Help me understand

[dishhog40]

....why some feel Arkansas will be good this year.  No Portis or Qualls.  The counterfeit charges that hurt the teams depth.  There aren't enough players to scrimmage without walk ons.   The starters this year, whom ever they are, have never been counted on to lead the team.   Please convince me Arkansas will even come close to .500 in SEC play.  I don't see it. 

[lefty08]

Good for you



Nice thread topic......

[Dr. Starcs]

One word - KIKKO

[Biggus Piggus]

....why some feel Arkansas will be good this year.  No Portis or Qualls.  The counterfeit charges that hurt the teams depth.  There aren't enough players to scrimmage without walk ons.   The starters this year, whom ever they are, have never been counted on to lead the team.   Please convince me Arkansas will even come close to .500 in SEC play.  I don't see it. 

Some feel? Who are these some?

[wheelspigharvey]

....why some feel Arkansas will be good this year.  No Portis or Qualls.  The counterfeit charges that hurt the teams depth.  There aren't enough players to scrimmage without walk ons.   The starters this year, whom ever they are, have never been counted on to lead the team.   Please convince me Arkansas will even come close to .500 in SEC play.  I don't see it.

Basically two reasons, the first is that I'm a homer and the second is that I don't think that these new SEC coaches are going to light the world on fire like some are worrying.  The loss of Beard is what gives me the most worry.  But really I'm not worried about us being "good" as much as I am worried about us being good enough to win enough to get to where we need to be, grabbing that last NCAA bid that the SEC is going to get. 

Really my reasoning is that I'm going to watch anyway, so I might as well be optimistic.

[Hawg Red]

I haven't seen too many people say/post that we're going to be "good." I've seen a lot of "let's wait and see" because there are so many unknowns with this roster. I also think a lot of people just don't to admit that we're probably going to be bad, so they aren't saying anything at all.

But, if there are people that think we're going to be good (I'd consider "good" 20 or more wins and at least the NIT), I'd say they likely fall into two lines of thinking. First line of thinking is: they have some Rick Schaeffer in them and they're going to think and view things positively no matter what. They're just good-hearted fans that don't even think about potential negatives, obstacles or short-comings. They just believe no matter what. Nothing wrong with that. We know these fans to be "homers." Second line of thinking: they believe Coach Anderson is a good, proven coach and that, for the first time at Arkansas, every single player is "his" (even the transfers). They see where things could go south, but they think Anderson will coach them up to the system and the sum will be greater than the parts. Again, nothing wrong with that. I'd call this line of thinking "logically optimistic" or "optimistically logical."

But I honestly think most fans are expecting us to be somewhere around .500 on the season. Seems like 15-17 wins is the range I've seen posted the most. I believe TomBigBeeHog had us at 21 wins, but I think he falls into that logically optimistic line of thinking. I'm disappointed with the quality of the roster, but there's no need to re-hash all that. We were going to drop-off from last year no matter what. We weren't winning 27 games without Portis no matter if Beard, Kapita, and Williams were here. No matter if the staff managed to get a decent late signee or two. Could have still been a tournament team, but we probably weren't winning 27 games again. I've re-calibrated my expectations because what else am I supposed to do? Just be disappointed? I'll be impressed if we win 18 or more games this season. I think this team could be worse than the Year 1 team that lost Powell (definitely worse than Year 1 roster with Powell). There are a lot of similarities between those two teams (but also some differences). 

[TheRazorbackGuy]

Some feel? Who are these some?

Blu, azhog10, UNCLE BACK, TomBeeHog, WarPig88, MikeIrwin and letsroll1200 all seem to think this is a tournament team. Most people in Jump Ball are realistic and realize this is an NIT team at best but some of Jump Ball are overrating this team.

