Kentucky Game

[LadybackBBFan]

One of our better games, but it is one that we could have and probably should have won.  Poor handling of the ball in the second quarter and the end of the game - is that players fault or coaches fault - probably both.  Kentucky is an easy team to match up with our talent.  Coach was slow in making some adjustments. 

[psycHOGlogist]

Fully agree on all points - too many times we just threw away the ball. We did play okay overall, and Jessica had a very nice game. Another one that slipped away.

[hogman64]

it seems the only games we play "well" ( but still lose) are  games when JJ plays like one of the top players in the SEC and pretty much takes over the offense, makes you wonder what next year will be like.....

[Bonehead]

Hogmanay I have been saying that

[Bonehead]

Wait until next year without Jackson

[logic]

One of our better games, but it is one that we could have and probably should have won.  Poor handling of the ball in the second quarter and the end of the game - is that players fault or coaches fault - probably both.  Kentucky is an easy team to match up with our talent.  Coach was slow in making some adjustments. 

A team has that many turnovers may be an indication the team lacks talent or that the players lack basketball smarts.  Probably Kentucky won they have more talent.  However, I really don't know. Are Vandy and Arkansas last in the SEC, both with 2-11 records, because of coaching or talent?

Arkansas did well before playing other SEC teams so perhaps almost all SEC teams have more talent.

[LadybackBBFan]

A team has that many turnovers may be an indication the team lacks talent or that the players lack basketball smarts.  Probably Kentucky won they have more talent.  However, I really don't know. Are Vandy and Arkansas last in the SEC, both with 2-11 records, because of coaching or talent?

Arkansas did well before playing other SEC teams so perhaps almost all SEC teams have more talent.

Arkansas did well in non conference because they had the weakest non-conference schedule that I can remember.  We would have been 13 - 0 if we did not have injuries.
As far as talent, with the exception of Jackson, these players are the coaches recruits - so there can be no excuse about lack of talent.  Especially when he continues to rave about them.  Mason had five turnovers and he said after the game that she is a sure first team freshman pick for the SEC.

[flippinhogmana]

Look, I don't think its the players.  I have seen a lot of coaches get more out of their players that really they were talented.  I have also seen coaches (more of this type) get less out of their players.  Mason has frankly been a surprise for me, and injuries to Wilson and Cosper have not helped.  But that being said, he has gotten less out of two seniors that they both wanted to give when the season started.  The others have been up and down, too. 

But the bottom is still the same when you set the players aside, JD is no coach.  He is deficient as a game manager, and he is deficient in the most critical aspect of the game:  scoring more points than your opposition.  He doesn't seem to understand offense period.  Last time I checked, each time your opponent scores more points than you do, you lose.

More damning than that is, he has squandered a lot of good will, and assets.  He spurned Christy Smith and her abilities.  He has just not gotten it and has squandered players, fans, and the faith put in him by some.  I doubted him from the first, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt for two years, and tried to for about half of the preseason.  Its been over for a long time.  He wouldn't have gotten this far except for the leadership of players he inherited from Collen.  Time to put a stake in it.

[LadybackBBFan]

Well stated Flippin.  I agree 100% with what you have said.

[logic]

LadybackBBFan; flippinhogmana! What you say may be true.  I don't have the basketball knowledge to evaluate and compare talent between Arkansas and other SEC teams; and, I have no way of knowing what goes on internally. I do believe it is very difficult to recruit to Fayetteville compared to most other SEC teams and, with so few fans, recruiting SEC talent must be even more difficult.

I hated to see Christy Smith leave but she left to take a head coaching job and I believe most assistance coaches will do that.  I doubt that Jeff Long will replace JD and, although Arkansas is last in the SEC, I don't know that his ego would allow him to admit a coaching mistake. And, regardless of his other talents, I don't have confidence in his ability to evaluate the ability of head coaches.

[BlancheDevereaux]

Fayetteville should be one of the best recruiting tools for Jimmy. I live in an SEC town and it doesn't hold a candle to Fayetteville. And if you look at where the strong teams are--South Carolina, Miss State, Tennessee, A&M none of those teams can host better amenities in terms of facilities or town. No one is going to play in Starkvegas because they love the town. (At least I hope not, otherwise they have terrible taste in towns!) The lack of fan support certainly hurts, but its not insurmountable.

It's true that Jimmy is deficient in every aspect of game time situations. He can't design an inbound play to save his life and its becoming increasingly clear to me that he doesn't really know how to manage a team. I think the only thing that saved him his first year was Callie Berna. Maybe we could hire her!

