It all starts with Recruiting

[Tomhog™]

The main reason we are having such a sorry year is due to the fact that Pelphrey is not doing a very good job at recruiting.  Yes, he has won battles with other big schools for Fortson, Clarke, even Sanchez.  But the bench is so short because of his lack of eye for thingss (Heath gets some blame too). 

What was it Petrino said he look for with talent?  Character.  Too many players have had character issues.  Beverely and his academic problems, McDonald in his tirade that got him kicked off.  That took two potential players from us this season.  One a sure starter and another a bench player.  One is bad enough, but two?  Then you have Moore who is arrested.  Henry skips classes.  Almost half the team has been benched at least a game for disciplinary reason.

Then there is the academic risks.  Daniel Payne never made it to campus though Pelphrey recruited him hard.  Both Fortson and Henry were just barely eligible by SEC standards.  What would have happened if one or both were ineligible too?

Another problem is the area of need.  You can't survive in the SEC with a bunch of short guards.  Yet, here we sit with two starters at or under 6'.  Welsh and Britt are not much taller than that.  We have no tall guards for defenders.  Jason Henry is the closest thing we have to a tall guard.  But because we have recruited 3 PF that are ineffective, he has shifted over to make the team even shorter.

I don't know if Sanchez will ever develop or not.  I see glimpses of SEC quality out of Clark and Moore, but not consistently.

Washington is our only shining player this year.  No one else is close to his caliber.  He is All-SEC, but surrounded by a team that wouldn't start at most other SEC schools.  Fortson comes in second.  But he is so inconsistent from game to game he is a distant second.

Now it sounds like Farmer, Powell are academic risks.  If neither are eligible, what then?  Borden? He needs a year in prep to develop.

I am very concerned with the direction of this program under Pelphrey.  I don't follow basketball recruiting like I do football, so I may have some mistakes in my thinking.  Pelphrey needs to take Petrino on some of his visits so he can point out those with character issues and ones that look like won't qualify.

The Hogs HAVE to quit signing big time qualifier risks and people with shady character to even get back to a mediocre SEC team.  We sit at 1-7 in conference, looking hopefully at finishing 5-11 or 4-12.  I am willing to give Pelphrey more time, but he needs to have some direction is who to recruit in my opinon.

[Tomhog™]

Oh yeah.  Let's pray Washington stays another year.  If he doesn't, expect an even worse 2010 season.

[WilsonHog]

I have been a Pel guy all along, and I still hope he suceeds at Arkansas.

But doubt is starting to creep in for me as to just how ready he was for a job of this magnitude.

[want2be]

You are right, depending on short guards in this league and making a run in NCAA tourney is not a formula for success.....Look at the 3 pointers this team has given up......and look at the inability of being able to play man to man.

As far as next years class we can't afford a project like Borden who wasn't heavily recruited and we beat out Nebraska and Iowa St for Farmer. Both he and Powell can contribute next year (if they make the grades)

I do like the coaching of the bigs. Washington made more progress in a year than anyone I have ever seen. IF Clark and Moore can come close to making this kind of progress next year it will also be a big benefit.

[Boarslab]

Basketball folks across the state are not very happy right now.  We've endured several years of this and with Heaths departure we had high (or higher hopes).  Well, here we are again.  I know there are several factors that have brought us to where we are (1 game won in the SEC), however, we are tired of excuses--we demand results and the past few years have not produced.  The fact is--when you coach at that level and get paid that kind of money you better produce or you will be sent elsewhere.  That is just the nature of the profession.  Pel probably better start producing or he will be sent elswhere--that is just the way it is.

[Hogtropolis™]

I have been a Pel guy all along, and I still hope he suceeds at Arkansas.

But doubt is starting to creep in for me as to just how ready he was for a job of this magnitude.

That is my feeling as well.

As far as what Tomhog is saying, he is dead on.  It less about coaching in basketball and more about recruiting.  If he can't get some big time studs in here, then we aren't going to get back to even a fraction of what we were under Nolan or Sutton.