Now the most realistic guys on this season are Hogsanity, Bigdaddyhog, Hawg Red, Erie Hog, Biggus, Porkinson Disease, Deep Shoat, nwahogfan1, Breems and atlhog. TheRazorbackGuy yours truly is also being realistic

[HoopS]

Blu, UNCLE BACK, TomBeeHog, WarPig88, and letsroll1200 all seem to think this is a tournament team. Most people in Jump Ball are realistic and realize this is an NIT team at best but some of Jump Ball are overrating this team.

i remember this summer when many felt our football team would have a legit shot at the west. 9 game over under would have brought a TON of money in on the over. And they were supposedly realistic fans.

Until this thing plays out, it is hard to decide who is a realist and who is a Pollyanna and who is just a negative nelly. I'd steer clear of grouping anyone just yet. It may turn out that the Polyanna is a realist and the realist is a negative nelly. Or vice versa. But right now, we are all just fans and we don't all agree on what's before us.

Put me in the 17-22 range. I can see us falling below that easier than seeing us rise above the high end. But shoot, who knows.

I want to see this team go out there and lay it on the line for us. I want to see continued player development. I want to see a strong recruiting class.

If we do those things, I can live with the win total.

[-Blu]

Blu, azhog10, UNCLE BACK, TomBeeHog, WarPig88, MikeIrwin and letsroll1200 all seem to think this is a tournament team. Most people in Jump Ball are realistic and realize this is an NIT team at best but some of Jump Ball are overrating this team.

Now the most realistic guys on this season are Hogsanity, Bigdaddyhog, Hawg Red, Erie Hog, Biggus, Porkinson Disease, Deep Shoat, nwahogfan1, Breems and atlhog. TheRazorbackGuy yours truly is also being realistic

Show me a post where I said we would be in the tournament.  I've been consistent in my stance of there are a lot of unknowns right now and I need to see more.  And even being optimistic and throwing out a prediction I said if Beard is back this is a 18-20 win team, without him we are probably 16-18 wins.

http://www.hogville.net/yabbse/index.php?topic=596721.0

[TomBigBeeHog]

Show me a post where I said we would be in the tournament.  I've been consistent in my stance of there are a lot of unknowns right now and I need to see more.  And even being optimistic and throwing out a prediction I said if Beard is back this is a 18-20 win team, without him we are probably 16-18 wins.

http://www.hogville.net/yabbse/index.php?topic=596721.0

Consider the source

[TomBigBeeHog]

i remember this summer when many felt our football team would have a legit shot at the west. 9 game over under would have brought a TON of money in on the over. And they were supposedly realistic fans.

Until this thing plays out, it is hard to decide who is a realist and who is a Pollyanna and who is just a negative nelly. I'd steer clear of grouping anyone just yet. It may turn out that the Polyanna is a realist and the realist is a negative nelly. Or vice versa. But right now, we are all just fans and we don't all agree on what's before us.

Put me in the 17-22 range. I can see us falling below that easier than seeing us rise above the high end. But shoot, who knows.

I want to see this team go out there and lay it on the line for us. I want to see continued player development. I want to see a strong recruiting class.

If we do those things, I can live with the win total.

Pretty much sums up my thinking. So pumped to see these guys about to take the court so that I can see where we are as a team.

[hoglady]

At this point - I've got the wait and see attitude on this team.
I'm not willing to say the players we've got can't get it done - they haven't played a game together yet.
Basketball is still a team sport - and a team that plays well together as a unit can accomplish quite a bit.
We'll find out soon enough.

[-Blu]

i remember this summer when many felt our football team would have a legit shot at the west. 9 game over under would have brought a TON of money in on the over. And they were supposedly realistic fans.

Until this thing plays out, it is hard to decide who is a realist and who is a Pollyanna and who is just a negative nelly. I'd steer clear of grouping anyone just yet. It may turn out that the Polyanna is a realist and the realist is a negative nelly. Or vice versa. But right now, we are all just fans and we don't all agree on what's before us.

Put me in the 17-22 range. I can see us falling below that easier than seeing us rise above the high end. But shoot, who knows.

