Post your ideas RE: Nolan Richardson Court

[Porked Tongue]

I'm not familiar with this award, what was it for? You said academics, I find that odd considering the graduation rates of his players.

Diversity.  http://silashunt.uark.edu/

[Porked Tongue]

I also meant to mention the painting:

http://www.fayettevilleflyer.com/2013/01/30/ua-to-unveil-nolan-richardson-painting-at-halftime-of-arkansas-tennessee-game/

[Oklahawg]

I would increase my donation to help this happen. Put my money where my mouth is - I have no hesitancy in supporting Nolan. Beyond 100%.

[panhandlepig]

Good words.

Nolan, correctly, points out (even today, I suspect) that just because we have laws we still have behavior that is intolerant. The law allows those who are intolerant to say, "see? I am a law-abiding citizen" and then go about not really acting that way in their own heart/life. Nolan sees that - and until the rest of us see it from his eyes, or eliminate those intolerances around us, he can't rest. I get that, but I find it unfortunate that he can't stop for a moment and say, "I may not have finished the journey I set out on, but I made progress that others may use to finish my task."

That would allow UA no wiggle room to withhold honoring him. That is a huge step for a man who likely will go to his grave believing he has "work to do".

  Yep. I have the utmost respect for Nolan on and off the court. I would like to see him honored more but understand why some object. I do know Nolan isn't the type of man to back down to appease or please.

  No one is perfect. Some are able to use their imperfections as fuel for success. There is no doubt the things that fueled Nolan's successes were also fuel for his failures. I guess we could say that about alot of us.

[hogfan10]

Diversity.  http://silashunt.uark.edu/

Cool.

[TOM "tbw1"]

OK, I got a question though, how was him insinuating that our players (majority AA) were not as smart as their players (majority AA) being racist. Although I think he was saying that you have to be smarter to play in coach K's system than in coach Richardson's (which I do not believe), how was that racist? Both teams were majority African American.
Announcers are paid to talk, sometimes what they say sounds smart, but mostly they all come across as uninformed idiots. In this instance I thought Packer's statement came across as harsh and unnecessary, but not racist.

Good question.  I will answer it this way.  At the time with many older coaches, including some high school coaches I worked with,  the style of basketball Coach Richardson employed was used because he was not smart enough to teach defense. It was referred to as "N" ball ot as Coach Sutton said "rat ball". This was behind Coach Broyles saying Coach Richardson should study under Coach Knight to learn how to coach defense.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1028112/index.htm

It was typical of the time.

[hogfan10]

Good question.  I will answer it this way.  At the time with many older coaches, including some high school coaches I worked with,  the style of basketball Coach Richardson employed was used because they were not smart enough to teach defense. It was referred to as "N" ball ot as Coach Sutton said "rat ball". This was behind Coach Broyles saying Coach Richardson should study under Coach Knight to learn how to coach defense.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1028112/index.htm

It was typical of the time.

Look I understand that, but I do not think that was typical of the times, when the time was 1994. Anybody who believed that his system was un-orchestrated, and that he just rolled the ball out there, learned a hard lesson and fast. His system by 1994 was known, and had been studied/copied; so I don't think anybody was calling it "rat ball" anymore. Nolan just couldn't pass up the opportunity to shove it in someones face, and he did (Packer's). It hasn't been mentioned yet, but Packer made his "smarter team" statement after Nolan's "blind man" statement. So it's possible Packer was retaliating, where as Nolan was just being a horse's rear end.

[TOM "tbw1"]

Look I understand that, but I do not think that was typical of the times, when the time was 1994. Anybody who believed that his system was un-orchestrated, and that he just rolled the ball out there, learned a hard lesson and fast. His system by 1994 was known, and had been studied/copied; so I don't think anybody was calling it "rat ball" anymore. Nolan just couldn't pass up the opportunity to shove it in someones face, and he did (Packer's). It hasn't been mentioned yet, but Packer made his "smarter team" statement after Nolan's "blind man" statement. So it's possible Packer was retaliating, where as Nolan was just being a horse's rear end.

I disagree.  All you have to do is look at the threads in Jump Ball.  There is still arguments over where Coach Anderson and Coach Richardson cannot coach defense. There are those who thinks all Coach Anderson does "is roll the ball on the floor" It is not as bad as it was.  I am glad that you, my friend, don't believe it.