[RZRBack_FAN]

We need a coach that can recruit, and a coach that knows what a set offense is.

This program is headed in a bad direction, 3 more years of Razorback basketball being irrelevant is going to kill this fanbase. It all is going to depend on next year. No more excuses about us being young, if Pel can't win with Sophmres then he doesn't need to be the coach of a big time program.

[12247]

Yeah, if you are a stand out BB recruit with a 4.0 GPA, you are just dying to come to
Arkansas.  We couldn't even get the 1 or 2 decent players from Arkansas to commit last year.  Part of this is our coach.  Heath did get a few better recruits to come here.  He had no idea what to do with them after he got them, but they did come.  We need to give this man time to find some players.  If Fortson can keep his head straight, he will end up being one of the best players to ever wear a Hog uni.  So will Washington if he stays another year.  Henry will be very good if he can stay elgible.  I am not so sure about Clarke at this level.  Maturity may make him one of the very best to ever be a Hog or if he folds up and says, I can't, one of the worst.  Welsh will likely always be Jekel/Hyde.  I think Moore and Clark will both be good players with time.  Britt will be serviceable.  Sanchez??
Much like our Football team, we will win games next year if we don't gain a recruit, but some special recruits would help.  Pel was stuck with playing a 1 and done team last year.  He has youth this year.  Maybe we can find a decent recruit or 2 this coming recruiting season. 

[OKhogfan1959]

Bobby Lee 6/5 plays at Carl Albert in Poteau OK..Kid would be our 3rd best player right now. I am told he's unsigned but could be had. This kid is a hidden gem! I am off to church so if anybody knows how to get info to Pels recruiting coach? I am told he is getting some visits early next week..No time on him if they don't move fast.

This kid can be had..Every game I watched he had 25 and he was the best player by far on the court against UA Ft Smith. Not close!

I'll leave it here and hope you guys can let someone know about him.

http://www.poteaudailynews.com/content/view/126672/34/

[Beaverfever]

Great post Tom.  It is all about recruiting and so far Pel's has been crap.  Moore, Clark, and Sanchez all look about the same as they did when they got here.  Fortson looked so good early on and now I don't even know if he is the PG of the future.  Clarke is short and timid and henry can't shoot. 

[Verge]

Oh yeah.  Let's pray Washington stays another year. 

LOL, you don't watch alot of basketball do you ?

Washington has 0 chance in the NBA right now.

[WilsonHog]

LOL, you don't watch alot of basketball do you ?

Washington has 0 chance in the NBA right now.

Neither did Scotty Thurman or Olu Famutimi.

Didn't stop them from leaving.

(BTW, the "you don't watch a lot of basketball" comment was uncalled for. No need to be an ass.)

[Beaverfever]

LOL, you don't watch alot of basketball do you ?

Washington has 0 chance in the NBA right now.

I think you're mistaken.  Wash seems to get better every game.  He has developed into a nice potential NBA power forward.  His 8-10 feet game gets better every time out.

[NWASooner]

He has developed into a nice potential NBA power forward.

If he added about 40 pounds of muscle, yes.

He's too skinny to play the 4 and he won't be playing the 3. 

If he leaves, it'll be a huge mistake.

[SultanofSwine]

It is dang near impossibel to replace an entire team in one year and win at a high level. IMO, the worst thing that could have happened for this team was the extent of their early season success. People got thier hopes way too high after that run and are failing to recognize the fact we completely starting over except for Welsh.

Are there things that concern me about coaching and recruiting? yes, absolutely. It takes time to mature into a good team and recognize the difference in playing hard and playing smart. Pel does need a plan for addressing FT shooting and shots inside 4 feet. If we could consistently make FT's and layups, our record would look a lot different.

[NWASooner]

The younger players on this team are actually pretty decent.  It's just going to take some time for them to get physically ready to play a full 40 minutes of an SEC level game.

Look at them physically.  They're don't look like big time players.  Give them another few years to get stronger.  You can get by with one or two players like that but when it's your whole team, you're hosed, especially when you have no depth.