I want to see this team go out there and lay it on the line for us. I want to see continued player development. I want to see a strong recruiting class.

If we do those things, I can live with the win total.

Some people fail to realize games are played on the field/court rather than in their mind.  And as you said everyone was saying was a 8-10 win football team and competing for the SEC West title, and now everyone is hoping for 6 wins, to squeak into a bowl game, and not finish last in the west.  All those predictions, pre-season rankings, and recruiting rankings don't matter once you hit the field, you have to outplay the other team in front of you plain and simple.

And as far as the basketball team prediction.  I don't know how anyone is comfortable making a prediction on this year's team.  There are so many unknowns, I don't even feel comfortable throwing out the prediction I made.  Will Kingsley make a huge jump now that Portis is gone?  Will Whitt be the impact freshman we expect?  Will Beard ever make it back on the team?  Will Dusty Hannahs provide a consistent outside threat?  Will the Jabril Durham in the UNC game, be here all season?  Will Manny Watkins game expand on offense this year?  Will Bell be a more consistent scorer in a bigger role?  Will Trey Thompson be able to provide some interior scoring?  We don't know the answers to a lot of questions about this team.

[TomBigBeeHog]

But I honestly think most fans are expecting us to be somewhere around .500 on the season. Seems like 15-17 wins is the range I've seen posted the most. I believe TomBigBeeHog had us at 21 wins, but I think he falls into that logically optimistic line of thinking.

Yes, I my tank of optimism was almost bone dry after that prediction. Everything would have to go well and luck would have to be on our side as well as the officials on some nights. Wouldn't be surprised at all for us to fall short of 21 wins and end up at 16 to 17 wins though.

[azhog10]

....why some feel Arkansas will be good this year.  No Portis or Qualls.  The counterfeit charges that hurt the teams depth.  There aren't enough players to scrimmage without walk ons.   The starters this year, whom ever they are, have never been counted on to lead the team.   Please convince me Arkansas will even come close to .500 in SEC play.  I don't see it.

Because football doesn't use walk-ons to scrimmage or put together a "scout team" either. Only basketball seems to need/use walkons in this manner.....

Sarcasm off

[TomBigBeeHog]

At this point - I've got the wait and see attitude on this team.
I'm not willing to say the players we've got can't get it done - they haven't played a game together yet.
Basketball is still a team sport - and a team that plays well together as a unit can accomplish quite a bit.
We'll find out soon enough.

Very well said.

[Hawg Red]

Some people fail to realize games are played on the field/court rather than in their mind.  And as you said everyone was saying was a 8-10 win football team and competing for the SEC West title, and now everyone is hoping for 6 wins, to squeak into a bowl game, and not finish last in the west.  All those predictions, pre-season rankings, and recruiting rankings don't matter once you hit the field, you have to outplay the other team in front of you plain and simple.

And as far as the basketball team prediction.  I don't know how anyone is comfortable making a prediction on this year's team.  There are so many unknowns, I don't even feel comfortable throwing out the prediction I made.  Will Kingsley make a huge jump now that Portis is gone?  Will Whitt be the impact freshman we expect?  Will Beard ever make it back on the team?  Will Dusty Hannahs provide a consistent outside threat?  Will the Jabril Durham in the UNC game, be here all season?  Will Manny Watkins game expand on offense this year?  Will Bell be a more consistent scorer in a bigger role?  Will Trey Thompson be able to provide some interior scoring?  We don't know the answers to a lot of questions about this team.

I'm actually pretty comfortable with my 17-win prediction. I don't see a very high ceiling. Too many things would need to break right. I think the roster is limited on talent, to be honest.

Then again, I was pretty comfortable on that 8-4 football prediction, too. But I know more about basketball. Always taken with a grain of salt, but no reports that I've heard out of the summer or here in the last couple weeks of practice have swayed me any. I think our floor is 14 wins and a ceiling is 18 wins. I don't think Beard will play this season if he's intent to stand trail. Could always cut a plea deal before the trial, though. But he'd be coming in super late and could (could) undo any chemistry or rhythm that might have been built up by the active players in his absence.

