Coach CBB's unprecedented support ?

[Hoggard]

First of all I want to thank the moderators for approving my account. I would also like to thank all the posters here for what has been months of entertainment. Yes, I have stalked this board for sometime. And I want to use this chance to pose a few questions and then give my opinions.

I have been a Hog fan for as long as I was able to walk and talk. Which is a very very long time. And it seems to me that CBB has received more support than ANY coach in the history of our program.

First let me address the question of support. Frank Broyles is a legacy but it has been suggested by many on here that he had a tendency to meddle in the program. As many former coaches turned AD seem to do (see Barry Alvarez). So coaches like Lou Holtz, Ken Hatfield and Danny Ford and even HDN may have had their support confined to the opinions and wants of a former coach. One who unfortunately seemed to have an idea that the program was somewhat limited in its ability to compete in the mighty SEC. His comments in Dallas about the programs financial ranking seemed to support the idea that Frank felt as though we needed more resources to compete.  CBB is working with more resources and more support than any coach I can recall. His recruiting is the best we have had since Danny Ford.

Thanks to the SEC network and the success of the conference Arkansas has more resources than any time in its history. CBB is without question bringing in more talent than any coach in the history of our program. But why ?  Putting resources and meddling AD's aside could there be a few more reasons ? I think so.....

1. Petrino. Like him or not Bobby showed that Arkansas could compete on the National stage and in the SEC. The success he enjoyed on the field had to open a lot of eyes and pockets around the natural state. We were no longer poor old Arkansaw. He made us relevant. And proved it COULD be done at Arkansas. Now that doesn't excuse his actions. But I believe there is a correlation.

After firing him Long and the University knew they had to find a coach who could eventually enjoy the same level of success. And if you want to save face then what better way than to give the new coach all the Jimmy's and Joes needed to win ?

2.   CBB. Unlike Petrino Bielema has a way with people. He has a way with the media, the parents, and the fans. I doubt you will ever hear Long complain about not being able to enjoy practice as long as CBB is in charge. Bielema has an uncanny ability to make everyone in the room like him. Which was a refreshing change for everyone after having to deal with little napoleon. Bielmas success at Wisconsin with putting people in the NFL (especially offensive lineman) was not a fluke. He's at it again in Arkansas. Fans love his smash mouth style of football. They love his brutal honesty. And I can only imagine the support he gets from boosters who see that Bielema is a lot like Frank.

Bielemas ability to hire very good assistants. As mentioned above CBB is much like Broyles they are both very good at hiring top notch assistant coaches. See Rob Smith and soon Dan Enos. Who is also a top notch recruiter.

3. The media love for CBB. The media loved CBB at Wisconsin. To the point they are constantly referring to us as Wisconsin. The love for our head coach from ESPN has definitely been good for our program.

IMO Arkansas will be in the title hunt this year and in the years to come. And CBB's unprecedented support is imo one of  the biggest reasons. If Malik Monk were a football player I believe he would have already committed !! That is not a shot at Mike. Its a compliment to CBB. The RN is finally healing from foi's , the springdale 5 , the infamous golden handcuffs and Harleygate. All thanks to CBB.

One final thought. As a long time stalker I have noticed a new trend of more tolerance towards posters who have different opinions. And its one of the reasons I finally decided to post. It seems there was a period of time where it was unacceptable to say anything positive about former coaches. Which isn't something I understood. I never care if a thread goes off track. It only makes for more enjoyable reading. And I never care if someone appreciates a former coach. I may not share their opinion, but I still enjoy reading them. For example Mike Anderson. Many in jump ball seem to think the sky is falling. Not so. No coach does more with less than Mike. Do I believe he needs an ace recruiter on his staff ? Yes. But he's a much better coach than he gets credit for. I am the furthest thing from an expert so all I have is my opinion. But what I have noticed during Mikes short tenure at Arkansas is that other coaches have to adapt to beat him. Am I the only one who noticed Kentucky's new platoon system ? The media raved about Cal's platoon system last year. But not one media member noted that Cal HAD to go to a platoon system to compete against the platoon system Anderson was already using. Even in the NCAA tourney Ol Roy (no offense to your dog Sam) changed what he normally does and played his bench more. To me thats a sign of a great coach. When other coaches change what they normally do to compete with your team, you have a great coach. Even if you can't see the gradual improvements Mike has made from year to year.

