Common Misconception Conerning MA

[Pork Twain]

Not directed to you.

I was just curious if you could point out what he is talking about.

[Atlhogfan1]

I was just curious if you could point out what he is talking about.

No.  I didn't agree with rude's post.  I think he overstated how badly we performed in conference as well as how weak it comparatively was to the conference in recent seasons.  I think it has gotten less deep in terms of talent and competitive teams with the exception of UK.  And I don't know why he singled you out with that post.  He will have to explain. 

[BRHogfan]

This is the nightmare year. 

This is the equivalent of Missing out on a big promotion at work, investing your kid's college fund in a "sure thing" then losing it, getting fired from your job, and your wife cheating on you and kicking you out of the house.

I appreciate all of the ideas that a coach should be performing better in year 5, but nearly everything that could've gone wrong in CMAs off season went wrong this off-season.

A bunch of people in this thread just compared this roster to the one he was left with when he started.  Pel never had a roster as good as he started with.  If this is as low as it dips, it's still better than the trajectory it had been on with the last coach. 

[sadhogfan]

The SEC is so weak that Lunardi has 5 teams in and 2 on the bubble. It also is second only to the ACC in NBA draft picks over the last 10 years.

The program hasn't advanced to the Sweet 16 in 20 years while winning only 38% of its' conference games in the decade prior to MA.

Most basketball rebuilds in the one and done era do take this long.

I am not picking on Pork here, but it amazes me how little most of our fans know about the depth of the demise of the program prior to MA, the fact that this is the toughest conference to win on the road in, how much NBA talent is in this league which means it is not an easy league navigate, and then just act like that with fewer big time kids available these days due to the one and done that they wouldn't just want to flock to the U of A. They don't flock to UNLV anymore either for the same reasons. Too long since we have been relevant.

The state of our program before MA was the worst it had been since before Sutton arrived. We had academic problems that had been stabilized thanks to Pel. We were the last D1 school in our region much less conference to get a practice facility, actual attendance was at levels only seen prior to Sutton with some crowds being smaller than the capacity of Barnhill by THOUSANDS, the roster was not even top half of the SEC with not enough schollies available to change that in short order. The only two programs in our conference with worse winning %s were South Carolina and Auburn in the DECADE prior to MA.

So the notion that the program wasn't in "that bad of shape" is not accurate. The notion that rebuilding a basketball program in today's climate is as easy as it was when you could count on 3 McDonald's All Americans to stay for all 4 years(Heury, Day, Mayberry)  is one of just not keeping up with the times.

I want MA to be the guy for sure. Let's not misunderstand that. He may not get it done here. His seat should be heating up. But I am just tired of the misconceptions about the state of today's collegiate game and how it affects a program like ours as well as the lack of recognition about just how far our program has fallen. You can't fix problems that you can't or refuse to see. This program wasn't even on life support when MA arrived, it was being shocked to check for signs of life.

And I have been a Hog basketball fanatic since the earliest days of the Sutton Triplets.

A lot of good stuff here.

[sadhogfan]

Whatever you say.  That was a solid foundation of a roster and a very good class already recruited.

The ONLY thing Pel did worthwhile was fix our APR issues

It SEEMED like a very good class at the time based on rankings, but classes are better evaluated in hindsight:

–Abron did little to nothing here. He is a senior at TCU this year and is still doing little to nothing. He was/is not a good D-1 player.
–Mickelson had some good tools in his skill set, but didn't pan out here or at KU. He was/is not a good D-1 player.
–BJ was a great offensive talent who played poor defense and was sometimes a ball hog. He was a good (not great) college player who stayed for two years.
–Madden turned into a good (not great) college player, but did not develop into that until his junior season.

So the "very good class" you talk about yielded two good (not great) players, who were never good in the same season. That is not a "very good class". If MA would have inherited a team with Rotnei and a healthy Powell, it was a NCAAT team. Without them, it just was not. 18 wins was impressive.

