Official Say Something Good About the Current Roster/Signees Thread

[wheelspigharvey]

First time main thread poster.  Thought we'd do some obvious "sunshine pumping."  Does this even belong on this board?  I'll start:

Manny Watkins, highest FG% on the team, and that game winning layup @ OM was huge for the season. 

[Big Nasty 34]

Anton Beard brought amazing poise and toughness specifically on road games. Something we've struggled with for years.

[Danny J]

Beard....Whitt.....and hopefully a healthy Kapita. Whitt is going to be a star.....

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

I love Moses Kingsley's motor. Good defender, rebounder can score off tip in's and hustle points.

IMO the more mins he gets the better player he will become. Shooting stroke has solid form.

[SONofHAM]

We are going to need Trey Thompson this season.  I think he can provide some good minutes for us in the paint.  His passing already looks pretty strong and hopefully his low post defense and offense will come around after a full year on The Hill.

[hawg1221]

First time main thread poster.  Thought we'd do some obvious "sunshine pumping."  Does this even belong on this board? I'll start:

Manny Watkins, highest FG% on the team, and that game winning layup @ OM was huge for the season.

Nope. Not on this board... Especially if it's positive! I really can tell you're new. Good luck in future posts.

[wheelspigharvey]

Nope. Not on this board... Especially if it's positive! I really can tell you're new. Good luck in future posts.

Ha ha thanks, I was meaning that sometimes things get moved to "Vents" or whatever.  I've been lurking regularly since the JLS debacle.

[Hawg Red]

Jimmy Whitt is going to be a really good player for us, but I'm afraid people might be putting a little too much on him for the coming season. I do think he'll average double figures as a freshman and be starting by the end of the year. The Whitt-Beard backcourt should be a thing of beauty for the next 3 years.

Dusty Hannahs will shine as what we had hoped Anthlon Bell could be. He's more consistent and his shot mechanics are better than Bell's are. I think he will push Bell to be a better player because Bell finally has someone to threaten his spot as the 3-point threat. Bell will have to show the coaches they both deserve to be out there.

[PaintballHog]

I think with all the woes of Portis/Qualls and our late recruiting, many of us have forgot that the guys still here can/will improve by next season. Qualls wasn't a top recruit when he got here, but he improved every year. If everyone improves, and the freshmen contribute as they should, there's a very good chance we will make the tourney again.

[Snoutmaster]

I believe we will be a scrappy team, that won't be out-hustled.  I hope this team hears all this gloom and doom about the upcoming season and feel like they have something to prove and come out hungry.

Woo Pig

[MGB1229]

I think Thompson and Miles will step up (out of necessity) and be serviceable.  You have to think Thompson learned a few things from Portis and Miles being 100% healthy will help out.  Hannahs is going to be a nice luxury along with Bell.  Whitt will be that guard that we've been missing and hopefully Kapita will be a strong rebounding/defensive presence. 

I think Whitt, Hannahs and Kapita will be great replacements for Qualls, Portis and Madden.  The two other spots will have to be filled by Thompson and Miles.  Sure would be nice to sign a small forward with some skills, but it's pretty late in the game recruiting wise. 

[hogsanity]

They will lead the sec in " getting after people" and " picking them up when they get off the damn bus".

Beard is a very good player. Whit will show some of why he is a highly rated recruit. But this team is going to be too dependent on new comers, in a quickly improving sec, to likely challenge for much next year.

[Turminator]

We know that J Williams can pass a teammates shoe through a 2 foot window from 35 feet away 

[razorbackfanatic]

On tape Whitt's ability to dribble penetrate then dish down low to a cutting big, stop and pop or dish back out to an open Hannahs or Bell on the perimeter is something this program has been missing for years. It will make the offense so much more dynamic and teams will not be able to just zone us to death. I sure wish Portis would have stayed and we could have seen that duo develop, but nonetheless this team will look a lot different. If Kapita is healthy and if Thompson has taken a step forward(kinda like Delvon Johnson his SR season) then those guys are the wide body's we've been lacking down low to make us a good rebounding team and that will also give us extra shot opportunities. And with our style of volume shooting being a good rebounding team makes a huge difference.