With regard to the current situation all sickness is NOT death as NR was fond of saying. My grandfather was also fond of saying that the darkest hour means dawn is just in sight. One he took from an old gospel song. And thats the way I look at things for our BB program. Mike WILL turn things around and Jeff WILL allow him the time to do it. Does it bother me when posters run down Mike ? No, I get a laugh out of it. The last thing I would want to do is ban the people whose posts give me so many laughs.

Kudos to the mods here for being more patient with those with different opinions. It hasn't gone unnoticed. And it has improved the pleasure I get from reading hogville. I'm not offended by people who like Pelphrey or people who liked Nutt or even people who liked Petrino. Each one of those coaches made contributions and I enjoyed watching all of their teams compete. I have no reason to run former coaches down and don't understand the need to do so. To each his own.



Back to stalking.....

Hoggard out.

[NuttinItUp]

Who is Hoggard?



(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

[rhames]

Yeah I didn't read that but welcome!

[HF#1]

No way I'm reading that but I'm sure it's a great post with tons of valid points to which I care about none of them.

[BPsTheMan]

[MuckyPig]

+1
My friend

From a professional lurker to another...

Well said.

[bigbadhog]

John List???

[ricepig]

So, you're saying Hoggard is the little girl in that photo?

[ICEman]

Calipari emulating Anderson might be a bit of a stretch.  Nine McDonald's All-Americans on one team laden with all-American egos and the need for playing time might have necessitated the Kentucky platooning system.

[Hoggard]

Calipari emulating Anderson might be a bit of a stretch.  Nine McDonald's All-Americans on one team laden with all-American egos and the need for playing time might have necessitated the Kentucky platooning system.

We can agree to disagree. Cal has always had tons of talent and played 7 or 8 deep before he started losing to Mike.

[hoglady]

I read every word and thought it was a great post.
Welcome to Hogville!!

[Hoggard]

Thank you hoglady 

[hoglady]

Thank you hoglady 

You're welcome.

[Tom in Fort Worth]

I couldn't be happier with the coaching staff across the board right now, and I hope it stays in tact.  I think Long has put the athletic program across the board in position for success. Enjoyed the read....

[redeye]

I have been a Hog fan for as long as I was able to walk and talk. Which is a very very long time.

Your opinions don't sound like they come from someone who's very old?

Regardless, welcome!  I'm sure we've had a Hoggard before.  Sure you're not him?

I think the board's more tolerant, because the mods cleaned it up.  They can afford to be more tolerant, until the trolls start turning every thread into a pissing match.

Just something to keep in mind.

[Hawgey-Davidson]

Welcome to the board.

[LAHOG1962]

great post hoggard

[JIHawg]

We need stuff like this to read in July.  Welcome.

[Cinco de Hogo]

Welcome to the board Hoggard, you fit right in...somewhere between Hogfrank and Hoghat. 

[Hoggard]

Your opinions don't sound like they come from someone who's very old?

Regardless, welcome!  I'm sure we've had a Hoggard before.  Sure you're not him?

I think the board's more tolerant, because the mods cleaned it up.  They can afford to be more tolerant, until the trolls start turning every thread into a pissing match.

Just something to keep in mind.

Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome. And I am not the other Hoggard ? As far as how old, I am 45. And I am glad that cleaning the board up has made such a difference. I know for a while I lurked and really didn't want to post anything because I noticed there were a handful of posters that just attacked everyone and everything. Some of those posters are still here. But its not as bad as it once was, so I figured I'd try putting my opinions here. Again thanks everyone.

Funny stuff Cinco 

[ICEman]

We can agree to disagree. Cal has always had tons of talent and played 7 or 8 deep before he started losing to Mike.

