4-1 then we are playing better.  2-3 or worse and we are still what we have been.

No "average". Just flat out bad.

[Bacon_Bitz]

Did you watch the Vandy and OM games? Those teams in the 1st half of each could not throw the ball in the ocean from a boat in the middle of it. Even Zimmerman on the radio, the ultimate homer, last night commented on how many wide open shots OM had missed. At one point they missed 21 of 22 shots.

To draw any conclusion other than SC, Vandy & OM are terrible is a stretch.

2 weeks ago Jerry Palm said the one thing the Hogs had to do was beat the teams left on the schedule that are not going to the ncaat. They went 3-1 in those games, which is pretty good, but they lost to the one team in that bunch that has a good PG. OF the 5 remaining games, all 5 poses matchup issues that the Hogs have not handled well all season. Oddly enough, of the 5 left, KY is probably the one that is the best matchup. They do not shoot well, and they are sloppy with the ball.

Ball dont lie

[Letsroll1200]

Did you watch the Vandy and OM games? Those teams in the 1st half of each could not throw the ball in the ocean from a boat in the middle of it. Even Zimmerman on the radio, the ultimate homer, last night commented on how many wide open shots OM had missed. At one point they missed 21 of 22 shots.

To draw any conclusion other than SC, Vandy & OM are terrible is a stretch.

2 weeks ago Jerry Palm said the one thing the Hogs had to do was beat the teams left on the schedule that are not going to the ncaat. They went 3-1 in those games, which is pretty good, but they lost to the one team in that bunch that has a good PG. OF the 5 remaining games, all 5 poses matchup issues that the Hogs have not handled well all season. Oddly enough, of the 5 left, KY is probably the one that is the best matchup. They do not shoot well, and they are sloppy with the ball.

Watch Mizzou try to handle the press. It's not pretty. They gave up a 12 point lead with under 2:00 minutes to go in the game on Saturday because of the pressure defense.  Texas A&M has one average point guard and he's a freshman. I really think we can get to their guards.

[Corkscrew Johnson]

Time to start shortening the rotation.

Starters: Macon, Barford, Hall, Thompson, and Gafford.  Hall is something special, time to leave him on the floor as much as possible.  Macon's shooting, defense, slashing, and overall basketball IQ make him our most dangerous player.  Gafford has the highest ceiling, and given there is really no one else at the 4 or 5 who can do anything at all, probably our most important player.   

Unfortunately #1, I think MA will go down with the Beard ship.  He will occasionally hit a few shots like last night, but really, he is a smaller version of Barford without the scoring ability. And he makes poorer decisions than Macon.  His ceiling is pretty low and really needs to be phased out for Hall's minutes. 

Unfortunately #2, Thomas is a necessity to spell Gafford and Thompson.  He really give us very little, and just doesn't have the basketball IQ (or the beef) of Thompson.  Cook, no comment.

Gabe & Bailey have great energy, and we need CJ to score.  I think MA needs to pull the bandaid off, commit more minutes to those guys off the bench (for better or worse).  The reality is our upside is capped giving those minutes to Beard, Thomas, and Cook.  Might as well roll the dice with that athleticism and hope it comes together.

[Fan701]

Macon was awful last night.

Well, it's true his shot was way off, but he did have six assists in twenty-five minutes of play, and, more importantly, he had enough sense not to try to force anything when other players were having a better night.  He let the twenty point streak die and didn't seem to make a big deal out of it.  All in all, I wouldn't say he had an "awful" night, but definitely sub-par.

[hogsanity]

  Texas A&M has one average point guard and he's a freshman. I really think we can get to their guards.

How'd that work out in college station.

[k.c.hawg]

Macon was awful last night.

It is hard to take any of your basketball takes seriously. When a volume shooter realizes his shot isn't there and limits his attempts to 6 shots, gets 6 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal with 2 turnovers that is far from an awful game. He had a winning performance.

[The_Iceman]

Watch Mizzou try to handle the press. It's not pretty. They gave up a 12 point lead with under 2:00 minutes to go in the game on Saturday because of the pressure defense.  Texas A&M has one average point guard and he's a freshman. I really think we can get to their guards.

Mizzou will make a minimum of 10 threes against us. Probably more. They will shoot us out of the gym. We will never get a chance to set up the press.