[Bonehead]

Program is at the bottom. These are Jimmy players

[Bonehead]

What is going to change between now and next year nothing

[psycHOGlogist]

Christy Smith took an HC job in a complete zero of a program that is transitioning to DI from DII. It is an absolute crap job. She has been the top assistant at two DI programs in P5 conferences. Her next job was not going to be an HC position at a podunk school with few resources unless she was desperate to get out of Dodge -- which she was. I hope she does well and turns it into something that will help her move up. But to say that any AC would have taken that job is clearly misreading the situation. Dykes ignored her, she could not stay. He essentially ran her off.

As for recruiting, Fayetteville has a lot to recommend it, and the campus/university has invested an enormous amount (thanks to Jeff Long, I might add) in facilities and the student athlete experience.  It's sometimes a challenge to get kids to visit (because, imo, the connotation of "Arkansas" is not positive outside the region), but once they do, we are in the ball game with anyone else in the conference. Unless the student is looking for a big-city environment, Fayetteville is a draw, not a detractor.

[logic]

It's true that Jimmy is deficient in every aspect of game time situations. He can't design an inbound play to save his life and its becoming increasingly clear to me that he doesn't really know how to manage a team. I think the only thing that saved him his first year was Callie Berna. Maybe we could hire her!

Without some coaching experience, we can't hire Callie Berna except possibly as an assistance.  However, Christy Smith might be an excellent choice. I watched the Jan 21 game between UIW and Stephen F Austin and, although outclassed in talent, I though UIW was very well coached. And, with three games to play, already both UIW total wins and conference wins is more than 50% better than the last two years.

[flippinhogmana]

I am a Christy Smith fan but comparing records when they were in a different division is comparing apples to oranges:  it's not good statistical analysis

[logic]

Christy Smith took an HC job in a complete zero of a program that is transitioning to DI from DII. It is an absolute crap job. She has been the top assistant at two DI programs in P5 conferences. Her next job was not going to be an HC position at a podunk school with few resources unless she was desperate to get out of Dodge -- which she was. I hope she does well and turns it into something that will help her move up. But to say that any AC would have taken that job is clearly misreading the situation. Dykes ignored her, she could not stay. He essentially ran her off.

As for recruiting, Fayetteville has a lot to recommend it, and the campus/university has invested an enormous amount (thanks to Jeff Long, I might add) in facilities and the student athlete experience.  It's sometimes a challenge to get kids to visit (because, imo, the connotation of "Arkansas" is not positive outside the region), but once they do, we are in the ball game with anyone else in the conference. Unless the student is looking for a big-city environment, Fayetteville is a draw, not a detractor.

From a money standpoint you may be correct about taking the head coach position at UIW. However, the best way to get a good head coaching job is to prove your value as a head coach even if it is UIW. Even if the team is having success, it is difficult for assistance coaches to get much attention or credit.  Frank Broyles was frustrated in his attempts to get a head coaching position because Bobby Dodd didn't what to lose his best assistance.

Even in what we think are very good recruiting years (at least for Arkansas) in both basketball and football, Arkansas is almost always in the lower half to lower quarter of recruiting in the SEC. This year we have by Razorback standards and outstanding class but compared to Alabama (which may not be a fair comparison), Arkansas is not even in the same neighborhood, let alone ballpark.  Per ESPN, ten, a little more than 1/3rd of Alabama's class are ranked above our top player. And, twenty a little more than 2/3rds are ranked in the top 300.  Arkansas only has three players  in the top 300.  Furthermore, even Nolan Richardson committed about how difficult it is to recruit to Fayetteville.

[jseinfeld50]

Not related at all but I have an old/current friend who is a Professor (PHD) at IUW (10 yrs). He went to the UA in 80's and was already a ranked amateur tennis player prior to that time. He is a big sports fan but I have not mentioned her name.

[hog63]

I think if you could look at the program today and say "we have had a down year but because of the direction the program is headed the future is bright" then you give him a free pass looking towards the future. However anyone that looks at the program with any basketball knowledge whatsoever can just shake their heads. The future looks anything but bright.

1. Your losing a lot of pts from JJ and a big in Cooley with no one signed yet to replace either
2. Strong rumor has it that possibly 3 underclass players will transfer and maybe more
3. Strong rumor at least one staff change will happen and possibly up to 3 will leave
4. Incoming recruiting class is weak at best and doesn't even address the team needs.
5. Transfers of players and it is pretty clear he has a relationship problem with young women

I could go on and on but I think this is enough in itself to show a change has to be made and I think it will. We as fans need to be prepared it probably will take up to 5 years to correct the damage caused.