[linze82]

LOL, you don't watch alot of basketball do you ?

Washington has 0 chance in the NBA right now.

if watch any basketball you know that makes 0 difference as to whether he declares or not

[MF]

Seriously?!?  You guys are reaching.  He came to the Razorbacks with us being the laughing stock of the nation after the Altman debacle.  He was lucky to get anyone to sign that first year.

His second recruiting class contains what many are considering the best freshman PG in the nation and another G who led his state in scoring.  Then add Henry who I think has the best chance of playing at the next level of all three considering his size and skills.

I swear between this and the Mike Andeson thread I'm not coming back to this forum until next season.

[forrest city joe]

The main reason we are having such a sorry year is due to the fact that Pelphrey is not doing a very good job at recruiting.  Yes, he has won battles with other big schools for Fortson, Clarke, even Sanchez.  But the bench is so short because of his lack of eye for thingss (Heath gets some blame too). 

What was it Petrino said he look for with talent?  Character.  Too many players have had character issues.  Beverely and his academic problems, McDonald in his tirade that got him kicked off.  That took two potential players from us this season.  One a sure starter and another a bench player.  One is bad enough, but two?  Then you have Moore who is arrested.  Henry skips classes.  Almost half the team has been benched at least a game for disciplinary reason.

Then there is the academic risks.  Daniel Payne never made it to campus though Pelphrey recruited him hard.  Both Fortson and Henry were just barely eligible by SEC standards.  What would have happened if one or both were ineligible too?

Another problem is the area of need.  You can't survive in the SEC with a bunch of short guards.  Yet, here we sit with two starters at or under 6'.  Welsh and Britt are not much taller than that.  We have no tall guards for defenders.  Jason Henry is the closest thing we have to a tall guard.  But because we have recruited 3 PF that are ineffective, he has shifted over to make the team even shorter.

I don't know if Sanchez will ever develop or not.  I see glimpses of SEC quality out of Clark and Moore, but not consistently.

Washington is our only shining player this year.  No one else is close to his caliber.  He is All-SEC, but surrounded by a team that wouldn't start at most other SEC schools.  Fortson comes in second.  But he is so inconsistent from game to game he is a distant second.

Now it sounds like Farmer, Powell are academic risks.  If neither are eligible, what then?  Borden? He needs a year in prep to develop.

I am very concerned with the direction of this program under Pelphrey.  I don't follow basketball recruiting like I do football, so I may have some mistakes in my thinking.  Pelphrey needs to take Petrino on some of his visits so he can point out those with character issues and ones that look like won't qualify.

The Hogs HAVE to quit signing big time qualifier risks and people with shady character to even get back to a mediocre SEC team.  We sit at 1-7 in conference, looking hopefully at finishing 5-11 or 4-12.  I am willing to give Pelphrey more time, but he needs to have some direction is who to recruit in my opinon.

Tomhog you are so right about this. and until that changes, we are going to keep losing.folks we have to get better players.

[forrest city joe]

I have been a Pel guy all along, and I still hope he suceeds at Arkansas.

But doubt is starting to creep in for me as to just how ready he was for a job of this magnitude.

Wilson thats all i have been saying. i have not given up on Pel. i want him to make it here.i dont want to see the guy get fired.but like you i doubts now. he has to start getting us some better players.

[HogBreath]

Oh yeah.  Let's pray Washington stays another year.  If he doesn't, expect an even worse 2010 season.

Actually, that is one bright spot, if we do lose Washington, it can't get much worse.

1-7 to 0-8 shouldn't be too much worse than it already is.

BTW, I think Washingtn is a heck of a player, I hate that he's basically a one legged man at a butt kicking contest.

Also wish we had a Sonny Weems on this year's team.  Maybe Farmer will be that guy next year.  Better find a 6-8 6-9 250ish guy to bang on the low block.

[Tomhog™]

We need a coach that can recruit, and a coach that knows what a set offense is.

