APATHY and excuses

[Mr. Porkleone]

Feel free to add to list

Our rebounding is HORRIBLE
Coaching is HORRIBLE
FT shooting is HORRIBLE
Home attendance is HORRIBLE
Callers will say "wait till next year"
National media says were dead


it's very obvious that MA will not ge this done and this will end badly. Clean the slate of everything tied to past. UA has paid in full that issue now. 

[hobhog]

Would anyone have hired him if they knew we'd have only one march madness and a losing season in year 5?

No way....

[Mr. Porkleone]

Would anyone have hired him if they knew we'd have only one march madness and a losing season in year 5?

No way....

Agreed. Time to FIRE MA

[Topcat]

I hear a lot about home attendance and fan support. If you"re not relevant and can't put a consistent product on the court for 15 years or more, what kind of support do you expect? The facts are Arkansas is only a mediocre program in a mediocre basketball conference. The chances of turning that around in the cesspool of recruiting college basketball players is probably not very good if you can't even sign the best players in your state. Sorry. I'm just tired of wait till net year.   

[Mr. Porkleone]

I hear a lot about home attendance and fan support. If you"re not relevant and can't put a consistent product on the court for 15 years or more, what kind of support do you expect? The facts are Arkansas is only a mediocre program in a mediocre basketball conference. The chances of turning that around in the cesspool of recruiting college basketball players is probably not very good if you can't even sign the best players in your state. Sorry. I'm just tired of wait till net year.   

Agree. Signing JUCO is a bandaid fix

[nwahogfan1]

I hear a lot about home attendance and fan support. If you"re not relevant and can't put a consistent product on the court for 15 years or more, what kind of support do you expect? The facts are Arkansas is only a mediocre program in a mediocre basketball conference. The chances of turning that around in the cesspool of recruiting college basketball players is probably not very good if you can't even sign the best players in your state. Sorry. I'm just tired of wait till net year.   

Tomcat we almost had a sell out against kentucky.  If we had better players and a top 25 team I think we would average over 16K for our home games.  We need a better product on the floor.  Fans deserve better.

[code red]

Feel free to add to list

Our rebounding is HORRIBLE
Coaching is HORRIBLE
FT shooting is HORRIBLE
Home attendance is HORRIBLE
Callers will say "wait till next year"
National media says were dead


it's very obvious that MA will not ge this done and this will end badly. Clean the slate of everything tied to past. UA has paid in full that issue now. 

In retrospect....it really doesn't matter.  We are paying a coach 2 million and he has taken us to the post season.....once in 5 years.  Think about it.  He is the golden boy.

[nwahogfan1]

Agree. Signing JUCO is a bandaid fix

JUCOs are so unreliable.  I hope all 3 of them come in and give us immediate success but I doubt if that happens.  WE need to recruit better athletes who love to play Mikes way which is fast and crazy.  I call it rat ball but it is effective with the right players. 

[code red]

JUCOs are so unreliable.  I hope all 3 of them come in and give us immediate success but I doubt if that happens.  WE need to recruit better athletes who love to play Mikes way which is fast and crazy.  I call it rat ball but it is effective with the right players. 

Oh well...if it doesn't then bring on 2018....bc you know JL will wait until this contract is up.

[hobhog]

Oh well...if it doesn't then bring on 2018....bc you know JL will wait until this contract is up.

Why?

[hogman99]

Time to put that black curtain around the upper deck at BWA.

[Wild Bill Hog]

Been a rough winter so far.  Those bears are hungry.

[Westcoasthog]

    Mike Anderson has to go - FIRE HIM!

[GuvHog]

I don't know about firing him after this season but I will say this:

If this team finishes with losing records in both non conference and SEC play then goes 1 and done in the SEC tournament, things won't be pretty on the hill AT ALL.

[Boardon Hamsay]

Time to put that black anthracite curtain around the upper deck at BWA.

Fixt

[hogsanity]

Would anyone have hired him if they knew we'd have only one march madness and a losing season in year 5?

No way....

He wouldn't have been hired here, on his resume, if his name was not mike anderson.

[Atlhogfan1]

He wouldn't have been hired here, on his resume, if his name was not mike anderson.

His resume was ok. The 9 yr campaign wouldn't have happened though.  It was an anchor. 