[TOM "tbw1"]

BTW, I never expected Billy Packer to be defended on an Arkansas board.

Next, there will be posts praising Paul Finebaum.

[bigredone]

While Nolan was coaching it was common to hear that he just rolled out the basketballs for practice. The truth of the matter was his system was far too complex for their simple minds to comprehend. It was not a system nearly as easy to learn as straight man to man, the players had to develop an instinct for what their teammates were going to do to get the traps going.

I think Nolan hurt the feelings of other coaches by repeatedly pointing out that his team did not practice for the other team's style, their job was to force them into our game. Nolan's practices were intense and his players learned to play tough. If you could drive the ball against Corey Beck in practice you had nothing to worry about against the "oh so awesome" man to man of Duke.

Not fearing the supposed gods of college basketball coaches did not win Nolan a lot of friends among the national pundits, either. I remember him referring to Tom Penders as Sweet Tom. I still chuckle at that thought.

[TOM "tbw1"]

While Nolan was coaching it was common to hear that he just rolled out the basketballs for practice. The truth of the matter was his system was far too complex for their simple minds to comprehend. It was not a system nearly as easy to learn as straight man to man, the players had to develop an instinct for what their teammates were going to do to get the traps going.

I think Nolan hurt the feelings of other coaches by repeatedly pointing out that his team did not practice for the other team's style, their job was to force them into our game. Nolan's practices were intense and his players learned to play tough. If you could drive the ball against Corey Beck in practice you had nothing to worry about against the "oh so awesome" man to man of Duke.

Not fearing the supposed gods of college basketball coaches did not win Nolan a lot of friends among the national pundits, either. I remember him referring to Tom Penders as Sweet Tom. I still chuckle at that thought.

Basketball practices were based as much on communicating with each other as anything else.  That defense is still beyond many fans.  Coach Knight showed a good understanding in the Kentucky game and called out the players when they missed assignments.

[TOM "tbw1"]

I remember a sign at Barnhill South.  "CALL SWEET TOM 1 800 DIAL A WHINE"

[hogfan10]

This was behind Coach Broyles saying Coach Richardson should study under Coach Knight to learn how to coach defense.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1028112/index.htm

It was typical of the time.

I read part of the article and stopped at this claim by Nolan.
1st - that wasn't a quote from Broyles, that was Nolan's interpretation of what Broyles was telling/asking/suggesting Nolan to do.
2nd - Do we honestly think that Broyles hired Richardson to coach the basketball team without doing some research. Hell, in the interview alone, surely style of play would have been brought up. So I think it's safe to assume Broyles knew that the basis of Nolan's system was his defense.
3rd - Broyles' background is obviously football, and it is a pretty common practice for football coaches to visit other coaches practices or camps to get new ideas. I don't think it's a stretch that the suggestion to observe Knight was anything other than a helpful suggestion, in Broyles' mind.

Finally this article was told from Nolan's point of view. It lacks balance.

On page two Broyles called the assistant AD position a "token position", and of course Nolan interpreted it as a racial slight. Really? Anybody with half a brain should know that was not what was meant by "token". It was meant as you get another title (maybe a stipend), but don't waste time doing the duties we'll have someone else do it, we want you concentrating on basketball. It was throwing Nolan a well deserved bone.

[hogfan10]

I disagree.  All you have to do is look at the threads in Jump Ball.  There is still arguments over where Coach Anderson and Coach Richardson cannot coach defense. There are those who thinks all Coach Anderson does "is roll the ball on the floor" It is not as bad as it was.  I am glad that you, my friend, don't believe it.

I think the argument against Anderson was that he doesn't have the players to play 40MOH, so why keep trying. I also think people were frustrated with the lack of some set plays to get points when needed.
Now all that was 7/8 games ago, it appears we have turned a corner, and the team is starting to buy in.
I'll admit I was frustrated with the slow progress and the randomness of his substitutions (which still bothers me, for example why was Bell in during the final minutes of the UK game, and not Gulley or Wade), but we're making progress, and I couldn't be happier.