I know they tried to go this route, a big name coach that can bring in big time players.  We were turned down by all of them.  If Kentucky wasn't looking in the same year, we would have ended up with Gillispie.  Right now, I would love to have him as a coach.  I think his coaching skills are better and recruiting skills a notch above too.  Since we have Pelphrey, I will give him a couple more years that I will never get back in life.  I hope he turns it around.  Biggest problem is I don't see an incoming class being able to do it.  We can't wait until the 2011 class graduates.

[Tomhog™]

LOL, you don't watch alot of basketball do you ?

Washington has 0 chance in the NBA right now.

Not as much as I used to, to be honest.  Football has bumped basketball as my favorite sport the last few years so my focus has been there.  Recruiting is year round, so that is what I spend time on in the off-season.

Wilson is right, even if NBA chances are slim, it might not keep him from abandoning ship when it is taking on water as bad as it is.  Powell may give him help in the interior next year since no one is this year.  But if he is ineligible, he has to go solo against double teams yet again.  It's quite sad to see the state this program has stayed in.

[RZRBack_FAN]

If we pay the $$$$ somebody will come. This program has alot to offer!!!

[Oliver]

I know they tried to go this route, a big name coach that can bring in big time players.  We were turned down by all of them.  If Kentucky wasn't looking in the same year, we would have ended up with Gillispie.  Right now, I would love to have him as a coach.  I think his coaching skills are better and recruiting skills a notch above too.  Since we have Pelphrey, I will give him a couple more years that I will never get back in life.  I hope he turns it around.  Biggest problem is I don't see an incoming class being able to do it.  We can't wait until the 2011 class graduates.

While I agree a big name coach is the way we should try and go, I realize we have struggled to get one in the past.  If we do look for another coach sometime in the future, we should try this route again with somebody that isn't incompetent at the helm like Jeff Long.  Otherwise, there are up and coming coaches that have succeeded in a short time with taking over a new program.  Look at Jeff Capel and the job he's done at OU.  These coaches are out there, but the PTB in the last 10 years have been too incompetent to identify them.

[Hogeyeblind]

Interesting dilemna we have here for sure.  Pel wasnt a Long hire and probably wasnt ready and didnt deserve the keys to a job of this stature.

OTOH, Long got lucky with Petrino, but after serving up a couple of turds. 

I dont think Long will put up with more than another year of rebuilding and Im curious to see if he could close the deal on a big time coach.

[Oliver]

Interesting dilemna we have here for sure.  Pel wasnt a Long hire and probably wasnt ready and didnt deserve the keys to a job of this stature.

OTOH, Long got lucky with Petrino, but after serving up a couple of turds. 

I dont think Long will put up with more than another year of rebuilding and Im curious to see if he could close the deal on a big time coach.

Will Muschamp was ANYTHING but a turd.  That's who we would have hired if not for Petrino.  I agree that Petrino was definitely a GIFT to our program and fan base but I would have been extremely happy with Muschamp.

[Hogeyeblind]

I contend Arkansas should not be a "starter job" for any coach in any sport

[Heightshog]

We have a Sun Belt coach who is recruiting like a Sun Belt coach.

[wendellgee]

I'd settle for a Ron Huery, Tim Scott & Mario Credit type class at this point.

[ChicoHog]

This a bit premature but didn't Long come from Pitt where hired Ben howland and then promoted Jamie Dixon.  Howland is not leaving UCLA but Dixon may come for the right price.  I love the way Pitt plays defense. 

also I think Henry will be a great player. He has skills, height and athleticism you can't teach.  But he needs to be playing the 2 or the 3, not the 4 we so often he need him to be because of our lack of size. 

[Oliver]

This a bit premature but didn't Long come from Pitt where hired Ben howland and then promoted Jamie Dixon.  Howland is not leaving UCLA but Dixon may come for the right price.  I love the way Pitt plays defense. 

also I think Henry will be a great player. He has skills, height and athleticism you can't teach.  But he needs to be playing the 2 or the 3, not the 4 we so often he need him to be because of our lack of size. 