[Biggus Piggus]

I am unconerned.

[BigHog396]

For those of us that are unhappy with the state of the Hogs. 

First basketball should never be compared to football or baseball...ever...

I have been watching the Razorbacks since the 80's and have certain expectations.  I also have watched enough basketball in my life to know it does not take this long to get a program on track and that things were not that bad when MA arrived.  There was talent on the roster and a lot of talent in the upcoming class, already recruited by Pel and the APR was in solid shape.

I do not want the team to lose.

I do not want MA to fail.

I just think this might be a poor match for whatever reason.

For some reason he is not good at recruiting top-level talent and that is what is needed to win in a VERY WEAK SEC.  I would love for this next class to be the start of something great but for whatever reason I fear it will not be.  I honestly feel like it will just be an up for a couple of years and then a letdown and we are doomed to have HDN as our basketball coach for ten years.  I hope I am wrong and next year is the beginning of a long successful run.

Nailed my thoughts exactly.

I would have absolutely loved for MA to come in here, and at least get us back close to where we were in the 80's and early 90's.  I didn't think it was the right hire at the time, but we apparently didn't have any better options at that point in the process, so I was good with it.

Five years in, I'm simply basing my opinions on the overall shape of what I see of him as a coach, both on and off the court.  Just too many missing pieces of what it takes as a coach to get a program to an elite level.

I hope I'm completely wrong, and that folks can throw all of these posts back in my face next year and for year's to come.  If they can, that means I'm getting to really enjoy Razorback basketball again.  I just don't see it happening.

[BigHog396]

A lot of good stuff here.

A lot of garbage there too.

The SEC was one of the easiest conferences to win on the road in just last year.  There has been a massive change in the road winning percentage this year.  Good observation for this year, but not the case year-in and year-out by any means.

The program was not in worse shape than it had been since before Sutton arrived.  We had finished back-to-back seasons with conference records as good as or better than what we had in 2 of Nolan's last three years, we were on an upward trend on our overall record, and we had one of the most highly rated recruiting classes ever signed in Fayetteville getting ready to hit campus.

Pel had us moving back in the right direction, and didn't even get his chance for a fifth season.  Mike is not recruiting at the level that either of his predecessors did, so that's really hurt the rebuilding process.  To act like "the program wasn't even on life-support when MA arrived", is one of the most assinine statements I have seen posted during all of these discussions.  A program that "wasn't even on life-support", wouldn't have had an 18 win season, and wouldn't have had a Top 10 rated signing class coming in.

[Pork Twain]

It SEEMED like a very good class at the time based on rankings, but classes are better evaluated in hindsight:

–Abron did little to nothing here. He is a senior at TCU this year and is still doing little to nothing. He was/is not a good D-1 player.
–Mickelson had some good tools in his skill set, but didn't pan out here or at KU. He was/is not a good D-1 player.
–BJ was a great offensive talent who played poor defense and was sometimes a ball hog. He was a good (not great) college player who stayed for two years.
–Madden turned into a good (not great) college player, but did not develop into that until his junior season.

So the "very good class" you talk about yielded two good (not great) players, who were never good in the same season. That is not a "very good class". If MA would have inherited a team with Rotnei and a healthy Powell, it was a NCAAT team. Without them, it just was not. 18 wins was impressive.

Maybe coaching plays into player development and working to fit the players you have into the style you play?

[wheelspigharvey]

Maybe coaching plays into player development and working to fit the players you have into the style you play?

That's why we said that 18 wins and beating Michigan were pretty good accomplishments for the team. The only player from that incoming class that did stay his whole career was a vital player for us who ended up on some all-time lists here, so what does that say about development? 

You are reaching to say that Mike wasted some sort of opportunity with what was left, and you won't find a lot of support for that, even among folks who think Mike isn't getting 'er done.  Personally I think this reads as you having a low opinion of Mike and that informing this conclusion.