[hogsanity]

His resume was ok. The 9 yr campaign wouldn't have happened though.  It was an anchor. 

There were two dozen resumes just like his that they could have at least tried to get.

[Atlhogfan1]

There were two dozen resumes just like his that they could have at least tried to get.

We know what had to happen.

[HiggiePiggy]

Would anyone have hired him if they knew we'd have only one march madness and a losing season in year 5?

No way....

Well season isn't over yet.  He has never had a losing season before so we will see if it ends up that way or not. 

[Science Fiction Greg]

Ok, I'll add to it:

fanbase: HORRIBLE

[Atlhogfan1]

Ok, I'll add to it:

fanbase: HORRIBLE

WTH are the fans to blame?  It still shows up in the top % of college bask fans.   

[HogBreath]

WE need to recruit better athletes who love to play Mikes way which is fast and crazy.   

It would appear, that style of play is not at all appealing to most prospects.

[hulk hog]

Ok, I'll add to it:

fanbase: HORRIBLE

Ok, I'll add to it:

fanbase: HORRIBLE

The fan base is horrible because they aren't happy with mediocrity and irrelevance? This fan base is so horrible that it has been in the top 25 in attendance in the last 15 years despite 4 NCAA tourney appearances and 2 tournament wins. This is year 5 and Mike is headed to his worst record as a head coach. I think the fans have a right to be upset about a coach being paid in the top 20 but not having a team anywhere near it in 4 of his first 5 years. 

[Science Fiction Greg]

Threads like this are a sign of a horrible fanbase.  No, not because people are unhappy or unsatisfied, but because they whine about it and wallow in their misery like this.

And other reasons, but it will fall on deaf ears here, so I'll just let it be.  Please continue wallowing in the mud.

[Hog1952]

Oklahoma hired Lon Kruger the same year we hired MA. They were ranked #1 last I saw. We have fans hoping we have a 500 record while defending the coach we have. I feel we could have hired Kruger.

[hogsanity]

Oklahoma hired Lon Kruger the same year we hired MA. They were ranked #1 last I saw. We have fans hoping we have a 500 record while defending the coach we have. I feel we could have hired Kruger.

I believe Kennedy at A&M and Turgeron at Maryland were hired the same off season as well. And south Carolina got martin the next off season. So there were good coaches looking for jobs and willing to go to places like a&m & south Carolina where they had little or no basketball history.

[jdlew]

check out the list of coaches that are making the same as MA....They are in the dance EVERY YEAR....that's all I ask...we may never win it all again...but we should be in the tournament 8 out of 10 years....I hate it because I like MA...

[Torqued pork]

Ok, I'll add to it:

fanbase: HORRIBLE

That's like blaming the problems an inferior business would have on its customers.

[hulk hog]

Threads like this are a sign of a horrible fanbase.  No, not because people are unhappy or unsatisfied, but because they whine about it and wallow in their misery like this.

And other reasons, but it will fall on deaf ears here, so I'll just let it be.  Please continue wallowing in the mud.

I thought that was one of the purposes of a message board so that people could express their happiness or displeasure with their teams. Threads like this at least show that at least someone still cares about this program and is tired of it "wallowing in the mud".  I guarantee you that if the football team made 1 bowl in 5 years the coach would be roasted on here.

[Justifiable Hogicide]

fanbase: HORRIBLE

The fans aren't responsible for the sorry state of the basketball program in Year 5 of Mike Anderson's tenure - it's his baby alone; he birthed and has failed to nurture it.

[SuperSid4Ever]

Stop living in the mid-1990's.

The UA is, was and always will be about its football program first and foremost.  It's evidence is found in the money the school routinely throws into who they hire to run the program, as well as the number of Hog fans who will gladly travel great distances to attend a bowl game with 6-6 teams if the UA is one of them.  Those same stupid fans wouldn't drive across town to watch this team play a basketball game, and it has nothing to do with who is coaching the team.

Apathy was alive and well long before Mike Anderson came here.  MA's team last year won more games than any Razorbacks team since 1995, and here some of you are screaming for his head.  Anyone with a brain could have looked at what we were losing at the end of last year (like 80% of our scoring) and know this would be a rebuilding effort.