I'm with you on Jamie Dixon.  I want a coach that can bring us a defensive minded team.  That's what wins you games.  Heath promised this to us but never delivered.  Defense is non-existent now on Pelphrey's team.  I'm done with the 40 minutes of hell type of play.  It's a dead style of play.  Other schools have made adjustments to that system of play.  I don't want Big 10 basketball brought here either, however.

[Hogeyeblind]

This a bit premature but didn't Long come from Pitt where hired Ben howland and then promoted Jamie Dixon.  Howland is not leaving UCLA but Dixon may come for the right price.  I love the way Pitt plays defense. 

also I think Henry will be a great player. He has skills, height and athleticism you can't teach.  But he needs to be playing the 2 or the 3, not the 4 we so often he need him to be because of our lack of size. 

Ive heard alot of speculation that Dixon could be waiting in the wings but I assume it be wishful thinking.  I doubt there are many here that wouldnt be thrilled with him though

[Hogbody]

Hey maybe if we are lucky we can get some more classes like '05!
Our 2 signees?  Sean Mccurdy and Cyrus Mcgowan.  An entire class gone!

Or maybe we can recruit another great class like '02!
Here we have Kenndrick Davis, Eric Ferguson, Jonathan Modica, Wenbos Mukubu, and Rashard Sullivan.  Wow what recruiting!

Maybe we can recruit some more 5* players since are last two 5* signees worked out so well.  Olu was just the greatest ever and Al Jefferson really just helped the Razorbacks a lot!

http://arkansas.rivals.com/commitlist.asp

[jonesark™]

i believe pel is average at best in recruiting...something that is a MUST!! maybe a few new assistant coaches better suited to recruit is in order..

[Tomhog™]

If we pay the $$$$ somebody will come. This program has alot to offer!!!

I think we offered a ton to Self to come from Kansas.  Money isn't everything.  Wasn't Self also offered huge sums to go to OSU too?

[Hogbody]

I also wanted to point out something about our better recruiting efforts.

Ronnie Brewer- Fayetteville, AR
Steven Hill - Branson, MO
Michael Washington- Mcgehee, AR
Sonny Weems- West Memphis, AR
Jason Henry- West Memphis, AR

Guess who the top rated players in Arkansas have been the last couple of years?

2007
James Anderson- Wasnt coming here ever pretty much
Michael Sanchez-here
Nate Rakestraw-came, didnt work

2008
Andre Clark.  Only person worth talking about even from AR in 08

2009
Walton-wouldnt have made this team really better.  Would have been a nice backup
Borden- Signed, but needs to develop
Gulley- same as Walton


It's disappointing, but most of our high-impact players have been from Arkansas, and those players just havent been there the last few years outside of Anderson, who I dont think ever wanted to come here.  We succeed when there is regional talent.

[WilsonHog]

I'll make a couple of comments and leave it at that.

I can abide getting beat when we've got good character kids who are busting their tails.

I can't abide winning when we've got some kids who would cause me to stick my hands in my pockets if I was around them very long. 

[HogBreath]

I also wanted to point out something about our better recruiting efforts.

Ronnie Brewer- Fayetteville, AR
Steven Hill - Branson, MO
Michael Washington- Mcgehee, AR
Sonny Weems- West Memphis, AR
Jason Henry- West Memphis, AR

Guess who the top rated players in Arkansas have been the last couple of years?

2007
James Anderson- Wasnt coming here ever pretty much
Michael Sanchez-here
Nate Rakestraw-came, didnt work

2008
Andre Clark.  Only person worth talking about even from AR in 08

2009
Walton-wouldnt have made this team really better.  Would have been a nice backup
Borden- Signed, but needs to develop
Gulley- same as Walton


It's disappointing, but most of our high-impact players have been from Arkansas, and those players just havent been there the last few years outside of Anderson, who I dont think ever wanted to come here.  We succeed when there is regional talent.

Poor ole Steven Hill.  How I hoped for year after year that he would take the next step as a player.  Never did happen.  He was a terrific shot blocker, but rebounding and scoring and general court awareness always greatly eluded Big Steve.