I'm really looking for development more than wins this year. The wins will be limited. I'm okay losing a couple less games if it means a player or multiple players there will be here next year and beyond get needed development time.

[azhog10]

Blu, azhog10, UNCLE BACK, TomBeeHog, WarPig88, MikeIrwin and letsroll1200 all seem to think this is a tournament team. Most people in Jump Ball are realistic and realize this is an NIT team at best but some of Jump Ball are overrating this team.

Now the most realistic guys on this season are Hogsanity, Bigdaddyhog, Hawg Red, Erie Hog, Biggus, Porkinson Disease, Deep Shoat, nwahogfan1, Breems and atlhog. TheRazorbackGuy yours truly is also being realistic

Oh wow! I've never said THIS team is a tournament team. NEVER! I think Hawg Red summed it up. I'm logically optimistic. I understand that .500 could be where this team falls, but with some breaks and big games could get to 18 wins. It won't be easy and no I'm not happy that this is where we are at. But I also don't feel like ALL of this is CMA's doing. If Beard and Williams didn't get into trouble I think this teams upside could have been an NIT or Tourney birth, but even with them it was a 9-13 seeded tourney team at best. Please I would love to see where I said after the Beard debacle and Kapita not making it tha we were a tourney team.....

[Breems]

Some people fail to realize games are played on the field/court rather than in their mind.  And as you said everyone was saying was a 8-10 win football team and competing for the SEC West title, and now everyone is hoping for 6 wins, to squeak into a bowl game, and not finish last in the west.  All those predictions, pre-season rankings, and recruiting rankings don't matter once you hit the field, you have to outplay the other team in front of you plain and simple.

And as far as the basketball team prediction.  I don't know how anyone is comfortable making a prediction on this year's team.  There are so many unknowns, I don't even feel comfortable throwing out the prediction I made.  Will Kingsley make a huge jump now that Portis is gone?  Will Whitt be the impact freshman we expect?  Will Beard ever make it back on the team?  Will Dusty Hannahs provide a consistent outside threat?  Will the Jabril Durham in the UNC game, be here all season?  Will Manny Watkins game expand on offense this year?  Will Bell be a more consistent scorer in a bigger role?  Will Trey Thompson be able to provide some interior scoring?  We don't know the answers to a lot of questions about this team.

Football is different become there is much more media hype and coverage in the offseason. We over-hype our football team every year because of it. This is probably the 4th straight year we've been the "darkhorse for the SEC west."

There's hardly any coverage for non-UK SEC basketball until late November. We're left with a pretty honest measuring stick - rosters.

[hogsanity]

Blu, azhog10, UNCLE BACK, TomBeeHog, WarPig88, MikeIrwin and letsroll1200 all seem to think this is a tournament team. Most people in Jump Ball are realistic and realize this is an NIT team at best but some of Jump Ball are overrating this team.

Now the most realistic guys on this season are Hogsanity, Bigdaddyhog, Hawg Red, Erie Hog, Biggus, Porkinson Disease, Deep Shoat, nwahogfan1, Breems and atlhog. TheRazorbackGuy yours truly is also being realistic

I don't mind people being optimistic, they have as much chance to be right as anyone else. What I do not like is how no one can be critical of Mike. Many here say that he needs to upgrade his staff, basically saying that at least some assistants should be fired, and it is okay to do that but not to be critical of the guy in charge.

[HoopS]

Because football doesn't use walk-ons to scrimmage or put together a "scout team" either. Only basketball seems to need/use walkons in this manner.....

Sarcasm off

folks just don't slow down to look at the numbers. Football could scrimmage itself easily and would even almost be able to have 2 deep on both sides of the ball on both teams. Before using walkons. Basketball just isn't even close to the same.

football=22 players to outift both sides of ball. 44 players needed.  Roster size is 85 plus 25 possible others. Then walkons.