[RazorPiggie]

It SEEMED like a very good class at the time based on rankings, but classes are better evaluated in hindsight:

–Abron did little to nothing here. He is a senior at TCU this year and is still doing little to nothing. He was/is not a good D-1 player.
–Mickelson had some good tools in his skill set, but didn't pan out here or at KU. He was/is not a good D-1 player.
–BJ was a great offensive talent who played poor defense and was sometimes a ball hog. He was a good (not great) college player who stayed for two years.
–Madden turned into a good (not great) college player, but did not develop into that until his junior season.

So the "very good class" you talk about yielded two good (not great) players, who were never good in the same season. That is not a "very good class". If MA would have inherited a team with Rotnei and a healthy Powell, it was a NCAAT team. Without them, it just was not. 18 wins was impressive.

The staff tried to turn two of those players into offensive lineman.

[Pork Twain]

That's why we said that 18 wins and beating Michigan were pretty good accomplishments for the team. The only player from that incoming class that did stay his whole career was a vital player for us who ended up on some all-time lists here, so what does that say about development? 

You are reaching to say that Mike wasted some sort of opportunity with what was left, and you won't find a lot of support for that, even among folks who think Mike isn't getting 'er done.  Personally I think this reads as you having a low opinion of Mike and that informing this conclusion.

I do have a low opinion on what he has done here so far.  I have been pretty clear about that.

[wheelspigharvey]

I do have a low opinion on what he has done here so far.  I have been pretty clear about that.

So that's why you think he did a worse job than he should have the first year, not because it's actually the case.

If we had been an objectively high-talent team, you might have something.

[Pork Twain]

So that's why you think he did a worse job than he should have the first year, not because it's actually the case.

If we had been an objectively high-talent team, you might have something.

Funny how the talent we had on campus and what we had recruited in that class is being downplayed now.  Talk about an agenda.  My judgement is not clouded at all.  Recruiting and utilizing players is a continual problem to date.

[wheelspigharvey]

Funny how the talent we had on campus and what we had recruited in that class is being downplayed now.  Talk about an agenda.  My judgement is not clouded at all.  Recruiting and utilizing players is a continual problem to date.

It was a good class on paper but overall the roster itself wasn't good, AND hindsight shows that two of those guys were somewhat overrated, having gone to other schools and not done much.  The other two turned out fine.  Utilizing players is not a problem, I don't know what you've been watching.

[BRHogfan]

Funny how the talent we had on campus and what we had recruited in that class is being downplayed now.  Talk about an agenda.  My judgement is not clouded at all.  Recruiting and utilizing players is a continual problem to date.

So how would that class have shaken out differently if we had a different coach?  I don't have a specific coach in mind, but say there was a coach that was an upgrade over Mike Anderson, do you think Rotnei stays?  I sometimes wonder if part of him leaving was the chance to play at Butler because of all the success they had been having. 

Does Upgrade Coach keep Marshawn Powell from getting injured after two games of the 2011-2012 season?
Does Upgrade Coach keep BJ Young from declaring after his sophomore year?
Does Upgrade Coach give Mickelson more than an average of 16 mpg and somehow get more than 5 and 3 out of him?

[wholehog92]

Mickelson went to KU, that coach couldn't get him to perform either.  No one is doubting that coach's ability.

Dusty Hannahs played at TT and was an OK shooter.  He comes here and he's flirting with all time accuracy numbers.

Moses Kingsley is talked about one of the most improved players in the country in almost every broadcast.

I'll go along with Mike isn't recruiting well.  I'll even concede that he isn't managing game situations consistently well.

I think it's absurd to say our academics (APR) were in order when he arrived.  We lost a scholly his first year and were in danger of losing one his second year depending on performance.