[psycHOGlogist]

even Nolan Richardson committed about how difficult it is to recruit to Fayetteville.

Nolan hasn't been a coach at the U of A for 12 years. I don't think his comments from the 1990s are particularly pertinent to recruiting today. As has been pointed out repeatedly, it's not as if Starkville, College Station, Gainesville, Opelika, Tuscaloosa, Oxford, or Columbia (either one), etc., are great towns that recruits can't live without. (Athens is pretty cool, honestly, and near Atlanta, so thumbs up for UGA.)

Having lived both in Arkansas and outside of Arkansas but still in the SEC footprint, most people outside the state have negative stereotypes about Arkansas (the state, not the University, or Fayetteville). This viewpoint has nothing to do with sports. That, as much as anything, combined with a history of mediocre performances is what keeps our recruiting classes where they are. As I've said, getting people on campus to see the resources, to experience the town and atmosphere is a plus, not a minus.

I'm with Hog63 - there is virtually no hope for the program in the short term. CJD has pulled a Susie Gardner here.  I think you do a full reset.

Just to beat a dead horse - here's what we KNOW we are losing:

Jessica Jackson 6'3 wing/post/wherever CJD feels like putting her
Alecia Cooley 6'3 post

Here's what we know we are getting in 2017:

Grayce Spangler 5'10" guard coming off an ACL injury in her senior year of HS
Macy Weaver 6'3" post from Illinois who puts up big numbers against short girls from small schools, but who has received virtually no recruiting attention outside Wisconsin. (She's a second team all-state player within the 3A classification in Illinois)

When you throw in the rumored departures (Wilson, Ratliff, possibly Cosper), 6'1" Keiryn Swenson will be our tallest player.

Who'll be left on the roster? Malica Monk, Kiara Williams, Keiryn Swenson, Jailyn Mason, Sydney Stout, and Bailey Zimmerman. 

Now, I like several of those players, but if you are adding just one healthy recruit to that mix? This is epically bad stuff.

Back up the Brinks truck and go get Mike Neighbors and promise him he gets four years to even think about making the tournament.

[BWS]

Mike Neighbors should have been the hire we made three years ago. Arkansas was his dream job. He's in a comfortable position at Washington. The program is in so much bad shape he probably wouldn't take it. Along with the fact that he was passed over for a coach with zero experience coaching women.

[psycHOGlogist]

Mike Neighbors should have been the hire we made three years ago. Arkansas was his dream job. He's in a comfortable position at Washington. The program is in so much bad shape he probably wouldn't take it. Along with the fact that he was passed over for a coach with zero experience coaching women.

Did he actually apply then? If so, he certainly has made the decision to overlook him look incredibly foolish. (Although, recruiting Kelsey Plum would make anyone look pretty good lol.)

[BWS]

Neighbors did interview and was one of the finalists for the job. He already had a reputation for being a solid recruiter having helped sign eight Mcdonalds All-Americans, along with Kelsey Plum. The hiring of Dykes might turn out to be the biggest failure in JL's tenure at Arkansas. Its not really a question of if, but when. If he's not let go this year, it'll certainly be next season. Next year will be so bad JL will have no choice but to make a decision.

[Porked Tongue]

It'd a major surprise if Berna would coach as an asst under Dykes.

He treated her like darn. She got a first hand look at his chauvinistic and arrogant behavior.

[psycHOGlogist]

Neighbors did interview and was one of the finalists for the job. He already had a reputation for being a solid recruiter having helped sign eight Mcdonalds All-Americans, along with Kelsey Plum. The hiring of Dykes might turn out to be the biggest failure in JL's tenure at Arkansas. Its not really a question of if, but when. If he's not let go this year, it'll certainly be next season. Next year will be so bad JL will have no choice but to make a decision.

Did not know that. Damn.

I wonder if JL can grovel enough to get him to apply again and pay him enough to get him to come. Although he's not the only person out there we could go after, he's someone who makes a lot of sense.

[hog63]

It'd a major surprise if Berna would coach as an asst under Dykes.

That will not happen

[flippinhogmana]

It'd a major surprise if Berna would coach as an asst under Dykes.

That will not happen

Calli Berna and Jasmine Bowen were captains as I recall under Dykes his first year.  He didnt listen to them or respect them any more than he did Christy Smith (nor was he at all open to them). 

[BWS]

Speaking of Jashmin Bowen, she's currently a graduate assistant coach at Western Kentucky.