Basketball= 5 players needed at one time unless they're scrimmaging themselves then that goes to 10. Roster is maxed out at 13 scholarships.  If we account for the need to sub in, unless we expect the whole team to play the whole time which never happens, of course we would need some subs.

Apples Oranges

[hawginbigd1]

I haven't seen too many people say/post that we're going to be "good." I've seen a lot of "let's wait and see" because there are so many unknowns with this roster. I also think a lot of people just don't to admit that we're probably going to be bad, so they aren't saying anything at all.

But, if there are people that think we're going to be good (I'd consider "good" 20 or more wins and at least the NIT), I'd say they likely fall into two lines of thinking. First line of thinking is: they have some Rick Schaeffer in them and they're going to think and view things positively no matter what. They're just good-hearted fans that don't even think about potential negatives, obstacles or short-comings. They just believe no matter what. Nothing wrong with that. We know these fans to be "homers." Second line of thinking: they believe Coach Anderson is a good, proven coach and that, for the first time at Arkansas, every single player is "his" (even the transfers). They see where things could go south, but they think Anderson will coach them up to the system and the sum will be greater than the parts. Again, nothing wrong with that. I'd call this line of thinking "logically optimistic" or "optimistically logical."

But I honestly think most fans are expecting us to be somewhere around .500 on the season. Seems like 15-17 wins is the range I've seen posted the most. I believe TomBigBeeHog had us at 21 wins, but I think he falls into that logically optimistic line of thinking. I'm disappointed with the quality of the roster, but there's no need to re-hash all that. We were going to drop-off from last year no matter what. We weren't winning 27 games without Portis no matter if Beard, Kapita, and Williams were here. No matter if the staff managed to get a decent late signee or two. Could have still been a tournament team, but we probably weren't winning 27 games again. I've re-calibrated my expectations because what else am I supposed to do? Just be disappointed? I'll be impressed if we win 18 or more games this season. I think this team could be worse than the Year 1 team that lost Powell (definitely worse than Year 1 roster with Powell). There are a lot of similarities between those two teams (but also some differences).

In my mind you could not explain any better than this post has +1

The only thing not accounted for in it are the 2 opposing agendas that exist in this forum!

[Breems]

I don't mind people being optimistic, they have as much chance to be right as anyone else. What I do not like is how no one can be critical of Mike. Many here say that he needs to upgrade his staff, basically saying that at least some assistants should be fired, and it is okay to do that but not to be critical of the guy in charge.

Results have improved but recruiting sucks. That points to issues with assistants. Saying assistants should be fired is being critical of Mike.

hulloooo my name hogsanity dooooh i like to pretend things

[hogsanity]

Results have improved but recruiting sucks. That points to issues with assistants. Saying assistants should be fired is being critical of Mike.

hulloooo my name hogsanity dooooh i like to pretend things

Was it pretend that back in July several people were banned because they were criticizing Mike over how bad recruiting was this past season, and how badly the off season had gone?

I can't imagine the carnage here if they were to come out and lose to a team like Akron or Charleston So ( I don't think they will ).

[Kevin]

akron will be a challenge

[TexArkHogFan]

Wait until we get through with the pre season NIT.  Should answer a lot of questions.

[HotlantaHog]

I think on Jump Ball and maybe among Razorback fans in general there is less ''some feel this team is going to be really good'' and more ''Some don't have a frigging clue about this team, so might as well be optimistic until proven otherwise.''

I am in the camp that I have no idea how the pieces of the team are going to come together, but feel inclined to give the team the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best.

[lefty08]

Another thing about MA. Why is it the same people who complain about not being able to be critical of a coach do so by complaining about said right, and they are also here in droves to be able to complain. Sounds to me like you ARE given that ability and are taking every advantage to do so. And you are still here.