[Medic821]

If you are positive on anything here be prepared for some smites. Plenty of smart ass responses.😈

[PonderinHog]

They're good enough, they're smart enough, and doggone it, people like them!   :razorback:

[Thepigdoctor]

I think this will look more like a Mike Anderson team than any other we've seen here. We are going to be a scrappy bunch, but I have no doubts that this team is going to surprise some folks.

We aren't void of talent, in fact we'll have four ESPN100 recruits who see significant playing time in Beard (who'll vastly benefit from playing time as a true freshman and won't hit that FR wall down the stretch), a big time scorer in Whitt who has a fantastic high release that will easily translate to the college level, the big body post rebounder/defender with actual height that we have so desperately needed in Kapita, and Kingsley who finally gets a shot to prove what he can do.

I think we'll see a completely different Durham as is common with second year Jucos, Williams will continue to be frustratingly important and could easily average double figures if he finally settles down as a SR. Hannahs and Bell will stretch defenses and give us two legit three point threats, and Miles (if healthy) should provide valuable minutes mostly on defense.

Many times last season we were entirely too predictable as the offense was forced through Portis and Qualls (rightfully so), and would stall out. I honestly believe we'll be a better "team" despite lacking the star power Portis and Qualls brought.

There are going to be struggles without question, but by the end of the season, I think a lot of people are going to look at this bunch and find it hard not to love their effort, style, and surprising results. This team will resemble Mike's UAB team that went to the Sweet 16. Not saying we'll make the sweet 16, or even the NCAAT, but I wouldn't be surprised by a bid. Likely this team will be a final 8 NIT squad, which is respectable considering just how much we lost.

[psooie]

add one serviceable forward which at this point  is a JC or 5th year and you got a good team. If the coaching staff fails to do it, that got trouble brewing and time is getting short.

[Deep Shoat]

Whitt looks legit.

[lefty08]

People who think we struggle next year relying on freshmen and use the reasoning the SEC is improving have to acknowledge the rest of the SEC is playing freshmen as well. Its improving sure, but most of the improvements will be first year players. I wouldn't count us out just yet

[gmarv]

its a golden opportunity for the guys like miles and durham to step up.i believe they will and we,ll be better than people think.

[TheRazorback500]

Bell, Hannahs, Whitt, and Beard are going to give us some legitimate outside threats this year. We should be good in transition.

:razorback:

[chiti66]

We just need to add that SF, and Leon fits the bill to a "T"! Truly, that's all we really need at this point.  If we can land another big, that would be icing on the cake.  But right now, we are in decent shape, considering what we lost.  I hope to see a starting line-up of:

Beard
Whitt
Bell
Williams
Moses

Bench:
Durham
Hannahs
Watkins
Kapita
Miles
Thompson

Woo Pig!

[porkinsons disease]

No- 1 and dones

[nwahogfan1]

We are going to need Trey Thompson this season.  I think he can provide some good minutes for us in the paint.  His passing already looks pretty strong and hopefully his low post defense and offense will come around after a full year on The Hill.

Why wasn't Trey Redshirted.   I hope he will come on and give us 4-6 boards and a few points a game this year but last year was a waste.  So why not redshirt him?

[nwahogfan1]

We just need to add that SF, and Leon fits the bill to a "T"! Truly, that's all we really need at this point.  If we can land another big, that would be icing on the cake.  But right now, we are in decent shape, considering what we lost.  I hope to see a starting line-up of:

Beard
Whitt
Bell
Williams
Moses

Bench:
Durham
Hannahs
Watkins
Kapita
Miles
Thompson

Woo Pig!

Where do you get your points for next year?  I agree we need a SF Stud in that lineup but w also need scoring every where else.  Whitt has to be able to score immediately I think. Beard/Durham are maybe a 6-10 combined  type guys, Bell is so hot and cold but I think he and Hannahs will get us 10-12 ppg I hope.  SF is still up in the air but Whitt will probable play a bunch there unless we sign someone but that spot needs to get us 10-13 ppg.   Kapita/Williams or whoever will play the 4 and maybe gets us 10-12 ppg maybe.  I hope more.  Kingsley/Thompson are the 5s and they combined are 8-11 ppg scorers.    That is not a whole lot of scoring.  Around 50-60 ppg.  This team really needs a older scorer preferable a long armed athletic 6'6 type.

