I'm confused how much negative toward the bball team

[Letsroll1200]

True, but this is only his 5th season there while Mike is in his 6th. I noticed however, that one of his best players has just been suspended indefinitely so that will make things more difficult for him.

5 years no NCAA. Mike did it in 4 years.

[nwahogfan1]

People were disappointed by the team's performance at Minnesota, where last night Vanderbilt led at half and ended up losing by 4. Vandy lost a lot of talent and has a first-year head coach playing a new system. The Commodores had a 6-point lead late in the game before fading.

Southern Illinois played Minnesota better than Arkansas did. It was a terrible performance, and fans were naturally upset by the Razorbacks going into an important game and completely flopping, trailing by as many as 21 and never making a serious comeback.

Performances against Mount St. Mary's and Stephen F. Austin were inconsistent for various reasons. Then we saw MA make several, highly effective strategic and rotational changes last night. This was the best development season to date.

Our closing out on 3 point shooters is horrible.  Many of our opponents shoot their best 3 point pct. when playing us. Our switching on the outside with our Centers creating mismatches is horrible.  Usually our offensive rebounding is sub par not allowing us to get 2nd chance points.   I know we did better against Austin Peay but they are not a SEC or Big 10 school.

We need to continue to get better on the boards and score better on the inside to smooth out the bumps when we are not shooting well from the outside that night.

[Swinesong1]

One coach in particular who was available that could have turned this program around is in his 5th season at his current SEC University and his team is a serious threat to win at least a share of the SEC title this year. Let that sink in.

You have been pimping Martin EVERY year since his SC hire.  Every year, nothing.  Dude is 20 games below .500 in SEC play thus far.  Anderson is eight games over .500.  Martin has not been to the NCAAs yet.  Anderson has.  This is typical Hogville/Jumpball logic!

[swinesation]

If you have a good roster, then turn in efforts like Iowa State-Clemson in Dec. 2014, or Minnesota this season, nobody will brush that off as acceptable efforts....

Whatever, the only thing Arkansas can do to revive fan enthusiasm is to become a classic Razorback team and destroy the ordinary, rise to the level of the great ones. Underperforming their talent level won't ever do it.

That's the point - this isn't a very good roster. They won't rise to the level of the great ones. It's not a bad roster, and I suspect they'll get better as the season progresses, but there's no elite talent on this roster, unless it's hidden in a couple of guys called C.J. and Adrio (a la Michael Qualls).

I know people get sick of hearing "wait till next year," but in this case it's the best perspective. With the recruiting classes signed and committed for the next two (and probably three) years, it would be idiotic to blow this thing up now.

You're setting yourself up for disappointment and frustration by saying "we better win at Houston, or else!" We may or may not win at Houston. It's going to be an up and down season with mixed results. Seems to me like it would be better as fans for us to enjoy the ride, get excited about the potential of guys like C.J. Jones and Adrio Bailey. IMO, if you can't do that this year, you're just asking for pain and frustration.

[hogman99]

That's the point - this isn't a very good roster. They won't rise to the level of the great ones. It's not a bad roster, and I suspect they'll get better as the season progresses, but there's no elite talent on this roster, unless it's hidden in a couple of guys called C.J. and Adrio (a la Michael Qualls).

I know people get sick of hearing "wait till next year," but in this case it's the best perspective. With the recruiting classes signed and committed for the next two (and probably three) years, it would be idiotic to blow this thing up now.

You're setting yourself up for disappointment and frustration by saying "we better win at Houston, or else!" We may or may not win at Houston. It's going to be an up and down season with mixed results. Seems to me like it would be better as fans for us to enjoy the ride, get excited about the potential of guys like C.J. Jones and Adrio Bailey. IMO, if you can't do that this year, you're just asking for pain and frustration.

So then next year you won't be posting the excuse that "We lost Moses and these young big guys are going to need time"?   

I agree recruiting has picked up. Let's hope they can coach them to succeed in the modern game that is not #fastest40. 

[HognitiveDissonance]

You have been pimping Martin EVERY year since his SC hire.  Every year, nothing.  Dude is 20 games below .500 in SEC play thus far.  Anderson is eight games over .500.  Martin has not been to the NCAAs yet.  Anderson has.  This is typical Hogville/Jumpball logic!

I can't believe I agree with Swingsong1 on anything.