It's like me buying a candy bar at the gas station all the while complaining to the clerk I'm not allowed to buy junk food in my household. In short, it's incorrect and tiresome

[hogsanity]

Another thing about MA. Why is it the same people who complain about not being able to be critical of a coach do so by complaining about said right, and they are also here in droves to be able to complain. Sounds to me like you ARE given that ability and are taking every advantage to do so. And you are still here.

It's like me buying a candy bar at the gas station all the while complaining to the clerk I'm not allowed to buy junk food in my household. In short, it's incorrect and tiresome

It seems to have changed recently, but back in the summer, lots of posters disappeared, and it was all about what was being posted in jump ball. For whatever reason some people are overly sensitive about Mike Anderson and act as if they are his personal PR firm. I am fine with that as long as those who disagree are not silenced.

I think on Jump Ball and maybe among Razorback fans in general there is less ''some feel this team is going to be really good'' and more ''Some don't have a frigging clue about this team, so might as well be optimistic until proven otherwise.''

I am in the camp that I have no idea how the pieces of the team are going to come together, but feel inclined to give the team the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best.

I'll buy that. I think it is that going into year 5 that there are so many unknowns that is frustrating to some of us.

[HotlantaHog]

I imagine there will be lots of Hogville complaining after the first embarrassing loss this team has. And the admins tend to give lots of leeway for venting after bad losses. So get ready.

The counter to that is, people were ready to give up on the Hogs last year after a bad loss at Clemson, the second in a row if I remember right ... and the season turned out very solid.

A few years ago, the Hogs under Pelphrey beat Texas and Oklahoma at home, both highly ranked and there was wild optimism ... and the team collapsed in SEC play...

The point is, it is going to be a long season, and while it is possible early trends in a disappointing direction will be followed by unrelenting misery ... it is also possible that trends change in a long season, and there are lots of head fakes along the way ...

I don't disagree with the critics who say the Hogs should be better in Year 5 of Anderson's tenure, and I imagine if Anderson was asked that directly he would agree though argue there are extenuating circumstances.

In any event, my expectations have been lowered enough that I will be happy if there are pieces of the team that show great promise, and the team gets better during the year, and sets up for MUCH more success next year.

[HoopS]

What I don't get is how some of our fans don't already understand why we are in the position we are in this season. Be it year 2 or 5 or 12. We had 2 guys leave early because they were NBA ready. And we lost a butt load of seniors.

There are very few programs who wouldn't be lowering expectations this season. We aren't one of them and Mike didn't cause that. He's trying to fix it.

And as someone else mentioned -- we don't even know what this season holds yet anyway. Let's see how it plays out.

[The_Iceman]

Blu, azhog10, UNCLE BACK, TomBeeHog, WarPig88, MikeIrwin and letsroll1200 all seem to think this is a tournament team. Most people in Jump Ball are realistic and realize this is an NIT team at best but some of Jump Ball are overrating this team.

Now the most realistic guys on this season are Hogsanity, Bigdaddyhog, Hawg Red, Erie Hog, Biggus, Porkinson Disease, Deep Shoat, nwahogfan1, Breems and atlhog. TheRazorbackGuy yours truly is also being realistic

My name wasn't even mentioned, but I am calling this a load of bull. I have not seen one person on this board say we will be an NCAA Tournament team. Not one. Everyone has been fairly realistic about this year being really bad.

[Atlhogfan1]

I'm in the too many unanswered questions to make a good guess group.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Hogs finished higher in the SEC than a couple of the media predictions already discussed and win a few more games than some here think. 

Coach A's team have done better than predicted at times in his career.  Now some of those were more equipped to play his defenses.

The schedule isn't daunting.  A few non conferences games are trickier than the "name" of the opponent or lack of recent success of the opponent suggests ie Wake and GT.  But as of now, this looks like it could be the 3rd straight season of 0 ranked non conference opponents.  Considering that and the success Mike's teams have at home, still should provide for a nice amount of non conference wins. 