[lefty08]

Where do you get your points for next year?  I agree we need a SF Stud in that lineup but w also need scoring every where else.  Whitt has to be able to score immediately I think. Beard/Durham are maybe a 6-10 combined  type guys, Bell is so hot and cold but I think he and Hannahs will get us 10-12 ppg I hope.  SF is still up in the air but Whitt will probable play a bunch there unless we sign someone but that spot needs to get us 10-13 ppg.   Kapita/Williams or whoever will play the 4 and maybe gets us 10-12 ppg maybe.  I hope more.  Kingsley/Thompson are the 5s and they combined are 8-11 ppg scorers.    That is not a whole lot of scoring.  Around 50-60 ppg.  This team really needs a older scorer preferable a long armed athletic 6'6 type.

I missed where you said something good here.....

[Biggus Piggus]

Trey Thompson, Moses Kingsley and Ted Kapita represent the biggest, strongest front line Arkansas has had in a long time.

Anton Beard, Anthlon Bell, Dusty Hannahs, Manny Watkins and Jimmy Whitt could be a very interesting guard unit.

[chiti66]

Where do you get your points for next year?  I agree we need a SF Stud in that lineup but w also need scoring every where else.  Whitt has to be able to score immediately I think. Beard/Durham are maybe a 6-10 combined  type guys, Bell is so hot and cold but I think he and Hannahs will get us 10-12 ppg I hope.  SF is still up in the air but Whitt will probable play a bunch there unless we sign someone but that spot needs to get us 10-13 ppg.   Kapita/Williams or whoever will play the 4 and maybe gets us 10-12 ppg maybe.  I hope more.  Kingsley/Thompson are the 5s and they combined are 8-11 ppg scorers.    That is not a whole lot of scoring.  Around 50-60 ppg.  This team really needs a older scorer preferable a long armed athletic 6'6 type.

,Good question.  But last year Qualls was our second leading scorer.  Can you honestly say that you knew this would be the case before the season started? 

I don't believe that we will be the offensive team we were last year, but definitely a better defensive squad.  So here's hoping that our defense will lead to our offense. ....which BTW is CMA's philosophy.

Woo Pig!

[Hawg Red]

,Good question.  But last year Qualls was our second leading scorer.  Can you honestly say that you knew this would be the case before the season started? 

This past season?

Yeah, I think everyone figured Qualls would be the second leading scorer. 1.1 points separated him from the leading scorer (Madden) his sophomore year, and everyone knew Qualls was on the rise as a player. He was receiving a lot of national attention and went to the Kevin Durant camp.

I think people can very honestly say they knew Qualls would be the second leading scorer this past season before the season started.

[mhuff]

We are going to need Trey Thompson this season.  I think he can provide some good minutes for us in the paint.  His passing already looks pretty strong and hopefully his low post defense and offense will come around after a full year on The Hill.

Whitt and Kapita should be great additions to our team..... We just really need a scoring SF.

[bhshawgfan]

Jacorey Williams will lead the SEC in scoring

[King Kong]

Jacorey Williams will lead the SEC in shot attempts

Fixed it

[wheelspigharvey]

Fixed it

Not sure that's a positive!

[King Kong]

Not sure that's a positive!

Touché

[choppedporkextrasauce]

If Hogville had been around when The Big O, and MayDay left along with Butch Morris the posts would be similar everyone wondering who the hell was this Scotty Thurman kid? Turned out okay.

[Biggus Piggus]

,Good question.  But last year Qualls was our second leading scorer.  Can you honestly say that you knew this would be the case before the season started? 

It was a coin flip between Qualls and Madden. In 2014 SEC play, Madden typically was a low to mid-teens scorer. Qualls was very up and down that season, higher highs and lower lows than Madden had.

I didn't expect Madden's game to regress the way it did. He shot lower % from the floor and had a lot fewer free throw attempts. Madden seemed to be dedicated to raising his assist numbers, which came at the expense of passing up shots and committing more turnovers.

If Madden had improved as much as Qualls did, the Razorbacks would have been in the Sweet Sixteen or better.

[hogsanity]

If Hogville had been around when The Big O, and MayDay left along with Butch Morris the posts would be similar everyone wondering who the hell was this Scotty Thurman kid? Turned out okay.

Lets see Nolan replaced that group with Beck, Stewart, Williamson, & Thurman. Are you now going to try to convince us that the group coming in is that caliber?