[The_Iceman]

It is hard to take any of your basketball takes seriously. When a volume shooter realizes his shot isn't there and limits his attempts to 6 shots, gets 6 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal with 2 turnovers that is far from an awful game. He had a winning performance.

Difference in Macon and CJ Jones. Macon can fill up other stats.

[hawg1221]

3 average to bad teams yielded 3 wins as they should have.  It's hard to say anything other than we should have won those games and did.  The next 5 games will tell us whether we are playing better or not. If we go 3-2 or 4-1 then we are playing better.  2-3 or worse and we are still what we have been.

This is correct. Don't put the cart before the horse. Let's get back to this thread after the next few games.

[BannerMountainMan]

How'd that work out in college station.

they don't have 2 of their guards now LOL

[Letsroll1200]

How'd that work out in college station.

Just Keep Watching. You're a hogville poster and don't watch much basketball. Most of you guys are just uninformed but let me help you.

Duane Wilson and Jay Jay Chandler combined for 31 minutes 11 points 4 assist and 3 rebounds against the Hogs. Texas A&M has lost two quality bench players that that would give them quality minutes off the bench.  I'm not saying the Hogs will win this game but it helps Arkansas because we have depth to get into their guards. The heat will be on in the gym on Saturday at 3:00 pm. 

[Fan701]

they don't have 2 of their guards now LOL

I wonder what the deal is with Texas A&M and the all suspensions this year.  It seems half the team has been suspended at some time and now Caldwell dismissed from the team.  It reminds me of the way it was here when Pelphrey was in charge - or maybe really wasn't in charge.

[hogsanity]

Just Keep Watching. You're a hogville poster and don't watch much basketball. Most of you guys are just uninformed but let me help you.

Duane Wilson and Jay Jay Chandler combined for 31 minutes 11 points 4 assist and 3 rebounds against the Hogs. Texas A&M has lost two quality bench players that that would give them quality minutes off the bench.  I'm not saying the Hogs will win this game but it helps Arkansas because we have depth to get into their guards. The heat will be on in the gym on Saturday at 3:00 pm. 

I think the Hogs will beat both A&M and KY, and will do so because of guard play. I was simply stating that counting on their guards to play poorly did not help at CS, yet people here thought that would be the case there.

[Letsroll1200]

Mizzou will make a minimum of 10 threes against us. Probably more. They will shoot us out of the gym. We will never get a chance to set up the press.

Just Keep Watching. They made 11 three against Arkansas last game but the Hogs left the building with the W.

[Letsroll1200]

I think the Hogs will beat both A&M and KY, and will do so because of guard play. I was simply stating that counting on their guards to play poorly did not help at CS, yet people here thought that would be the case there.

The only teams that are tough match ups for the Hogs on the remaining schedule is Alabama and Auburn.

[hogsanity]

in answer to the OP, they played as I expected they would play against then 3 worst teams in the SEC.

[99toLife]

Just Keep Watching. They made 11 three against Arkansas last game but the Hogs left the building with the W.

Only by the hair of the Hogs  chinney chin chin... the last three Mizzou took was half way down the hoop and rattled out for the win.  WE WERE AT HOME!  Yes we got the W.   

[razorback1829]

Only by the hair of the Hogs  chinney chin chin... the last three Mizzou took was half way down the hoop and rattled out for the win.  WE WERE AT HOME!  Yes we got the W.

W is a W my man. You care too much about style points.

[99toLife]

W is a W my man. You care too much about style points.

Not at all, a W is a W I agree as is a L is an L no matter if we lose in overtime by a last minute shot or get our Arse kicked by 20+ points.. works both ways..

[Letsroll1200]

Only by the hair of the Hogs  chinney chin chin... the last three Mizzou took was half way down the hoop and rattled out for the win.  WE WERE AT HOME!  Yes we got the W.

Who Cares! Mizzou just escaped against A&M and Miss State at home.

[99toLife]

Who Cares! Mizzou just escaped against A&M and Miss State at home.

Okay, they still have a better SEC record and are ranked higher than the Hogs.. Even though they lost to the Hogs at home..

[cityhog]

Time to start shortening the rotation.





Unfortunately #2, Thomas is a necessity to spell Gafford and Thompson.  He really give us very little, and just doesn't have the basketball IQ (or the beef) of Thompson. 