The SEC schedule's first half is tougher than the back half for the Hogs.  But again this season, they may get to avoid playing some of the top teams twice while getting the bottom teams twice based on preseason predictions.  This unbalanced schedule could help add a couple of wins if predictions turn out somewhat true with the top and bottom forecasted teams.  I'm also not convinced the SEC is much better than recent seasons.  Still looks to be a lot of mediocre to bad which should create parity and a lot of fluidity in the standings. 

[bigdaddyhawg]

What I don't get is how some of our fans don't already understand why we are in the position we are in this season. Be it year 2 or 5 or 12. We had 2 guys leave early because they were NBA ready. And we lost a butt load of seniors.

There are very few programs who wouldn't be lowering expectations this season. We aren't one of them and Mike didn't cause that. He's trying to fix it.

And as someone else mentioned -- we don't even know what this season holds yet anyway. Let's see how it plays out.

I continue to be amazed how some fans are completely unwilling to make Mike Anderson accountable in the least for the lack of talent on this year's team.

[HoopS]

I continue to be amazed how some fans are completely unwilling to make Mike Anderson accountable in the least for the lack of talent on this year's team.

there are a lot of out of touch fans on both sides of the discussion. That's for sure.

[bigdaddyhawg]

there are a lot of out of touch fans on both sides of the discussion. That's for sure.

I've never called for his firing.  Period.  Nor will I.

So I'm not one of those guys.  But I think he should bear the responsibility for the current situation, as any coach should, good or bad.

[hogsanity]

I've never called for his firing.  Period.  Nor will I.

So I'm not one of those guys.  But I think he should bear the responsibility for the current situation, as any coach should, good or bad.

From a employment standpoint, how else are coaches held responsible than by either being retained or let go?

From a fan standpoint, we cant really old a coach responsible, but as far as message boards go we should be allowed to either heap praise or shovel blame on them.

[bigdaddyhawg]

From a employment standpoint, how else are coaches held responsible than by either being retained or let go?

From a fan standpoint, we cant really old a coach responsible, but as far as message boards go we should be allowed to either heap praise or shovel blame on them.

I see what you're saying, but I really do think fans are the ones holding coaches accountable.  Without fan support, administration support disappears, regardless of record. 

Now, in terms of Mike at the UA, I think he'll be here until he resigns.  If the next couple of years are really poor, I mean sub .500 years, then I would expect Mike would find a soft landing spot somewhere in the UA administration, to honor him for his service.

I believe that Mike has Jeff's full support, as does CBB, and for basically the same reasons.

I just don't see Mike being the kind of guy who wouldn't step down if things went south and his recruiting results continued to look bleak.

[azhog10]

It seems to have changed recently, but back in the summer, lots of posters disappeared, and it was all about what was being posted in jump ball. For whatever reason some people are overly sensitive about Mike Anderson and act as if they are his personal PR firm. I am fine with that as long as those who disagree are not silenced.

I'll buy that. I think it is that going into year 5 that there are so many unknowns that is frustrating to some of us.

You said the exact same thing, but you said it about year 3 and year 4. Different year, same argument.

[Großer Kriegschwein]

If Mike makes it to the NIT this year, I will consider it the best coaching in the history of ever.

[HawgAdvocate]

Show me a post where I said we would be in the tournament.  I've been consistent in my stance of there are a lot of unknowns right now and I need to see more.  And even being optimistic and throwing out a prediction I said if Beard is back this is a 18-20 win team, without him we are probably 16-18 wins.

To be fair, you didn't help yourself with this little quip from 9/27.

What I do know is a lot of hogville "experts" here have been claiming how horrible we're going to be, some even saying we won't score 70 PPG, which is a joke.  I just find it funny that these experts seem to know so much, yet the lowest prediction I've seen someone in the national media give us was an NIT appearance, so like I said, they must not be reading Hogville.

[bigdaddyhawg]

If Mike makes it to the NIT this year, I will consider it the best coaching in the history of ever.

Hyperbole aside, I agree it would be a very good coaching job if they make the NIT.  And I think there's an outside shot he could do that.