But there it is. I don't get the Frank Martin man-love either.

He's had a nice career at K-State and now S Carolina, but really hasn't done much to deserve the accolades he's getting here.

[HognitiveDissonance]

Meanwhile Arkansas' current RPI is 20

Way too early to be looking at RPI, but I'm pleasantly surprised by that. That's encouraging.

Normally I don't check RPI until February.

[HognitiveDissonance]

Houston and Texas will give us an indication what direction we are headed. Lose those and we would have to have a killer SEC record to make the tourney. Would be great to win 2/3 from OSU/Texas/Houston.

Road or neutral site games are really the only thing that's going to perk up fans' attention.
We've seen great home wins every single year.
Even last year, a 16-16 team beat the #4 team Texas A&M at home. Arkansas is always, always tough at home. Home wins over good teams are always exciting and encouraging and not to take them for granted, but they simply won't move my needle.
Road performance is always the bellweather for the quality of a team.
Texas is a great opportunity for a quality win and chance to spark some interest. Texas also looks beatable, as they lost to UT-Arlington, a team Ark beat.

[hobhog]

So then next year you won't be posting the excuse that "We lost Moses and these young big guys are going to need time"?   

I agree recruiting has picked up. Let's hope they can coach them to succeed in the modern game that is not #fastest40. 

This

[JayBell]

I know people get sick of hearing "wait till next year," but in this case it's the best perspective. With the recruiting classes signed and committed for the next two (and probably three) years, it would be idiotic to blow this thing up now.

If Anderson can't get this team to the NCAAT with all of the talent it has, it'd be idiotic to think he can do more with less over the next two seasons while he builds with those classes.

The argument is whether you let Anderson build for another 2-3 years to have a good team every four years or you find a better coach who can produce more regularly after the same 2-3 year rebuilding phase.  And with the right coach, you shouldn't even need that long.  Certainly not eight years.

[HF#1]

Do you retain or release coaches based on recruiting results alone? No, at some point you have to look at the product being put on the court. Anderson may have and get top 10 classes the next two years, but if he can't turn that into results on the court, we are wasting time.  You can't keep pointing to future or current recruiting classes while we are putting up clunkers like we did against Minnesota.

[HoopS]

Do you retain or release coaches based on recruiting results alone? No, at some point you have to look at the product being put on the court. Anderson may have and get top 10 classes the next two years, but if he can't turn that into results on the court, we are wasting time.  You can't keep pointing to future or current recruiting classes while we are putting up clunkers like we did against Minnesota.

or we could actually let this season play out and then react.

[HF#1]

or we could actually let this season play out and then react.

True enough. I'm not necessarily reacting, just throwing the question out there. If we fail to make the tournament this season, give Mike 2 more seasons because his recruiting classes have a decent amount of stars attached to them, and he still fails, we have basically wasted 8-9 years.  Pelphrey made the tournament as many times as Mike has thus far.

[HognitiveDissonance]

Do you retain or release coaches based on recruiting results alone? No, at some point you have to look at the product being put on the court. Anderson may have and get top 10 classes the next two years, but if he can't turn that into results on the court, we are wasting time.  You can't keep pointing to future or current recruiting classes while we are putting up clunkers like we did against Minnesota.

Mixed response on this.

The Portis/Qualls team won 27 games. Not sure they could have done better than that. Combined with Madden, Harris, Beard, etc that team was talented, but not overly so, and Anderson parlayed that into the NCAAs and a season 98% of people were pleased with. So he has shown with good talent things can be done.

Of course, the flip side of that is that it was one good year out of five, and you're talking about possibly year 8 or 9 for all these recruits to get here. That raises the question of should you give every coach 8 or 9 years?

Me, I'm not necessarily opposed flat-out to let him coach these recruits coming in, but I do have concerns about fairness and equal opportunity. I wasn't opposed, either, to letting Pelphrey coach his Top 20 recruiting class and see what happened, but he wasn't given that opportunity, so that concerns me some. He didn't even get a fifth year when 'help was on the way', supposedly. All of these classes are on paper.

[HF#1]

Mixed response on this.

The Portis/Qualls team won 27 games. Not sure they could have done better than that. Combined with Madden, Harris, Beard, etc that team was talented, but not overly so, and Anderson parlayed that into the NCAAs and a season 98% of people were pleased with. So he has shown with good talent things can be done.