[TOM "tbw1"]

I read part of the article and stopped at this claim by Nolan.
1st - that wasn't a quote from Broyles, that was Nolan's interpretation of what Broyles was telling/asking/suggesting Nolan to do.
2nd - Do we honestly think that Broyles hired Richardson to coach the basketball team without doing some research. Hell, in the interview alone, surely syle of play would have been brought up. So I think it's safe to assume Broyles knew that the basis of Nolan's system was his defense.
3rd - Broyles' background is obviously football, and it is a pretty common practice for football coaches to visit other coaches practices or camps to get new ideas. I don't think it's a stretch that the suggestion to observe Knight was anything other than a helpful suggestion, in Broyles' mind.

Finally this article was told from Nolan's point of view. It lacks balance.

OK, I understand that you feel that Coach Broyles was only trying to help and had no bad feelings for Coach Richardson.  I disagree. 

I also think Coach Broyles knew little about coaching basketball and cared less if the sport made money.  I also believe that Coach Broyles had no idea how to interact with a black man as strong willed as Coach Richardson.  I also think Coach Richardson could not fathom why Coach Nutt who had won nothing comparable was Coach Broyles fair haired boy.

Both were strong men.  Coach Richarson wanted things his way, Coach Broyles, his.  Coach Broyles at one time had the power to dismiss coaches at whim.  He drOpped Coach Holtz, Hatfield, Crowe, Kines and Ford without interference.  He was told he could not fire Coach Richardson in 2000. 

Neither would budge and the wreck happened.

[bigredone]

I read part of the article and stopped at this claim by Nolan.
1st - that wasn't a quote from Broyles, that was Nolan's interpretation of what Broyles was telling/asking/suggesting Nolan to do.
2nd - Do we honestly think that Broyles hired Richardson to coach the basketball team without doing some research. Hell, in the interview alone, surely syle of play would have been brought up. So I think it's safe to assume Broyles knew that the basis of Nolan's system was his defense.
3rd - Broyles' background is obviously football, and it is a pretty common practice for football coaches to visit other coaches practices or camps to get new ideas. I don't think it's a stretch that the suggestion to observe Knight was anything other than a helpful suggestion, in Broyles' mind.

Finally this article was told from Nolan's point of view. It lacks balance.

Possibly it is only from Nolan's POV because Broyles was so busy whispering in the ears of the BOT and Arkansas sportswriters that Nolan had to go?

Also, didn't Broyles force Gus on the MOTHO? I believe he wanted Hatfield to make changes to his coaching staff, too. Sounds like a guy who allowed people to do the job they were hired to do, right? Broyles seems to have been a control freak which is something that would be intolerable to another control freak like Nolan.

As AD Frank's job was to remove obstacles that kept his employees from being successful and providing the tools needed. Broyles was exceptional at fundraising so the tools were there, he needed to quit being an obstacle. Nolan's job was to coach basketball and be the voice of the basketball team. The conversations should have been like this:

Frank:"What do you need to do your job today, Nolan?"

Nolan:"We could fill up a bigger arena. Thanks"

Instead we had:
Frank:"Nolan, I don't know the first thing about basketball but you should go study Bobby Knight's system of defense."

Nolan:"Leave me alone you old white haired devil!"

[TOM "tbw1"]

I think the argument against Anderson was that he doesn't have the players to play 40MOH, so why keep trying. I also think people were frustrated with the lack of some set plays to get points when needed.
Now all that was 7/8 games ago, it appears we have turned a corner, and the team is starting to buy in.
I'll admit I was frustrated with the slow progress and the randomness of his substitutions (which still bothers me, for example why was Bell in during the final minutes of the UK game, and not Gulley or Wade), but we're making progress, and I couldn't be happier.

Bell was in the game because Wade and Gulley had missed defensive assignments.  Go back and watch the games on DVR slowly, back it up and watch their feet, there is little randomness, Coach Anderson is putting in players who will fill their assignments on defense first.

[moses_007]

I found it interesting that the judge said he believed Broyles' testimony that he was supporting Nolan as the next athletic director at Arkansas.  As fans, we figured that Nolan would replace Broyles one day and he was just waiting on Broyles' retirement.  All Nolan had to do was to keep his mouth shut, be humble and gracious always to the press, and we'd be talking about AD Nolan Richardson right now instead of Jeff Long.  And, Mike Anderson would have succeeded Nolan, and there wouldn't have been a Stan Heath or John Pelphrey.