It requires several things to fall into place: Durham has to play very efficient at PG; Whitt has to play way above what our normal freshmen produce; Miles has to step his game up and be a producer all over the court; we would have to see improved play from Moses and Thompson; and our team defense would have to improve a ton over last year.

That's a lot of "ifs" that would have to fall into place, but it could possibly happen.

And I've said he should be national coach of the year if they make the NCAA's.

[azhog10]

From an employment standpoint, how else are coaches held responsible than by either being retained or let go?

From a fan standpoint, we cant really old a coach responsible, but as far as message boards go we should be allowed to either heap praise or shovel blame on them.

[azhog10]

To be fair, you didn't help yourself with this little quip from 9/27.

He stated what some sports analyst predicted, so therefore he must believe that to be true?

[TheRazorbackGuy]

My name wasn't even mentioned, but I am calling this a load of bull. I have not seen one person on this board say we will be an NCAA Tournament team. Not one. Everyone has been fairly realistic about this year being really bad.

Slip of the mind IceMan... Your certainly one of the objective ones and even mentioned Anderson's 1 million buyout the next two seasons. I am not calling for anyone to be fired everyone so let's get that correct.

[HawgAdvocate]

He stated what some sports analyst predicted, so therefore he must believe that to be true?

Sure sounded like it. He "found it funny" that the stated Jump Ball "experts" he was (mockingly) disagreeing with didn't agree that this team would be an NIT team, at worst.

[jjdlc]

It seems to have changed recently, but back in the summer, lots of posters disappeared, and it was all about what was being posted in jump ball. For whatever reason some people are overly sensitive about Mike Anderson and act as if they are his personal PR firm. I am fine with that as long as those who disagree are not silenced.

I'll buy that. I think it is that going into year 5 that there are so many unknowns that is frustrating to some of us.

I'm not a mod, nor would I ever want to be one, but yes, a lot of posters disappeared.  The thing you seem to be missing is, they weren't banned for attacking CMA, they were banned because they insisted on derailing every single thread in jump ball.  Every single thread, no matter the original topic, became a pissing contest over CMAs dismal recruiting, or some aspect of our play they didn't like, etc.  Jump ball became very much unreadable.

As far as the original topic here, from what I've seen, at best, the most hopeless optimists seem to think this team is an NIT at best.  Personally, I don't know, I do think the roster is better than CMA's first year, and probably even his second (at least if Beard comes back).  I also think the team will benefit from having veterans with multiple years in the system.  We won 18 that first year, but our SOS is better this year, so who knows.  I really don't want to put a prediction to anything until I've seen them play.

[Hawg Red]

I'm actually pretty comfortable with my 17-win prediction. I don't see a very high ceiling. Too many things would need to break right. I think the roster is limited on talent, to be honest.

Then again, I was pretty comfortable on that 8-4 football prediction, too. But I know more about basketball. Always taken with a grain of salt, but no reports that I've heard out of the summer or here in the last couple weeks of practice have swayed me any. I think our floor is 14 wins and a ceiling is 18 wins. I don't think Beard will play this season if he's intent to stand trail. Could always cut a plea deal before the trial, though. But he'd be coming in super late and could (could) undo any chemistry or rhythm that might have been built up by the active players in his absence.

I'm really looking for development more than wins this year. The wins will be limited. I'm okay losing a couple less games if it means a player or multiple players there will be here next year and beyond get needed development time.

Outlook has brightened up on Beard over the last hour.

[TomBigBeeHog]

Outlook has brightened up on Beard over the last hour.

Tell me now! What do you know?

[dsgreen]

Football is different become there is much more media hype and coverage in the offseason. We over-hype our football team every year because of it. This is probably the 4th straight year we've been the "darkhorse for the SEC west."

There's hardly any coverage for non-UK SEC basketball until late November. We're left with a pretty honest measuring stick - rosters.

This is definitely the first year we've been the darkhorse since Petrino was here.