That roster was average at best and he won 18 games with it.  Losing Kapeeta was a big loss this season.  Look at the difference Thompson made last night with his play.  It converted this team into a threat to contend with anyone.  In fact, every time Thompson shows up we win.  Having a talent like Kapeeta would have been significant.  Who knows about Williams after seeing Kingsley's development.  I was not concerned about his loss when it happened, but he did get more PT than Kingsley last year so who knows.

Mike isn't a HOF coach, but he's the best we've had since Nolan left.  I'm not sure I see a whole lot out there better than he is that would take the job right now.  I'm not opposed to a new coach, I just haven't seen one perform consistently better than MA over their career that would be willing to leave where they are.

[Pork Twain]

I agree to disagree.

[wheelspigharvey]

I agree to disagree.

Sounds good!

This sounds weird but you having your own face as your avatar helps me agree to disagree rather than just disagree.

[TomBigBeeHog]

There is a thread in the bask recr forum about how we have the 27th ranked class right now and 5th in the SEC.  A 27th ranked football class would be somewhere between the 11th - 14th SEC class depending on Vandy, UK, Mizzou and maybe a MSU and far behind most of our SECW competition.  It is a very unique situation to be in and one no other football program is and our bask program certainly isn't. 

It isn't a double standard.  Different situations.

247 has football class at #25 and 9th in the SEC. Basketball class is 27th and 5th. They seem to be virtually neck and neck in recruiting for 2016 and both need to step it up going forward especially the football team.

Getting blown out of the water in recruiting by just about everyone in the West doesn't make it easy to overwhelm anybody with talent and no one is going to match the recruiting juggernaut at KY, so both CMA and CBB are going to need to coach their boys up to get into the upper echelon. Hope they both do just that.

[Captain Morgan]

247 has football class at #25 and 9th in the SEC. Basketball class is 27th and 5th. They seem to be virtually neck and neck in recruiting for 2016 and both need to step it up going forward especially the football team.

Getting blown out of the water in recruiting by just about everyone in the West doesn't make it easy to overwhelm anybody with talent and no one is going to match the recruiting juggernaut at KY, so both CMA and CBB are going to need to coach their boys up to get into the upper echelon. Hope they both do just that.

Why do we still have football 's basketball argument? This is like a broken record. 

[HawgAdvocate]

I think it's absurd to say our academics (APR) were in order when he arrived.  We lost a scholly his first year and were in danger of losing one his second year depending on performance.

You don't understand how APR works. It was announced in 2013 that Arkansas had gotten out of the APR mess, but the four individual year scores that went into it were from the 2008-09 season through the 2011-12 seasons. They earned a 951 four-year score, which at the time was the best the program had ever seen. Those were three of Pel's four years.

Arkansas was hurt, all this time, by JUST a one year score of 755 from 2007-08. That score came in Pel's first year, when he came in April (after Altman wouldn't) to take on the task of getting 12 ineligible players to be eligible to play that fall. That team had six seniors, and not one was far enough along to graduate on time. No coach could have fixed that in one off-season, yet all of the players (thankfully) became eligible over the summer to play in the fall.

Coach A's first season was fortunate enough to be the one where the 755 score left the four year score. But because APR scores are a year behind in reporting, it wasn't until Coach A's second season that it was announced that we were over the APR threshold. Coach A got a lot of undue credit for simply being the coach when the announcement came. He oversaw the last of the four individual year scores, and all of those guys were Pel's players.

When you fall under the then NCAA APR threshold of 925 (its now 930) over multiple years, the NCAA can/will penalize you. A 755 single year score will screw any program over for the duration it's included in a 4 year score. The NCAA chose NOT to penalize Arkansas in two of the three years (2010 & 2012) they COULD have, because there was significant progress being made every year since since the 755 score. BUT, a penalty had to be issued at some point (2011) over the three year period, out of fairness to the APR mandate and the other schools who were being penalized for similar issues. Back to back annual penalties would have been unfair since Arkansas, under Pel and a renewed dedication towards academics by the athletic department, had come so far in changing what Heath had left behind.