[Redbug]

While I agree a big name coach is the way we should try and go, I realize we have struggled to get one in the past.  If we do look for another coach sometime in the future, we should try this route again with somebody that isn't incompetent at the helm like Jeff Long.  Otherwise, there are up and coming coaches that have succeeded in a short time with taking over a new program.  Look at Jeff Capel and the job he's done at OU.  These coaches are out there, but the PTB in the last 10 years have been too incompetent to identify them.

Capel's not a bad coach...but he lucked into ou's "corless moment"...their "big nasty" B Griffin was almost always likely to end up at ou & having big brother already on the team didn't hurt...

They won't make it past the sweet 16 unless the committee gives them a complete pass to the elite 8 or final 4....They've barely eeked out wins against alot of so so competition and LOST TO US...

After Griffin leaves Capel might as well follow....ou will be back to being nothing special and being outdrawn by thier womens team (cheap tickets) as the mens team will draw their usual 6K crowd....

[The Hogfather]

Do we have a shot at Jeremy Adams and/or Tony Mitchell?

[Redbug]

This a bit premature but didn't Long come from Pitt where hired Ben howland and then promoted Jamie Dixon.  Howland is not leaving UCLA but Dixon may come for the right price.  I love the way Pitt plays defense. 

also I think Henry will be a great player. He has skills, height and athleticism you can't teach.  But he needs to be playing the 2 or the 3, not the 4 we so often he need him to be because of our lack of size. 

Howland was hired in 1999

Dixon was on staff and replaced Howland as HC after the 2002/2003 season

Long became AD at Pitt in 2003

not sure if he hired Dixon to replace Howland or if it was already done before he became AD

[chiefsfan]

If we pay the $$$$ somebody will come. This program has alot to offer!!!

Clearly you have no idea of how the Arkansas basketball program is viewed right now

We were the laughing stock of the country 2 years ago.  We fired a coach after 3 consecutive NCAA appearences and got rejected by some guy from creighton

There are a lot of coaches who would have to see significant changes in the program before they considered coaching at Arkansas.      Until then, money or not, we are going to have to rely on an unproven coach to turn us around

[chiefsfan]

I'm with you on Jamie Dixon.  I want a coach that can bring us a defensive minded team.  That's what wins you games.  Heath promised this to us but never delivered.  Defense is non-existent now on Pelphrey's team.  I'm done with the 40 minutes of hell type of play.  It's a dead style of play.  Other schools have made adjustments to that system of play.  I don't want Big 10 basketball brought here either, however.

Dixon would be out of his mind to leave pitt and come to Arkansas

[Hogbody]

Dixon would be out of his mind to leave pitt and come to Arkansas

agreed

[NWASooner]

Capel's not a bad coach...but he lucked into ou's "corless moment"...their "big nasty" B Griffin was almost always likely to end up at ou & having big brother already on the team didn't hurt...

They won't make it past the sweet 16 unless the committee gives them a complete pass to the elite 8 or final 4....They've barely eeked out wins against alot of so so competition and LOST TO US...

After Griffin leaves Capel might as well follow....ou will be back to being nothing special and being outdrawn by thier womens team (cheap tickets) as the mens team will draw their usual 6K crowd....

Capel didn't luck into anything.  Blake Griffin probably wasn't going to OU as long as Sampson was there.  Taylor was thinking about transferring but decided to stick around after the Capel hire. 

Aside from Griffin, Capel is still a legit recruiter.  He got Willie Warren, who was a McDonald's All-American and there are two more McD's AA's coming in next year.

OU struck gold with Capel and they'll spend big money to keep him around.  He'll probably stay at OU until the Duke job opens up and then he'll be gone in 5 minutes.

That's the funny thing about coaching hires.  After their stints at VCU and South Alabama, respectively, Capel and Pelphrey seemed like a net push.  I still really like Pelphrey and people need to patient but he should be recruiting better based on the facilities and him being a younger coach.

[dotnet]

Guys are you people serious?  You can only give Pel credit for 1 and 1/2 class.  The early signing period was already gone by the time Pel got here his first year.  He did good just to get Sanchez (who he out recruited Kansas and Kentucky for) and an SEC defender (Britt). 