[bigredone]

As much as I respect Nolan, I have always been of the mindset that great coaches may not be the best Athletic Directors.

The head coach has to master many facets of a game but it is one game that should have everyone pulling together. The head coach needs to have complete authority for his team to be able to take complete responsibility. Nolan and Frank were both great head coaches. Coaches are teachers.

As AD you have to keep multiple head coaches of different sports happy with both their career progression and facility upgrades. You need to be able to put your own desires on the back burner to further the goals of the coaches working for you. You need to be able to glad hand the boosters while keeping them from breaking the rules. ADs are managers.

Frank was great with boosters except keeping them within the rules. I think it is very apparent that he was really lacking in working with his coaches during his term as AD. Examples would be the way Hatfield jumped to Clemson, Eddie crawling to KY, the MOTHO, and of course the complete mismanagement of Nolan.

As highly as I think of Nolan he does not seem to have the type of personality to suck up to boosters or deal with whiny coaches. He would have dumped the MOTHO in a hurry without golden handcuffs and that would have been nice. I don't know that he could have avoided conflicts with the head coaches any better than Frank did. Nolan was a great coach and I would not want to see him having to do the back office stuff. He had too much to offer as a coach.

[TOM "tbw1"]

I found it interesting that the judge said he believed Broyles' testimony that he was supporting Nolan as the next athletic director at Arkansas.  As fans, we figured that Nolan would replace Broyles one day and he was just waiting on Broyles' retirement.  All Nolan had to do was to keep his mouth shut, be humble and gracious always to the press, and we'd be talking about AD Nolan Richardson right now instead of Jeff Long.  And, Mike Anderson would have succeeded Nolan, and there wouldn't have been a Stan Heath or John Pelphrey.

I did not see that in the judge's opinion.  Please show me.  Thanks.

[Iwastherein1969]

Name it after Nolan, he deserves it.....All I know is that JFB, in his zest to beat Nolan in court made a hire in Stan Heath which set Razorback basketball to sleep for some 12 years or so...the sleeping giant is just now shaking the cobwebs from his deep slumber and is about to be relevant again...we may never be what we once were, not many programs can be that good for that long, but the days of 'having a good bleed', hiring a coach who runs back to all places, Nebraska after just one day and wasting 5 years on a coach who had one good year when he inherited a bunch of seniors at Kent State are finally in the rear view mirror....Mike might not get us where we once were, but at least we know now that we have a coach who understands our culture and our state. So whatever the future may hold, I can live with that.

[hogfan10]

OK, I understand that you feel that Coach Broyles was only trying to help and had no bad feelings for Coach Richardson.  I disagree. 

I also think Coach Broyles knew little about coaching basketball and cared less if the sport made money.  I also believe that Coach Broyles had no idea how to interact with a black man as strong willed as Coach Richardson.  I also think Coach Richardson could not fathom why Coach Nutt who had won nothing comparable was Coach Broyles fair haired boy.

Both were strong men.  Coach Richarson wanted things his way, Coach Broyles, his.  Coach Broyles at one time had the power to dismiss coaches at whim.  He drOpped Coach Holtz, Hatfield, Crowe, Kines and Ford without interference.  He was told he could not fire Coach Richardson in 2000. 

Neither would budge and the wreck happened.

I have no doubt that Broyles did not know how to interact with a black man with Richardson's personality. I think any older white man would have had communication problems with Nolan, if coming from the superior position. Nolan was/is wired to take everything as a personal slight (whether racial or not) from an older white male in a position of power.
What Nolan didn't seem to understand is that bosses can be pricks whether they are black or white, and regardless of whether you are black or white.

Why wouldn't Broyles want the basketball program to succeed? The program was doing well when Sutton left, why wouldn't he want it to continue?

Your right, he was told he couldn't fire Richardson in 2000 (in hindsight that was a bad move on White's part), and he also was told to stay away from the basketball program. White took over basketball supervision, and White fired Richardson.

I never said I thought Broyles didn't have hard feelings for Nolan, but I don't think he had those feelings in the beginning. If he did, why would he hire him?
After getting sh*t on (at least in Broyles' mind) time after time by Nolan, why wouldn't he.