Of course, the flip side of that is that it was one good year out of five, and you're talking about possibly year 8 or 9 for all these recruits to get here. That raises the question of should you give every coach 8 or 9 years?

Me, I'm not necessarily opposed flat-out to let him coach these recruits coming in, but I do have concerns about fairness and equal opportunity. I wasn't opposed, either, to letting Pelphrey coach his Top 20 recruiting class and see what happened, but he wasn't given that opportunity, so that concerns me some. He didn't even get a fifth year when 'help was on the way', supposedly. All of these classes are on paper.

Let's play the hypothetical game. Say we do not make the tournament this season and Mike keeps on trucking. Name any other coach that would survive? 1 tournament appearance in 6 years. Only Mike Anderson at Arkansas with Jeff Long as the AD, could survive such a resume no?

[MountieDawg]

I'm excited for Houston on Tuesday night.  Maybe a few more will be in the stands and we can get the building to rockin'.

Haven't heard much about Houston, is Drexler and Olajowan still there?  Never mind, I looked it up on Wikipedia, they have been to 1 NCAAT in the last 23 years. 

[hogsanity]

or we could actually let this season play out and then react.

we could, but of course as soon as they lost to MN, we started seeing threads about just holding on until the 2018 class gets here. As I have said before, the loss to MN was not really a big deal, early season road loss to a p5 conf teams, it was the HOW they lost that was troubling.

[HoopS]

we could, but of course as soon as they lost to MN, we started seeing threads about just holding on until the 2018 class gets here. As I have said before, the loss to MN was not really a big deal, early season road loss to a p5 conf teams, it was the HOW they lost that was troubling.

no it really wasn't. But you guys freaked out.

[Kevin]

no it really wasn't. But you guys freaked out.

so watching them lose, doing the same thing they have done the blast five years is not a concern

[razoredge178]

So then next year you won't be posting the excuse that "We lost Moses and these young big guys are going to need time"?   

I agree recruiting has picked up. Let's hope they can coach them to succeed in the modern game that is not #fastest40. 

Lets wait until the dust settles and see who makes it on campus, and on court (not in court).

You certainly can't build any staying power around JUCO transfers, so I hope that ship has sailed. What a band aid this is??

[hogsanity]

so watching them lose, doing the same thing they have done the blast five years is not a concern

Not to a handful of guys on here. They are still holding on thinking we are going to see a return to 1990-1996, and it just is not going to happen. The think the trapping, the poor rebounding, the switching, the hand checking, the leaving guys open for 3's is all okay because it is all part of hawgbawl.

[HoopS]

Not to a handful of guys on here. They are still holding on thinking we are going to see a return to 1990-1996, and it just is not going to happen. The think the trapping, the poor rebounding, the switching, the hand checking, the leaving guys open for 3's is all okay because it is all part of hawgbawl.

soeak for yourself. You don't know me.

so watching them lose, doing the same thing they have done the blast five years is not a concern

if hogsnaity doesn't mind, I will answer what you asked ME.


I've already addressed it but we actually outrebounded them and fouls were close with both making 18 FT. So those issues that we've so often seen haunt us didn't kill us.

Communication did. Turnovers and many of which were just communication errors killed us several times. On set plays, and yes they ran set plays, we had guys miscut or mistime movements. All of that matters. And all was seen and can be worked on.

[elksnort]

no it really wasn't. But you guys freaked out.

Actually, Hogsanity has maintained the same position regarding CMA led basketball program from the get go. Not that he needs my defense. Other folks did freak out, but this is the name of the game on this board for many.

CMA's errors/shortcomings seem to never change.

[HoopS]

Actually, Hogsanity has maintained the same position regarding CMA led basketball program from the get go. Not that he needs my defense. Other folks did freak out, but this is the name of the game on this board for many.

CMA's errors/shortcomings seem to never change.

I am very familiar with him. Familiar enough to know he never wanted Mike and he rarely watches games but always has an opinion on what happened such as the Minn game. But whatever. Doesn't matter what any of us think. I will watch again tonight. And the next game. And will attend the Texas game. By then, we should have a better handle on how we may fare.

[JayBell]

CMA's errors/shortcomings seem to never change.