[Inhogswetrust]

Agree. Signing JUCO is a bandaid fix

I have no problem signing good players Juco or otherwise. Bill Snyder has used it to fix KSU for over twenty years and became a HOF coach ........................

[Wild Bill Hog]

Stop living in the mid-1990's.

The UA is, was and always will be about its football program first and foremost.  It's evidence is found in the money the school routinely throws into who they hire to run the program, as well as the number of Hog fans who will gladly travel great distances to attend a bowl game with 6-6 teams if the UA is one of them.  Those same stupid fans wouldn't drive across town to watch this team play a basketball game, and it has nothing to do with who is coaching the team.

Apathy was alive and well long before Mike Anderson came here.  MA's team last year won more games than any Razorbacks team since 1995, and here some of you are screaming for his head.  Anyone with a brain could have looked at what we were losing at the end of last year (like 80% of our scoring) and know this would be a rebuilding effort.

Why are Hog fans who support the football team stupid?

[SuperSid4Ever]

Why are Hog fans who support the football team stupid?

Because they're supporting the football program for the same reasons that they're refusing to support the basketball program.  Those two bowl games we just went to over the past 2 seasons were CFB's answer to the College Basketball Invitational, and it's hypocritical to scream for the ouster of a coach in the basketball program while refusing to go to games, only to shamelessly drive all over hell's half acre to follow a program which plays below expectations.

[Wild Bill Hog]

Because they're supporting the football program for the same reasons that they're refusing to support the basketball program.  Those two bowl games we just went to over the past 2 seasons were CFB's answer to the College Basketball Invitational, and it's hypocritical to scream for the ouster of a coach in the basketball program while refusing to go to games, only to shamelessly drive all over hell's half acre to follow a program which plays below expectations.

You know all this how?  How do you know they are refusing to support Hog BB?  How do you know they are calling for CMA's ouster?  You are making a lot of unfounded generalities aren't you?

[Davidr295]

The hog football team plays in the best division and conference in all of football. I believe almost every team the football team played this year was ranked except for maybe 2 or 3. The hog basketball team plays in one of the worst conferences in basketball. SEC basketball = conference USA or WAC football.

[wheelspigharvey]

The hog football team plays in the best division and conference in all of football. I believe almost every team the football team played this year was ranked except for maybe 2 or 3. The hog basketball team plays in one of the worst conferences in basketball. SEC basketball = conference USA or WAC football.

I really don't believe that last statement.  We're not the best P5 conference, but for example in SEC football it's pretty widely accepted that you could take any SEC West team and plug them in anywhere else and they would at least finish in the top half of their division.  I don't think there is an analogous b-ball conference where you'd be able to do that.

[Davidr295]

BIG East, BIG 10, ACC, PAC 12, BIG 12 are all way better conferences top to bottom than the SEC in Basketball. Heck even the Atlantic 10 is giving the SEC a run for its money. The SEC is not even power 5 in basketball. So there is not excuse why we cant be a top 3 team in basketball every year in our conference.

[urkillnmesmalls]

Because they're supporting the football program for the same reasons that they're refusing to support the basketball program.  Those two bowl games we just went to over the past 2 seasons were CFB's answer to the College Basketball Invitational, and it's hypocritical to scream for the ouster of a coach in the basketball program while refusing to go to games, only to shamelessly drive all over hell's half acre to follow a program which plays below expectations.

We have the new basketball practice facility, and that was really needed to put us on even an even playing field with recruiting.  I think MA has enough talent this season with what's left to end up over .500 unless we lay an egg.  Those are the good things.   

For me, football takes longer to develop a winning program with the depth needed.  Also, football in the SEC is a different animal entirely than basketball.  That's going to change with all of the better coaches coming into the SEC in BB, and that's going to make it even harder for MA to succeed.  So there's that challenge on the horizon as well. 

For me, Enos brought life to BB's team, and while it sputtered at first, I saw enough to make me confident that IF we can get some top players in, we have the coaching in place to get the most out of them.  That coupled with big wins over Ole Miss and LSU, brings hope for the future in football, which is what keeps fan interest.     