[HoopS]

Correct

[Pork Twain]

Why do we still have football 's basketball argument? This is like a broken record. 

Because people are crazy

[razorsharp94]

I find it odd that the basis of the argument on this thread is that the roster was "loaded" when Mike got here.  As already pointed out the 2011 class was probably the most overrated class in Arkansas history.  Madden, a five star, by some services was possibly not even the best player on the AA level at EPC.  Mickelson was a 3 point shooting big man in 4A.  Abron wasn't that good.  Ross never even made it to campus.  BJ Young was good but selfish--he went from shooting 41% from 3 to 29% in year 2 but still averaged the same amount of points per game.  Didn't Marshawn Powell get hurt in year one as well?  Rotnei Clarke left along with Glenn Bryant, who seemed like a perfect fit for Mike, but apparently had many skeletons in the closet and was asked to leave.  That doesn't look like a "loaded" team to me.  Yes we also lost a scholarship along the way due to APR.  We were going to lose another scholarship the next season but due to the fact that we improved it so much they let us off the hook. 

As far as "lack of development" of the '11 class why have players like Qualls, Portis, Bell, Durham, and Kingsley been able to develop but those guys weren't.  I might add that Ky Madden, who again wasn't even the best player in AA, developed into a 1,000 point scorer and overall solid player.  He was overrated, though, coming out of high school. 

I can understand being upset about this season, but 27 wins last year, 22 the year before, and what seems like a good class that fits what Mike wants to do along with a good core of returners says that this program hit more of a speed bump than it has taken a nose dive.

[Pork Twain]

I find it odd that the basis of the argument on this thread is that the roster was "loaded" when Mike got here.  As already pointed out the 2011 class was probably the most overrated class in Arkansas history.  Madden, a five star, by some services was possibly not even the best player on the AA level at EPC.  Mickelson was a 3 point shooting big man in 4A.  Abron wasn't that good.  Ross never even made it to campus.  BJ Young was good but selfish--he went from shooting 41% from 3 to 29% in year 2 but still averaged the same amount of points per game.  Didn't Marshawn Powell get hurt in year one as well?  Rotnei Clarke left along with Glenn Bryant, who seemed like a perfect fit for Mike, but apparently had many skeletons in the closet and was asked to leave.  That doesn't look like a "loaded" team to me.  Yes we also lost a scholarship along the way due to APR.  We were going to lose another scholarship the next season but due to the fact that we improved it so much they let us off the hook. 

As far as "lack of development" of the '11 class why have players like Qualls, Portis, Bell, Durham, and Kingsley been able to develop but those guys weren't.  I might add that Ky Madden, who again wasn't even the best player in AA, developed into a 1,000 point scorer and overall solid player.  He was overrated, though, coming out of high school. 

I can understand being upset about this season, but 27 wins last year, 22 the year before, and what seems like a good class that fits what Mike wants to do along with a good core of returners says that this program hit more of a speed bump than it has taken a nose dive.

That was by FAR, not the purpose of this thread

[wheelspigharvey]

I also have watched enough basketball in my life to know it does not take this long to get a program on track and that things were not that bad when MA arrived.  There was talent on the roster and a lot of talent in the upcoming class, already recruited by Pel and the APR was in solid shape.

You brought it up, and you said you weren't happy with the development.

[Pork Twain]

You brought it up, and you said you weren't happy with the development.

I have said lots of things and the OP was like three paragraphs.

[razorsharp94]

That was by FAR, not the purpose of this thread

Actually the purpose of this thread was to say all the reasons Mike needed to get fired.  The basis of the argument was laid out about why they weren't valid.

[Pork Twain]

Actually the purpose of this thread was to say all the reasons Mike needed to get fired.  The basis of the argument was laid out about why they weren't valid.

Ok

[wheelspigharvey]

Ok

I just think razorsharp94 addressed your OP pretty much the same way I did, you responded to mine but you told him he was off topic.  Just think that's weird.