I want Anderson to have success at Arkansas however he can come by it.  That said, his rigidity has always really bugged me.  I know coaches have their preferences and their own personal styles and systems, but Anderson hasn't changed one thing about his approach to the game at least since he got to Arkansas and it's probably been way longer than that.  Two things I want to see from a coach: A) get the most out of their players, and B) be able to adapt.  I think he's definitely failed on B, but I do believe he got the most out of the team during at least two of his five seasons.

It's fine to be stubborn when you are very successful.  Win 25 games a year and go to the NCAAT every season, nobody is going to complain.  But when your system gets you to one NCAAT in five years (and possibly longer), I think you have to be willing to make some changes.  So far, Anderson has shown a reluctance to change anything.

[elksnort]

I want Anderson to have success at Arkansas however he can come by it.  That said, his rigidity has always really bugged me.  I know coaches have their preferences and their own personal styles and systems, but Anderson hasn't changed one thing about his approach to the game at least since he got to Arkansas and it's probably been way longer than that.  Two things I want to see from a coach: A) get the most out of their players, and B) be able to adapt.  I think he's definitely failed on B, but I do believe he got the most out of the team during at least two of his five seasons.

It's fine to be stubborn when you are very successful.  Win 25 games a year and go to the NCAAT every season, nobody is going to complain.  But when your system gets you to one NCAAT in five years (and possibly longer), I think you have to be willing to make some changes.  So far, Anderson has shown a reluctance to change anything.

Excellent explanation. Think about Don Shula with the running game in the early 70s then he gets Marino and they become Air Corielle (sp). The good to great coaches adjust, even radically at times when needed.

[Kevin]

soeak for yourself. You don't know me. if hogsnaity doesn't mind, I will answer what you asked ME.


I've already addressed it but we actually outrebounded them and fouls were close with both making 18 FT. So those issues that we've so often seen haunt us didn't kill us.

Communication did. Turnovers and many of which were just communication errors killed us several times. On set plays, and yes they ran set plays, we had guys miscut or mistime movements. All of that matters. And all was seen and can be worked on.

I would like to know what those numbers looked like while the gophers built their 17 point half time lead

[DeltaBoy]

I think you're being disingenuous.  We've won two NCAA tournament games since 2000.   People are negative about that fact.  A lot of us remember Hogs teams that would win two tournament games in a single weekend.

Arkansas had many, many good teams under Sutton and Richardson.  These days, not so much.  People are negative about it.

I'm happy that good recruits are on the way, and I hope those kids turn the whole thing around.   Have a good evening.   Go Hogs.   :razorback:

This we been on a Nearly 25 year drought of poor basketball.

[HoopS]

I would like to know what those numbers looked like while the gophers built their 17 point half time lead

I don't know but we couldn't buy a shot. Some was a credit to them and some was just on us. We also had some untimely turnovers and again, some forced and some unforced.

[jjdlc]

I don't know but we couldn't buy a shot. Some was a credit to them and some was just on us. We also had some untimely turnovers and again, some forced and some unforced.

We also went 4 or 5 straight possessions without even taking a shot due to turnovers.  That 10 minute stretch was a complete disaster.

[hogsanity]

I am very familiar with him. Familiar enough to know he never wanted Mike and he rarely watches games but always has an opinion on what happened such as the Minn game. But whatever. Doesn't matter what any of us think. I will watch again tonight. And the next game. And will attend the Texas game. By then, we should have a better handle on how we may fare.

I have watched every game this year except the SIU game. I will watch tonight's game as well. It is not that I rarely watch, I rarely attend in person.

And, You can note by my posts during and after the Mn game, I did not freak, I actually said the loss to MN, in the context of this season, was not a huge deal.

[HoopS]

I have watched every game this year except the SIU game. I will watch tonight's game as well. It is not that I rarely watch, I rarely attend in person.

And, You can note by my posts during and after the Mn game, I did not freak, I actually said the loss to MN, in the context of this season, was not a huge deal.

I was speaking from the memory of some comments you made in the past about watching games. Going to games or not being able to means nothing in regards to fandom to me. Some just can't.

I hated the loss to them. It didn't surprise me. Where I differ from many here is I believe that loss had a lot to do with early season chemistry and Zimmerman did too.

[Swinesong1]

The same people waiting for results complained throughout the NCAA season. Winning won't change that with y'all.  A coaching change is what you want.  Just be honest and quit the B.S.!