[choppedporkextrasauce]

Lets see Nolan replaced that group with Beck, Stewart, Williamson, & Thurman. Are you now going to try to convince us that the group coming in is that caliber?

Seriously are you brain dead?
Oh sure you can sit back and say Nolan replaced that group with Beck....because you know how things turned out. But again no one knew anything about those recruits except Corliss who was a God among men at the time. No one knew much at all about the others and those that say they knew are liars.

[wheelspigharvey]

Lets see Nolan replaced that group with Beck, Stewart, Williamson, & Thurman. Are you now going to try to convince us that the group coming in is that caliber?

Can't even have one thread without shade thrown.

[UNCLE BACK]

It was a coin flip between Qualls and Madden. In 2014 SEC play, Madden typically was a low to mid-teens scorer. Qualls was very up and down that season, higher highs and lower lows than Madden had.

I didn't expect Madden's game to regress the way it did. He shot lower % from the floor and had a lot fewer free throw attempts. Madden seemed to be dedicated to raising his assist numbers, which came at the expense of passing up shots and committing more turnovers.

If Madden had improved as much as Qualls did, the Razorbacks would have been in the Sweet Sixteen or better.

I could not have said it any better, I also think most thought Kingsley would bring a bit more to the table.

[WorfHog]

Can't even have one thread without shade thrown.

On other forums it's called threadshiiting and it's bannable.

My karma's really pretty right now.

+199/-399

[WBC Hog]

I have high expectations this year for Anton Beard. He will become an instant leader on this team... well at least he needs to.

I hope Whitt can stay consistent throughout the year and on the road. D1 college basketball from high school isn't the easiest transition to make.

Like others have said, Hannahs & Bell could be a lethal combo. I pray for consistency from these two every game!

The rotation of our big men ( Williams, Kingsley, Kapita, and Thompson ) will be interesting to see. I wish we were deeper here 

And the biggest thing of all, please please please can we stay injury free.

[Cresthog]

We're running things extremely lean?

The business school and six sigma would be proud.

[hawgfan4life]

What kind of weak a$$ thread is this for this forum?  I do not understand why mods don't get rid of threads like this.  It simply has no place in this forum.  Everyone knows full well that all threads and posts are supposed to be full of negativity.  Shame on all who contribute to this vileness.

[Deep Shoat]

What kind of weak a$$ thread is this for this forum?  I do not understand why mods don't get rid of threads like this.  It simply has no place in this forum.  Everyone knows full well that all threads and posts are supposed to be full of negativity.  Shame on all who contribute to this vileness.

So, all the people who are accused of being negative always are either posting positives or staying out of the thread.  So you decide to come poke them with a stick in this thread that hasn't gone off the rails in a month.

Dumbass.

[jared72404]

I think that we will barely be on the good side of the NCAA tourney bubble, and win the first game as an 11 or 12 seed.

[sloot]

Bell, Hannahs, Whitt, and Beard are going to give us some legitimate outside threats this year. We should be good in transition.

:razorback:

So excited to see us light it up from deep.

[WilsonHog]

This is what Jump Ball has devolved into? A special "say-something-good-about-our-team" thread?

Should be 20 threads like this after the season we had.

[litmachog]

Sometimes when you have 1 or 2 big time superstars, the rest of the players get to the point of standing around and waiting for those stars to do something.  When those stars leave, the remaining ones tend to step up and keep moving on.  I can see that happening.  Kingsley will be better as he was limited in his minutes.  How do you sit the POY for someone else.  I can see Bell improve as his first year he was just a shooter but he did some other things last year. 

Beard, we saw him grow throughout the year.  Now with an offseason, I think he will grow more to where we are all just gonna be able to just sit back and watch him play.  He will be good.

Kingsley and Thompson, I do expect good growth as players.  I do believe there were limited by Portis' ability and time on the court.  I expect to see them considerably better.

Newcomers - It's not normal for all the new comers (unless you are Kentucky) to be significant contributors the first year but I expect all 3 Whitt, Kingsley, and Hannahs to be significant contributors.

I am looking forward to seeing this team play.

With the loss of the players we had, I believe it will be another season that the team we see in late February and March will not be the same as the one in November.  I believe it will be much better.  I just think we need to be patient with them in the beginning.