[hogfan10]

Possibly it is only from Nolan's POV because Broyles was so busy whispering in the ears of the BOT and Arkansas sportswriters that Nolan had to go?

Also, didn't Broyles force Gus on the MOTHO? I believe he wanted Hatfield to make changes to his coaching staff, too. Sounds like a guy who allowed people to do the job they were hired to do, right? Broyles seems to have been a control freak which is something that would be intolerable to another control freak like Nolan.

As AD Frank's job was to remove obstacles that kept his employees from being successful and providing the tools needed. Broyles was exceptional at fundraising so the tools were there, he needed to quit being an obstacle. Nolan's job was to coach basketball and be the voice of the basketball team. The conversations should have been like this:

Frank:"What do you need to do your job today, Nolan?"

Nolan:"We could fill up a bigger arena. Thanks"

Instead we had:
Frank:"Nolan, I don't know the first thing about basketball but you should go study Bobby Knight's system of defense."

Nolan:"Leave me alone you old white haired devil!"

It was told from Nolan's point of view because that's what sells magazines. It was sensational, and lets be honest it was exactly what people across America want to believe goes on in the South.

The rest of your post just backs up my argument, Broyles was a meddler and hard to work for; for every coach whether they were white, black, green, or yellow.

[hogfan10]

Bell was in the game because Wade and Gulley had missed defensive assignments.  Go back and watch the games on DVR slowly, back it up and watch their feet, there is little randomness, Coach Anderson is putting in players who will fill their assignments on defense first.

That's fine for a possession or two (to emphasize a point), but he had at least 5/6 opportunities to get him out of the game (TO's and stoppages of play), and for some reason didn't.
He's a liability on defense, and as a ball handler. We were very fortunate that he only had 1 turnover in the final minute. He very nearly had a couple more. Unless we needed a 3 pointer (we didn't, we were holding onto a lead), he had no business being out there.

[hogfan10]

Name it after Nolan, he deserves it.....All I know is that JFB, in his zest to beat Nolan in court made a hire in Stan Heath which set Razorback basketball to sleep for some 12 years or so...the sleeping giant is just now shaking the cobwebs from his deep slumber and is about to be relevant again...we may never be what we once were, not many programs can be that good for that long, but the days of 'having a good bleed', hiring a coach who runs back to all places, Nebraska after just one day and wasting 5 years on a coach who had one good year when he inherited a bunch of seniors at Kent State are finally in the rear view mirror....Mike might not get us where we once were, but at least we know now that we have a coach who understands our culture and our state. So whatever the future may hold, I can live with that.

Broyles wanted to hire Bill Self, and as the story goes, had him. John White wanted to hire an African American for appearances sake. It's been said numerous times on this board, but somehow you've managed to miss it. I guess it just doesn't fit your narrative.

[hogfan10]

..speaking of pushing a narrative...

What narrative would that be? I'm pretty confident I stated the truth in that post.

[TOM "tbw1"]

Gentlemen, thank you for the discussion.  Work calls.

[hobhog]

I disagree.  All you have to do is look at the threads in Jump Ball.  There is still arguments over where Coach Anderson and Coach Richardson cannot coach defense. There are those who thinks all Coach Anderson does "is roll the ball on the floor" It is not as bad as it was.  I am glad that you, my friend, don't believe it.

I remember that was the knock on Guy Lewis' Houston teams too. He never got credit for coaching. "He just rolled it out there..."

[LZH]

Really think its dumb to name anything after anyone unless their donation helped to build it and I mean financial donation

What?  AYSM?

[Piggfoot]

During Nolan's rant he set aside some previous remarks and forgot about white men who went to bat for him. In that regard he was ungrateful.
Dr. Simpson mentioned was a former Pine Bluff AD in the '80's
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940410&slug=1904797

How did Frank go from being the "Abraham Lincoln of the South" to the "White haired Devil"

[hogfanvsnebraska]

How about not naming a court and put the new practice facility in his name

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Inhogswetrust]

Have you given up Sutton court?

One is in Stillwater...............................

[Inhogswetrust]

I remember that was the knock on Guy Lewis' Houston teams too. He never got credit for coaching. "He just rolled it out there..."

With Guy it was pretty much true though.

[bigredone]

As far as coaches go, Guy Lewis was a terrific recruiter.