[hogsanity]

The same people waiting for results complained throughout the NCAA season. Winning won't change that with y'all.  A coaching change is what you want.  Just be honest and quit the B.S.!

I've been pretty honest about that.

[Kevin]

make the ncaa tournament, happy
don't-he needs to go

[HoopS]

make the ncaa tournament, happy
don't-he needs to go

you wouldn't get An argument from me.

I'm just a fan of letting a season play out, support them along the way and then re-evaluate when the final horn sounds.

[Swinesong1]

I've been pretty honest about that.

And I respect that.  Talking about the others who hide behind that statement.

[hawgfan4life]

Let me get this straight!  South Carolina has a chance of sharing an SEC title this year and is in a much better place as a program because of their coach than AR is because of our coach.  Who will USC be sharing that title with?  Why do they have a chance to share the title any more than AR does at this point in the season?

Martin has won a career best 63% of his games to Anderson's 65%
Martin has won 55% of his SEC games compared to Anderson's 62%.
Martin has won one more game so far this season than Anderson.  History might just be on Anderson's side.

[Swinesong1]

Let me get this straight!  South Carolina has a chance of sharing an SEC title this year and is in a much better place as a program because of their coach than AR is because of our coach.  Who will USC be sharing that title with?  Why do they have a chance to share the title any more than AR does at this point in the season?

Martin has won a career best 63% of his games to Anderson's 65%
Martin has won 55% of his SEC games compared to Anderson's 62%.
Martin has won one more game so far this season than Anderson.  History might just be on Anderson's side.

You SEC win % for Martin is waaaaaaaay off.

[HogBreath]

Let me get this straight!  South Carolina has a chance of sharing an SEC title this year and is in a much better place as a program because of their coach than AR is because of our coach.  Who will USC be sharing that title with?  Why do they have a chance to share the title any more than AR does at this point in the season?

Martin has won a career best 63% of his games to Anderson's 65%
Martin has won 55% of his SEC games compared to Anderson's 62%.
Martin has won one more game so far this season than Anderson.  History might just be on Anderson's side.

Better double check your numbers, Martin has won 36% of his SEC games at South Carolina, while Mike has won 54% here.  Martin only won 15 conference games in his first 3 seasons there.

[poloprince]

It's mostly people who have an agenda or those that swear Ark is an elite program that can attract any coach in America. Yet I remember a hiring firm found Pelphrey. Go figure man. 7-1 :razorback:

[AirForceHog]

Not today haters. WPS!

[hobhog]

The same people waiting for results complained throughout the NCAA season. Winning won't change that with y'all.  A coaching change is what you want.  Just be honest and quit the B.S.!

I am pretty much in that boat. I still don't think he is man for job, but I'm not going to complain if we get on track. Still don't believe it but sure is more fun to watch us win than lose.

[GuvHog]

Better double check your numbers, Martin has won 36% of his SEC games at South Carolina, while Mike has won 54% here.  Martin only won 15 conference games in his first 3 seasons there.

Add Martin's numbers at Kansas State and the numbers he posted are correct.

The Hogs are 7-1 though, and you gotta like that!

[HogBreath]

Add Martin's numbers at Kansas State and the numbers he posted are correct.

The Hogs are 7-1 though, and you gotta like that!

I'm terrible at reading someone's mind..I was just basing that on what he actually posted.  Sorry.

[Swinesong1]

Add Martin's numbers at Kansas State and the numbers he posted are correct.

The Hogs are 7-1 though, and you gotta like that!

Bless your heart!  You're really grasping at straws aren't you?  He said SEC games.  Who cares how he did in another conference?  You've been saying for five years he was a great coach and recruiter!  That you prefer him over Anderson.  Yet, he's some 20 games under .500 in SEC play!

[RealHog]

Good win today

[poloprince]

The same people waiting for results complained throughout the NCAA season. Winning won't change that with y'all.  A coaching change is what you want.  Just be honest and quit the B.S.!

[hawgfan4life]

Martin's coaching record:

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/frank-martin-1.html

If those stats are wrong, then I stand corrected.  I did make the mistake of stating SEC games when I mean't overall winning percent while coaching in the SEC.  Regardless, my mistake evidently made him look better than those correcting my stats indicate. 
   

[NWAHog479]

Who cares about Martin, get your butt in a seat at Bud Walton and support these Razorbacks even if you don't like CMA  :razorback: