Got it turned around

[elksnort]

I must say that I was not sure whether coach Mike Anderson and staff could get this thing turned around. And my ego's not so much that I mind admitting when I'm wrong. It looks like he has his players that he needs to run his system. The guard play is excellent there are a couple guys that can get it done in the paint, the shooting is on target and the defense looks quick. 

Am I getting my hopes up too much? I know it is just two games into the season. But this team passes the early eye test.

Anyway, for you that supported CMA almost blindly along with the remainder of Razorback fans, I am sharing my positive feelings.

[FineAsSwine]

Anyway, for you that supported CMA almost blindly along with the remainder of Razorback fans, I am sharing my positive feelings.

Well, they say that even a blind Hog finds an acorn every once in a while.

[elksnort]

Well, they say that even a blind Hog finds an acorn every once in a while.

Yeah. You must be saying that I'm the blind hog.  I think this personnel is custom for what he wants. Now the shots have gone down the last couple games. I will be interesting to see what happens when the shots don't go down. But yeah, I like this team

[Knot2brite]

I was ready to get rid of him last year if he didn't make the tourney. He made it and he gets a couple years of reprieve to coach the new kids this year and probably for the next few years. I watched today to see if any changes were made from last year and there were several. I saw block outs and bodies  goingnto rebound and I saw better backside rotation on defense and I saw moving without the ball. Now I also saw all of these things not being done at times but that happens. They have to improve every game...they can't take plays or games off ....they have to become consistent which is something they haven't been in the past ....

[elksnort]

I was ready to get rid of him last year if he didn't make the tourney. He made it and he gets a couple years of reprieve to coach the new kids this year and probably for the next few years. I watched today to see if any changes were made from last year and there were several. I saw block outs and bodies  goingnto rebound and I saw better backside rotation on defense and I saw moving without the ball. Now I also saw all of these things not being done at times but that happens. They have to improve every game...they can't take plays or games off ....they have to become consistent which is something they haven't been in the past ....

Agree. CMA's system is going give up some open looks. And this can drive me absolutely crazy but they seem to rotate really well today.

[BrooklynRoss]

I was ready to get rid of him last year if he didn't make the tourney. He made it and he gets a couple years of reprieve to coach the new kids this year and probably for the next few years. I watched today to see if any changes were made from last year and there were several. I saw block outs and bodies  goingnto rebound and I saw better backside rotation on defense and I saw moving without the ball. Now I also saw all of these things not being done at times but that happens. They have to improve every game...they can't take plays or games off ....they have to become consistent which is something they haven't been in the past ....

Yeah, good points. The defensive rebounding tonight was one positive that stuck out in my mind. Even though we beat a good team by 30, there's a lot to learn from this game. The whole second half we could have played way better. Edit: I'm friends with Mike so I'm severely biased.

[FineAsSwine]

Yeah. You must be saying that I'm the blind hog.  I think this personnel is custom for what he wants. Now the shots have gone down the last couple games. I will be interesting to see what happens when the shots don't go down. But yeah, I like this team

No, I was referring to the people who you said were supporting CMA almost blindly.

[forrest city joe]

Bottom line is after the back to back losses to Mizzo and Vandy last year,some of you guys wanted Mike Fired.and i was one of the few folks who said Hell no!i knew Mike would get it foxed. now you can see the program building and building.getting better recruits.and Mike doing a great job of coaching them.i knew you folks would be proven wrong when you wanted him fired.now just sit back and enjoy all the winning.

[elksnort]

I do think the four position might be critical in order for this team to really do something special

[hawgball40]

I was ready to get rid of him last year if he didn't make the tourney. He made it and he gets a couple years of reprieve to coach the new kids this year and probably for the next few years. I watched today to see if any changes were made from last year and there were several. I saw block outs and bodies  goingnto rebound and I saw better backside rotation on defense and I saw moving without the ball. Now I also saw all of these things not being done at times but that happens. They have to improve every game...they can't take plays or games off ....they have to become consistent which is something they haven't been in the past ....

That's a fair critique. I agree to some extent. But I was never ready to fire him. I will say during the LSU and Vandy games last year i honestly thought he had lost the team. But, they salvaged the season and that tells me that he possess the important quality of perseverance. Some of you will call for his head anytime there is the least bit of uncertainty or a set back for the program, but as for me last season seals it that he is the right man for the job. he could have easily folded and had a good bleed, but instead he made changes, found ways to motivate that team and they went on to win 26 games and challenge UNC in the tourney. It doesn't get more razorback then that

[azhog10]

I do think the four position might be critical in order for this team to really do something special

Agreed. Bailey has played well. He's started both games strong for us and Gabe O has provided a spark with his energy and ability to draw charges. Not to mention a dunk in each game. As Gafford adjusts to the officiating he will only improve our offensive ability.

[elksnort]

Bottom line is after the back to back losses to Mizzo and Vandy last year,some of you guys wanted Mike Fired.and i was one of the few folks who said Hell no!i knew Mike would get it foxed. now you can see the program building and building.getting better recruits.and Mike doing a great job of coaching them.i knew you folks would be proven wrong when you wanted him fired.now just sit back and enjoy all the winning.

Well Joe, some of us are at least man enough to admit when we might be wrong. I know when I saw it it was not working then.
But now is now.

[hawgball40]

Bottom line is after the back to back losses to Mizzo and Vandy last year,some of you guys wanted Mike Fired.and i was one of the few folks who said Hell no!i knew Mike would get it foxed. now you can see the program building and building.getting better recruits.and Mike doing a great job of coaching them.i knew you folks would be proven wrong when you wanted him fired.now just sit back and enjoy all the winning.

a part of him fixing it was the defensive changes. and a number of the posters who raised concerns had valid concerns about not having the talent and length to press, needing to hide our weakest defenders in the back of the zone etc. The system needed some tweaks for modern cbb. And to his credit, Mike made the necessary changes. Now what goes ignored mostly is that he got that team to pull together after many breakdowns midseason. and it paid off towards the end of year, down 30 points in the tourney and they just roared back like it was nothing.

[forrest city joe]

Well Joe, some of us are at least man enough to admit when we might be wrong. I know when I saw it it was not working then.
But now is now.

At least you admit it.so i will give you that.just good to see one of the two major programs winning.basketball program is in great hands.

[ErieHog]

They're looking very good against some historically solid competition.
It'll be nice to see them play top flight competition soon, to get a better measure of where they are.

[Hoggish1]

Bottom line is after the back to back losses to Mizzo and Vandy last year,some of you guys wanted Mike Fired.and i was one of the few folks who said Hell no!i knew Mike would get it foxed. now you can see the program building and building.getting better recruits.and Mike doing a great job of coaching them.i knew you folks would be proven wrong when you wanted him fired.now just sit back and enjoy all the winning.

No doubt in my mind that Mike got it foxed!  This is the year to make hay while the sun shines...

[rzrbackramsfan]

Well hopefully they make you all the just switched over to the CMA bandwagon happy this year bc next year will be a rebuilding year.  They won't be NC contender like they are this year IMO next year

[elksnort]

They're looking very good against some historically solid competition.
It'll be nice to see them play top flight competition soon, to get a better measure of where they are.

Absolutely. I don't want to go all beat Texas and beat Oklahoma and then lose the next 15 like Pelphrey'sy's team did multiple years ago. 

[elksnort]

Well hopefully they make you all the just switched over to the CMA bandwagon happy this year bc next year will be a rebuilding year.  They won't be NC contender like they are this year IMO next year

wow. Take a step at a time. Nc contender ?

[rzrbackramsfan]

wow. Take a step at a time. Nc contender ?

Check out my signature.  I predicted we'll win 30+ games this year alloonngg way back.  If that happens, sure, we're a contender. 

[elksnort]

Check out my signature.  I predicted we'll win 30+ games this year alloonngg way back.  If that happens, sure, we're a contender. 

Well. Hope you're right.

[forrest city joe]

Well hopefully they make you all the just switched over to the CMA bandwagon happy this year bc next year will be a rebuilding year.  They won't be NC contender like they are this year IMO next year

They are not a NC contender this year.slow down with that stuff.we don't need to be getting ahead of ourselves.good programs don't rebuild.they reload.so worry about next year when it gets here.

[Letsroll1200]

You could see that Mike was getting his pieces in place to play his style. If this team can stick together they have a chance to be special. They're playing with a level of confidence that I haven't seen since Portis, Clarke, Madden and Qualls left.
Let's get behind this program!

[PonderinHog]

It looks like we can compete with anybody.  We'll lose some games, but we'll put the fear of the hog in every team we play this year.  They had better bring their A-game, because more times than not, we're gonna bring ours.

[Oklahawg]

It is a damn fine looking team, that's for sure. A welcome tonic for hog fans and a group I will enjoy watching this winter.

[theFlyingHog]

We smashed Bucknell and I thought we aren't as polished as we will be. This team wil gel more and run some teams back to their busses with their tails between their legs

[rhog1]

We are going to lose some games this year, but this team is fun to watch. I really hope we get that rematch with North Carolina.

[HogFoo]

This is a good team.  Yes, it is better than some had thought.  I kind of figured they would be a great team, but I wasn't quite expecting them to look this good until mid to late season.  Now, I didn't have them losing these last 2 games, but I wasn't expecting them to blow these 2 teams up by 30+ either.  I figured more like 10-15pt wins.  I know our shots aren't going to be falling all the time, but the beauty of it is that we have a lot of guys who can score.  Gafford is going to just get better and better.  CJ has been who ive hoped would he would be so far.  I thought he might be the X factor to how good this team could be and so far so good.  Hall is coming along well,  Adrio has stepped up and improved, itll be nice to see him continue to improve.  Beard looked better,  Thompson is kind of like a floor commander.  He reminds me of of Big O with his hands and passing ability.     Macon & Barford..... what can we say... except, just pure awesome!  they both have the ability to drive and slash when their outside shots aren't falling.  But when their shots are falling from outside, then look for blowouts in nearly every game!    I cant imagine how much better we'll be depth wise when Thomas comes back and cook, especially if he has made any kind of improvement over last season, which I'm going to take a leap of faith here and say that he has.   And, then Garland.  I really don't think he'll be cleared this season, I figured he'll be redshirted.  but, who knows, I was under the impression that between Hall and Garland , that he was the best o the two. So, if he DOES get cleared and plays this season, look out!  May be the best team we've had In a while. 

of course, we'll eventually play someone with a lot of depth, and  a lot of bigs, and a lot of talent, and able to play good defense.  Then we'll see how it goes when we have to try to score inside because they take our outside shot away.  hopefully by then, Gafford will have developed some inside game.  I mean, he looked good tonight with that floater he kept dropping in, so, potential looks great.   i'm just very excited about this team.  it's good to be good again, and possibly great.   I look forward to the little tourney thing were going to play in and have a chance to get to UNC.  man what sweet revenge that would be.  it's like destined for us to play each other.  watch us kick their ass !  hahaha.. that'd be sweet!  but not as sweet as it would be if we could play them in march and kick their ass then!  anyways, enjoy the ride guys!   time for good times ahead!  #wps