OK, welcome to Hogville!

[Bigdavis]

I think Petrino had the same level of support. I remember that Georgia game in Feyetteville that we ended up losing was ridiculously packed with people excited to the Petrino offense with a real quarterback. Now I will say that from all I've read about Petrino that support probably wouldn't have lasted more than a few years. From all I've heard and read, his personality and the way he treats people wears thin pretty fast.

I think agree with you that Bielema seems to be a guy that people will like more and more as time goes on. He seems to know how to treat people.

[flagstaffhog]

Welcome aboard. Post more. +1

Go HOGS Go!

[hawgbawb]

Welcome and good observations, Hoggard.

[Razor6]

The internet and social media game is right up CBB's alley as well.

He is using this resource and helping our university and himself.

The timing of CBB and the growth and development of Instagram/Twitter/etc couldn't be any better for Arkansas.

[RedSkiesAtNightHog]

Welcome Hoggard!  Good post!

[Johnny Razorback]

Hoggard - when are we going to hit the links again??  Still remember you hitting the flagstick on the par 3 in the scramble at River Oaks.  Here's to hoping Grice, you and I can catch a game this year!

[MissippHog]

Who is Hoggard?
(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

I think I found him.

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

I think I found him.

You should definitely use that avatar Hoggard...

[PonderinHog]

I think I found him.

Perfect!

[goodguytex]

Great post Hoggard. I think I agree with your observations on pretty much all of it.

[sowmonella]

Nice post. Welcome :razorback:

[hawgwash]

No way I'm reading that but I'm sure it's a great post with tons of valid points to which I care about none of them.

Your loss. Great post Hoggard. +1

[BDSCT51]

 Nice work and welcome to this bit of internet sanity/insanity!

[BorderPatrol]

...

3. The media love for CBB. The media loved CBB at Wisconsin. To the point they are constantly referring to us as Wisconsin. The love for our head coach from ESPN has definitely been good for our program.

...

I agree, and its just not ESPN. Its all of the national media, really. And I think it better suits him at Arkansas than at Wisconsin. For good or bad, Arkansas has much more personality as a program than Wisconsin. His big personality is just a great fit for Arkansas and the SEC.

Great post, by the way. Welcome to the zoo.

bp

[Pigsknuckles]

Took me 3 tries, but I eventually read it all (between interruptions). Welcome, and nice introduction to HV. Looking forward to 2015 being a more positive MMQB experience than the past few seasons.

[DLUXHOG]

good post... +1

[rmcchris]

Welcome and nice post.  Good rational insights and viewpoints not far from my on.   WPS

[HotlantaHog]

Nice post. I hope you are right on the idea that there is more tolerance among those on Hogville. It is not impossible to believe that CBB is a very good coach and the future is super bright, and at the same time think that Petrino did a fine job at running an offense until his disastrous demise and that Gus Malzahn was a good OC at Arkansas and was mainly responsible for Auburn winning the national championship the year it did. You don't have to hate Petrino or Malzahn or Frank or Lou Holtz or Danny Ford or whoever while at the same time embracing the very bright future the Hogs have.

I do agree of the many pluses CBB has brought, the biggest improvement has been a great coaching staff -- first class talent throughout. And a top-to-bottom coaching staff is absolutely the path to success.

Also I hope you post on Jump Ball too. I totally share your enthusiasm and while it seems like the general feeling among Hog fans is that things are headed downhill, I suspect we will look back at whatever disappointments there are this year as a bump in the road to success. I wish Mike were doing more interviews or speaking out, though maybe he feels constrained by talking about some of the things (like the legal situation of the three players.) But some presence would be nice.

[ricepig]

Well you be submitting articles from the bench or beach? Seriously, welcome and post anytime you have something to say, or not, we all do!

[The Kig]

I think the board's more tolerant, because the mods cleaned it up.  They can afford to be more tolerant, until the trolls start turning every thread into a pissing match.

Just something to keep in mind.

Yeah, just wait till game week...especially when we play Aggie and Barn... gets to be a bit testy.