At least Thomas can make a FT

[jabber71]

in answer to the OP, they played as I expected they would play against then 3 worst teams in the SEC.

In another thread I thought you said OM would be either a lose or close game, winning by 9 is not what you thought before the game.

Never mind I got you confused with another poster

[Mike Irwin]

Macon was awful last night.

It is hard to take any of your basketball takes seriously. When a volume shooter realizes his shot isn't there and limits his attempts to 6 shots, gets 6 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal with 2 turnovers that is far from an awful game. He had a winning performance.

Agree. Some here do understand basketball.

[HawgHeadCheese]

Time to start shortening the rotation.

Starters: Macon, Barford, Hall, Thompson, and Gafford.  Hall is something special, time to leave him on the floor as much as possible.  Macon's shooting, defense, slashing, and overall basketball IQ make him our most dangerous player.  Gafford has the highest ceiling, and given there is really no one else at the 4 or 5 who can do anything at all, probably our most important player.   

Unfortunately #1, I think MA will go down with the Beard ship.  He will occasionally hit a few shots like last night, but really, he is a smaller version of Barford without the scoring ability. And he makes poorer decisions than Macon.  His ceiling is pretty low and really needs to be phased out for Hall's minutes. 

Unfortunately #2, Thomas is a necessity to spell Gafford and Thompson.  He really give us very little, and just doesn't have the basketball IQ (or the beef) of Thompson.  Cook, no comment.

Gabe & Bailey have great energy, and we need CJ to score.  I think MA needs to pull the bandaid off, commit more minutes to those guys off the bench (for better or worse).  The reality is our upside is capped giving those minutes to Beard, Thomas, and Cook.  Might as well roll the dice with that athleticism and hope it comes together.

I agree with everything except the Thomas comment. He has decent IQ, actually has the best low post moves on the team just doesn't always finish, can pass well, and shoots the mid range better than all our 4's. He plays hard but he is nowhere near the defender as Gabe and Bailey. I

[Dirty]

You haters going hate!!!

[Mjs84]

With Macon and Barford, we arguably have the best backcourt in the league.  In addition, with Gafford we have a first round draft pick in the middle.  A team with those weapons should never have struggled the way we have at times in league play. We should be one of the best teams in the conference, and we shouldn't be a bubble team.  We've looked good the last three games.  Are we finally rounding into the team we're capable of being, or is it just that the last three games were against the bottom of the league?  We're about to play some the top of the league in the next five games, so we'll find out.

We just beat Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, don't get ahead of yourself.  Those teams would have made some on hogville look like 1st team all-americans.  With the type of year Kentucky is having, I think they will be a good team to gauge our success going into the latter part of the season.  Glad to have the wins as always, but this lack of awareness is what creates the hot and cold bipolar type of fanbase that understands very little about the nature of the games being played.

[HiggiePiggy]

Last 3 games doesn't really tell us much about our team.  The next 2 will tell us a lot more about how they have actually progressed.  Would be nice to finish out the season 3-2 or better.  I'm expecting 2-3 though. 

[Cotton]

It is hard to take any of your basketball takes seriously. When a volume shooter realizes his shot isn't there and limits his attempts to 6 shots, gets 6 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal with 2 turnovers that is far from an awful game. He had a winning performance.

Well, it's true his shot was way off, but he did have six assists in twenty-five minutes of play, and, more importantly, he had enough sense not to try to force anything when other players were having a better night.  He let the twenty point streak die and didn't seem to make a big deal out of it.  All in all, I wouldn't say he had an "awful" night, but definitely sub-par.

OP claims that Barford and Macon are "arguably the best backcourt in the league."

Nobody outside of the great state of Arkansas would ever say that Macon is one of the best backcourt players in the SEC.

[Mjs84]

Oddly enough, of the 5 left, KY is probably the one that is the best matchup. They do not shoot well, and they are sloppy with the ball.

You have to feel good about our chances against Kentucky every year.  With Calipari at the helm, they do pretty much what we do except they start 5* athletes with submarine depth.  That's why they have done better than us in the past years, except when they had to play us at home.  We have matched up very well against kentucky in the past, and this appears to be an interesting matchup, because this may be the worst team Calamari has fielded.  I like our chances against the Wildcats, and our games at home.  The remainders I wouldn't bet money on.

[jabber71]

OP claims that Barford and Macon are "arguably the best backcourt in the league."

Nobody outside of the great state of Arkansas would ever say that Macon is one of the best backcourt players in the SEC.

Currently Macon is Top 5 in scoring, Top 5 in assists & Top 10 in FG%, yeah your right he is not very good!

[Mjs84]

This #10 Auburn game at home is going to be a big deal.  If we close out our first 2 home games against a&m and kentucky, we will be staring at Auburn back home.  The Kentucky game will be fun but i really, really like our chances there, and i expect Barford to have a huge game with some highlight reels as Portis and Quals did so in recent years.  Back to home against Auburn will determine if we finish 2-3 or 3-2.

[Dirty]

This #10 Auburn game at home is going to be a big deal.  If we close out our first 2 home games against a&m and kentucky, we will be staring at Auburn back home.  The Kentucky game will be fun but i really, really like our chances there, and i expect Barford to have a huge game with some highlight reels as Portis and Quals did so in recent years.  Back to home against Auburn will determine if we finish 2-3 or 3-2.

Senior night!  We win!

[Fan701]

OP claims that Barford and Macon are "arguably the best backcourt in the league."

Nobody outside of the great state of Arkansas would ever say that Macon is one of the best backcourt players in the SEC.

Are you joking?  Anyone, anywhere who follows SEC basketball would know that Macon is one of the best and that he and Barford together are one of the best if not the best guard tandem in the league.  You don't have to be a homer to say that.  Just look at the stats.  They don't lie.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

Did you watch the Vandy and OM games? Those teams in the 1st half of each could not throw the ball in the ocean from a boat in the middle of it. Even Zimmerman on the radio, the ultimate homer, last night commented on how many wide open shots OM had missed. At one point they missed 21 of 22 shots.

To draw any conclusion other than SC, Vandy & OM are terrible is a stretch.

2 weeks ago Jerry Palm said the one thing the Hogs had to do was beat the teams left on the schedule that are not going to the ncaat. They went 3-1 in those games, which is pretty good, but they lost to the one team in that bunch that has a good PG. OF the 5 remaining games, all 5 poses matchup issues that the Hogs have not handled well all season. Oddly enough, of the 5 left, KY is probably the one that is the best matchup. They do not shoot well, and they are sloppy with the ball.

Shut up.

[Rbill]

Time to start shortening the rotation.

Starters: Macon, Barford, Hall, Thompson, and Gafford.  Hall is something special, time to leave him on the floor as much as possible.  Macon's shooting, defense, slashing, and overall basketball IQ make him our most dangerous player.  Gafford has the highest ceiling, and given there is really no one else at the 4 or 5 who can do anything at all, probably our most important player.   

Unfortunately #1, I think MA will go down with the Beard ship.  He will occasionally hit a few shots like last night, but really, he is a smaller version of Barford without the scoring ability. And he makes poorer decisions than Macon.  His ceiling is pretty low and really needs to be phased out for Hall's minutes. 

Unfortunately #2, Thomas is a necessity to spell Gafford and Thompson.  He really give us very little, and just doesn't have the basketball IQ (or the beef) of Thompson.  Cook, no comment.

Gabe & Bailey have great energy, and we need CJ to score.  I think MA needs to pull the bandaid off, commit more minutes to those guys off the bench (for better or worse).  The reality is our upside is capped giving those minutes to Beard, Thomas, and Cook.  Might as well roll the dice with that athleticism and hope it comes together.

Good post. I like how you described rolling the dice with Bailey and CJ and going all in. I think he's already kind of made that decision for Gabe and Hall. I think a lot of our guys are figuring out their roles. I think our biggest X factor is CJ hitting 3s. If he gets hot we could get all kinds of confidence.

[Rbill]

3 average to bad teams yielded 3 wins as they should have.  It's hard to say anything other than we should have won those games and did.  The next 5 games will tell us whether we are playing better or not. If we go 3-2 or 4-1 then we are playing better.  2-3 or worse and we are still what we have been.

Very true. I'm happy but still have no idea if we won those games or the other teams lost them. Was their atrocious shooting more because of them or us. It's really hard to say so I'll just wait til Saturday and hope A&M catches the can't shoot bug too.