In his first real class, Pel got the best pg in the country, the best shooter in the country, Henry (who everyone likes and would be been better if he had not gotten hurt), and two other decent players who will improve.  The class was ranked 11th in the nation by ESPN (15th by Rivals).

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/columns/story?columnist=williams_antonio&id=3405529

Yes, that is higher than BP's class that makes everyone think he is God's gift to recruiting (and I'm not disagreeing).  Keep in mind the majority of the class signed before he even coached a game at Arkansas.  This is after Arkansas hadn't won a tournament game in ten years.  Ten years. I know that football was just 5-7... they were also just in the Cotton Bowl the year before that and the SECCG the year before that.  These current players aren't even old enough to remember watching the last time Arkansas was relevant in basketball.

The current class is smaller.  That isn't because of Pel.  Pel is trying his hardest to undo Heath's mess and even out the classes.  But the two players he currently has committed (that we expect to help next year) are both ranked higher than Fortson was last year, according to ESPN.

Not only that, but Pel is trying really hard to get back in to Memphis for 2010, something everyone agrees that Arkansas has to do. 

Its weird that people complain about character, and then say they want Billy G in the next post.  He has recruited several people that have threatened to quit playing for him, quit playing for him, or he has had to kick off the team.  I'm not saying Billy G did anything wrong, but he has definitely had more problems with this than Pel has.

And blaming Bev on Pel is absurd. 

What was it Petrino said he look for with talent?  Character.  Too many players have had character issues.  Beverely and his academic problems, McDonald in his tirade that got him kicked off.  That took two potential players from us this season.  One a sure starter and another a bench player.  One is bad enough, but two?  Then you have Moore who is arrested.  Henry skips classes.  Almost half the team has been benched at least a game for disciplinary reason.

(I took the whole paragraph to not misquote anyone)

I know it makes everything sound better, but Pel did not recruit PB.  But I would much rather have had Bev for the two years we did than to not have had him at all.. he played hard for Arkansas and did great job.  Pel has recruited good kids.  Clark, Britt, Clarke, Sanchez... they have all been great as far as I know.  But if you really only want to recruit choir boys than you're going to be in trouble.  I can't think of one decent team that was made of all saints... even if nothing came out in the press about them.  Even a team with a bunch of pretty boys like Duke has Gerald Henderson on it... ask TH about his pretty boy image.  I think Pel has proved that he will discipline anyone and not let you stay here if you're going to be a character problem. 

The team is young.  They have won games no one thought they would win and they have lost games no one thought they would lose.  It happens.  The team has talent though and we can all be way more confident that everyone will continue to get better as opposed to previous years.

As for Sanchez, yes he has struggled in SEC play.  But the guy has talent, just ask Bill Self and BG.  Thomas averaged 5.5 pts and 2.7 rebs when he was a true freshman.  He turned into a pretty decent SEC player, and that was with some pretty bad coaching for three plus years.  Sanchez's 6 and 5 (while playing along side someone who looks to score, as opposed to Hill), will only improve under Pelphrey.

I have been frustrated with the last few games... I just don't think the world is going to end.  I think we have a bunch of freshman who will get better.  I think the kids coming in, who are still on track to make it, are rated highly and will help out.  I think the kids we're on for 2010 from the Memphis area are great as players and from a recruiting strategy.  I don't see this doom and gloom that everyone is preaching.

[Razorod]

who are the 2010 memphis playes Pel is recruiting?

[rzrbackrob]

If Pel is still struggling next year, you have to think about a new coaches chances of coming in and building enough of a relationship with the 2010 and 2011 classes. In my opinion we stick with Pel and hope for the best. May not work out but to get rid of him too early seems less wise than staying committed to a choice already made. I put the chance of Pel working out at 70/30 and the chance of a better coach coming in and improving the situation at 40/60 by the 2011-12 season.

[Oliver]

Dixon would be out of his mind to leave pitt and come to Arkansas

Why?