[Atlhogfan1]

I find it odd that the basis of the argument on this thread is that the roster was "loaded" when Mike got here.  As already pointed out the 2011 class was probably the most overrated class in Arkansas history.  Madden, a five star, by some services was possibly not even the best player on the AA level at EPC.  Mickelson was a 3 point shooting big man in 4A.  Abron wasn't that good.  Ross never even made it to campus.  BJ Young was good but selfish--he went from shooting 41% from 3 to 29% in year 2 but still averaged the same amount of points per game.  Didn't Marshawn Powell get hurt in year one as well?  Rotnei Clarke left along with Glenn Bryant, who seemed like a perfect fit for Mike, but apparently had many skeletons in the closet and was asked to leave.  That doesn't look like a "loaded" team to me.  Yes we also lost a scholarship along the way due to APR.  We were going to lose another scholarship the next season but due to the fact that we improved it so much they let us off the hook. 

As far as "lack of development" of the '11 class why have players like Qualls, Portis, Bell, Durham, and Kingsley been able to develop but those guys weren't.  I might add that Ky Madden, who again wasn't even the best player in AA, developed into a 1,000 point scorer and overall solid player.  He was overrated, though, coming out of high school. 

I can understand being upset about this season, but 27 wins last year, 22 the year before, and what seems like a good class that fits what Mike wants to do along with a good core of returners says that this program hit more of a speed bump than it has taken a nose dive.

They weren't too overrated by the services or evaluators.  They were by the fans.  Also have to remember injuries have hampered Abron and Ross.  None of these players were difference makers with the only one close BJ who we know had a flawed game.  They were all going to be role players to a varying degree and not talented leaders(ie Portis).  This class should have tempered expectations of future players based on hype but it hasn't. 

Qualls development on the court cannot be argued.  He couldn't dribble even decently till his Jr season. 

Bell - not so much.  Bust till this season given he was signed to fill the role of shooter and quick points. 

Portis was a McD AA.

Madden, like Kingsley, a top 40 recruit.  Some of it is development and some of it is their natural growth towards their ceilings. 

I'm not one who will say Mike inherited a good, deep roster.  Powell injury also hurt.  You are overstating what Mike did for the APR.

[Pork Twain]

I just think razorsharp94 addressed your OP pretty much the same way I did, you responded to mine but you told him he was off topic.  Just think that's weird.

You and I have had an ongoing discussion that has evolved.  Pretty sure he is addressing the OP.  I do not want MA fired, I want to win.  If he turns it around next year and we build on it, I will be happy.  His track record does not show that to be likely, nor does it show it to be unlikely as this is his longest job.  What it has shown is the inability to consistently pull in top talent and improve.  At every stop he peaks, declines and moves on.  This is the first stop where we will see if he can get back up.

I never said this team was "loaded" when MA arrived, but it surely was not void of talent as some would state and the APR had been corrected by Pel.  That is hard for me to say, because I really disliked Pel.

[DeltaBoy]

MA doing the best he can with what he got so far.

[azhog10]

When MA stepped on campus he had the following returnees and zero APR issues to worry about.

You say zero APR issues to worry about, and I understand how APR works, but that said he had to forefit a scholarship his first season here. So to say he had nothing to worry about APR wise is not true. And yes our scores were improving and seemed to be out of the woods. That said, the APR did have an impact with a loss of a scholarship. Would it have mattered? Who knows, probably not. But it still was a scholarship that he was not able to use.

[azhog10]

I'm just surprised the OP didn't include "street ball".

[TheOtherColombia]

You say zero APR issues to worry about, and I understand how APR works, but that said he had to forefit a scholarship his first season here. So to say he had nothing to worry about APR wise is not true. And yes our scores were improving and seemed to be out of the woods. That said, the APR did have an impact with a loss of a scholarship. Would it have mattered? Who knows, probably not. But it still was a scholarship that he was not able to use.