In BB, just a few players can make a world of difference and turn things around on a dime.  Getting Monk would have sparked some interest, just because of the mystique and him being an Arkansas kid.  No argument there.  But, I have no issue with Monk going to KY, because if USCw was the big "one and done" school, he would have gone there instead.  He just happened to be a top national recruit who was from our state...and our program isn't in shape to attract that level of kid at this point in time, unfortunately.  I don't blame MA for that.     

Bottom line...MA has filled his basket full of eggs from the JUCO ranks, and that's just how it is.  We've seen that they typically don't develop the skills to compete in D1 basketball until their 2nd season, which leave what happens next season seemingly pretty unknown.  So...we're going to more or less have a "one and done" scenario, but it's going to probably be in 2018 with 2nd year JUCO players.  If we're not seeing more talent coming in by then, then that's the end of the MA era.   

Having said all of that, I hope the fans continue to realize that the kids are there to play and commit themselves regardless of the coach.  Not showing up is not the answer.  MA has to produce in the next few seasons, or he'll be out.  JL is a "let's give some time to build stability" type of AD, but when the wins don't come over a fair period of time, he knows what that means to the program.   

[hogsanity]

  Anyone with a brain could have looked at what we were losing at the end of last year (like 80% of our scoring) and know this would be a rebuilding effort.

And that is the issue, it is year 5. All we were told for the 1st 3 years was " just wait until this team is all Mike's, until he gets his own players in here to run his system. Well, this is the 1st roster where he recruited and signed every player on it. Not only might they have the worst record in his 5 years here, they may produce his worst record ever as a HC. And now he is trying to salvage next season, after whiffing on yet another high profile in state player, by going to juco route. Why can't Mike sign high calibre high school kids?

[urkillnmesmalls]

BIG East, BIG 10, ACC, PAC 12, BIG 12 are all way better conferences top to bottom than the SEC in Basketball. Heck even the Atlantic 10 is giving the SEC a run for its money. The SEC is not even power 5 in basketball. So there is not excuse why we cant be a top 3 team in basketball every year in our conference.

In the past decade, I would agree.  But the SEC has dramatically upgraded its coaching ranks in BB, and it's going to get better in the coming years.  That will just serve to make it that much tougher for MA, or whoever is coaching. 

It will be a few years before we see the SEC competing better nationally, so MA still has a fighting chance, but with every recruiting class that goes by, it appears the hopes are getting more and more slim. 

[wheelspigharvey]

And that is the issue, it is year 5. All we were told for the 1st 3 years was " just wait until this team is all Mike's, until he gets his own players in here to run his system. Well, this is the 1st roster where he recruited and signed every player on it. Not only might they have the worst record in his 5 years here, they may produce his worst record ever as a HC. And now he is trying to salvage next season, after whiffing on yet another high profile in state player, by going to juco route. Why can't Mike sign high calibre high school kids?

Those JUCOs were signed before Malik spurned us.  Get your sequence of events straight.

[Davidr295]

I wouldn't exactly call it a dramatic upgrade. We lost one of star coaches in Donovan and added a few with flashy names but outside of Barnes have never really done anything on the college level. The recruiting classes for every team, except for ours for some reason, are getting better for the other teams in our conference so that does helps our conference brand. But I think we agree on the overall point that we have to get better fast or we will become a bottom dweller in our conference.

[Biggus Piggus]

Feel free to add to list

Our rebounding is HORRIBLE
Coaching is HORRIBLE
FT shooting is HORRIBLE
Home attendance is HORRIBLE
Callers will say "wait till next year"
National media says were dead


it's very obvious that MA will not ge this done and this will end badly. Clean the slate of everything tied to past. UA has paid in full that issue now. 

Man, this losing streak was very much to be expected, but your emotional overreaction is quite impressive.

Rebounding - Arkansas's getting 31% of offensive rebounds and 69% on the defensive end. This is one of the best rebounding teams Arkansas has had in the past 30 years.

Free throw shooting - Arkansas is making 71%. Nuff said.

Coaching - A lot of people would say that this team had no business leading Stanford by 20, or taking Dayton and Georgia to OT on the road, or beating Vandy, or blowing out Missouri on the road, or taking LSU to the wire. Sure, this team lacks the clear go-to scorer to finish those games. But gosh it took something to get close. Something. Not just talent.

This team isn't close to manned the way MA had intended. Lots of missing pieces that were supposed to be there. He adjusted better than anybody expected him to adjust. This should be a really lousy team, and it isn't. Coaching is not the issue here, not even close.

Talent level is the issue, and we'll see how that plays out over the next two or three years.

[hogsanity]

Man, this losing streak was very much to be expected, but your emotional overreaction is quite impressive.

Rebounding - Arkansas's getting 31% of offensive rebounds and 69% on the defensive end. This is one of the best rebounding teams Arkansas has had in the past 30 years.

Free throw shooting - Arkansas is making 71%. Nuff said.

Coaching - A lot of people would say that this team had no business leading Stanford by 20, or taking Dayton and Georgia to OT on the road, or beating Vandy, or blowing out Missouri on the road, or taking LSU to the wire. Sure, this team lacks the clear go-to scorer to finish those games. But gosh it took something to get close. Something. Not just talent.

This team isn't close to manned the way MA had intended. Lots of missing pieces that were supposed to be there. He adjusted better than anybody expected him to adjust. This should be a really lousy team, and it isn't. Coaching is not the issue here, not even close.

Talent level is the issue, and we'll see how that plays out over the next two or three years.

But Biggus it is the same old stuff. They can't get a key rebound late, see LSU. They can't hit a key FT late, see LSU and GA. These are the same problems they had his 1st season. Just look at the last 20 seconds of the LSU game. Beard misses a FT that could have given them a 1 pt lead, which would have made LSU play the last possession completely differently. Then they play excellent defense, force a terrible shot, and Moses gets beat on the glass and they give up a layup. GA, multiple chances to to make Ft's late in regulation and they kept clanging them.

[BadHog]

Man, this losing streak was very much to be expected, but your emotional overreaction is quite impressive.

Rebounding - Arkansas's getting 31% of offensive rebounds and 69% on the defensive end. This is one of the best rebounding teams Arkansas has had in the past 30 years.

Free throw shooting - Arkansas is making 71%. Nuff said.

Coaching - A lot of people would say that this team had no business leading Stanford by 20, or taking Dayton and Georgia to OT on the road, or beating Vandy, or blowing out Missouri on the road, or taking LSU to the wire. Sure, this team lacks the clear go-to scorer to finish those games. But gosh it took something to get close. Something. Not just talent.

This team isn't close to manned the way MA had intended. Lots of missing pieces that were supposed to be there. He adjusted better than anybody expected him to adjust. This should be a really lousy team, and it isn't. Coaching is not the issue here, not even close.

Talent level is the issue, and we'll see how that plays out over the next two or three years.

Wow! A rational, fact-based, intelligent post in the jump ball forum. Had to search high and low for this one.

[hogsanity]

Wow! A rational, fact-based, intelligent post in the jump ball forum. Had to search high and low for this one.

Great, another " Wait til year 8 " post.

[Davidr295]

I fail to see the logic of personally attacking posters on the board. Both sides of the argument have put forth legit facts on the state of the program, no need to resort to personal attacks against people that don't agree with you.

Fact: Anderson took over a bad situation at Arkansas. He deserves time to clean it up. We as fans might be underestimating him as a in game coach.

Fact: He has to do better in recruiting, no excuse for our current state in that area. His strategy has to be questioned after our gafs at the end of games lately. This is his team of players, no more blaming past coaches.

Our programs is what it is. It will either grow in the right direction or go backwards. Either way it will be ok Anderson and I think he knows that.

[ballhogger]

I will bite on this
The rebounding has not been great the last few games
The Coaching is not horrible.  I think it is the only thing giving us a chance this season.  We have not lost by a large margin in most of our games with a team that really should not be competing with some of these teams.
FT shooting has been bad.  I miss Ky Madden and Qualls.  They were pretty good from the line.
We are in a better position than we were when Mike took it over.  That shouldn't be an argument.
Media is important but they are also enamored by the flash of things and can lose sight of the truth.  The truth is, it is a strange transitional year.  Mike is a good coach.

Feel free to add to list

Our rebounding is HORRIBLE
Coaching is HORRIBLE
FT shooting is HORRIBLE
Home attendance is HORRIBLE
Callers will say "wait till next year"
National media says were dead


it's very obvious that MA will not ge this done and this will end badly. Clean the slate of everything tied to past. UA has paid in full that issue now.