Doesn't he have one those every year (scholarship he isn't able to use)?

[azhog10]

Doesn't he have one those every year (scholarship he isn't able to use)?

I would say doesn't vs. isn't. 11-12 was the only year he couldn't have used it if he wanted to. Like I said I'm not saying he would have used it, but he couldn't nonetheless.

[HawgAdvocate]

I would say doesn't vs. isn't. 11-12 was the only year he couldn't have used it if he wanted to. Like I said I'm not saying he would have used it, but he couldn't nonetheless.

Coach A had three unused scholarships that first season. Glenn Bryant's departure covered the spot lost to APR, but the staff wasn't ready/able to replace Jeff Peterson and Rotnei Clarke.

[ShadowHawg]

Coach A had three unused scholarships that first season. Glenn Bryant's departure covered the spot lost to APR, but the staff wasn't ready/able to replace Jeff Peterson and Rotnei Clarke.

Kind of like when Heath wasn't ready/able to replace Iguadola?

[HogBreath]

Kind of like when Heath wasn't ready/able to replace Iguadola?

Exactly..and I'm still upset at Heath for having 6 players in one class.  Just stupid.

[HawgAdvocate]

Kind of like when Heath wasn't ready/able to replace Iguadola?

Not exactly. Heath did manage to bring in two freshman guards, in Eric Ferguson and Kendrick Davis. Davis left after a year, but bodies were needed and bodies were found. Iguodala was released from his LOI in mid-March. That's a little different from knowing that Rotnei wanted out for a couple months and was at best a 50/50 shot at staying after appealing to him to think about it some more. Peterson announced his departure in June, after graduation, which didn't surprise anyone.

[southarkhog06]

The agendas on both sides is deep in here.

I love how both sides of the argument screams "I am just being objective, its the other guys pushing an agenda and ruining JB for everyone".

[Wild Bill Hog]

So this isn't about Anderson as it is the SEC in general.  Is it possible that while the conference isn't super great out of conference, the fact that many of these teams are rosters full of kids who have played in the SEC for awhile (not a ton of talent leaving early I mean) and coaches who know each others' game plans very well, that dominating in  conference play isn't an easy task for anybody?  Pretty much every team has lost to a bottom-dweller and a mid-tier team at this point.

Wonder why none of them have left early.

[nwahogfan1]

One Common Misconception I hear is that "all he recruits is athletes." I disagree. I think he brings in too many players that don't really fit what he wants and he needs more athletes.

Totally correct. Our guards collectively  are probable some of the least athletic in the conference.

[azhog10]

Coach A had three unused scholarships that first season. Glenn Bryant's departure covered the spot lost to APR, but the staff wasn't ready/able to replace Jeff Peterson and Rotnei Clarke.

Like be already said, I'm not out here saying he would have used it. Just saying he had to forfeit a scholarship due to APR. TO say he wasn't affected at all isn't entirely true.

[Dr Carl aka Shorthog]

For those of us that are unhappy with the state of the Hogs. 

First basketball should never be compared to football or baseball...ever...

I have been watching the Razorbacks since the 80's and have certain expectations.  I also have watched enough basketball in my life to know it does not take this long to get a program on track and that things were not that bad when MA arrived.  There was talent on the roster and a lot of talent in the upcoming class, already recruited by Pel and the APR was in solid shape.

I do not want the team to lose.

I do not want MA to fail.

I just think this might be a poor match for whatever reason.

For some reason he is not good at recruiting top-level talent and that is what is needed to win in a VERY WEAK SEC.  I would love for this next class to be the start of something great but for whatever reason I fear it will not be.  I honestly feel like it will just be an up for a couple of years and then a letdown and we are doomed to have HDN as our basketball coach for ten years.  I hope I am wrong and next year is the beginning of a long successful run.

This sums up pretty well how I feel about MA and the basketball program.