Rotnei is down to three schools

[Tomhog™]

ARK, ORU, and OSU.  I like our chances!  :razorback:

[Hogtropolis™]

Good to hear we are in the top 3.  It looks like this class is shaping up to be a pretty good.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

ARK, ORU, and OSU.  I like our chances!  :razorback:

i did at first but not so much anymore since that article in Tulsa World came out that he would either go to ORU or OSU.

and plus the fact that he didnt committ on his visit is kinda scary too.

[Tomhog™]

Having his dad on the ORU staff does give them a better shot than OSU, but not necessarily Arkansas.  OSU just recently started recruiting him, so they are behind the game.  I feel the odds are 50 % Ark, 30% ORU, and 20% OSU.

[selfexplanatory]

Grandma's cooking should be the clincher.

[J Man]

My wife saw on TV yesterday where ORU is broke, and the blame is being put on the extravagent spending of the Roberts family.  It was her understanding that a lawsuit had been filed against the Roberts to try and get repaid for some of the spending.

I don't know if they will file bankruptcy or what the future is for the school.  It might be fine if enough contributors donate enough money, but it appears they are trying to fix the leak that is taking out too much money.

[Landonhog]

Has he visited OSU yet? 

Stillwater should be our best recruiting tool...  That place is BRUTAL!  How any high school kid finds a way to convince themselves to live there for 4 years, is beyond me....  Sports scholarship or not, it's just BAD.

SEC or Little XII?  Playing in front of 5-10k every week or sold out areans in the SEC?  Seems like an easy choice to me...  OSU's basketball games have a great atmosphere, but 99% of the other Big XII venues will be....*crickets*... 

[razorbackfan4life]

COME ON ROTNEI!!!!  Be the next Razorback all-star!!!

[Tomhog™]

Has he visited OSU yet? 

Stillwater should be our best recruiting tool...  That place is BRUTAL!  How any high school kid finds a way to convince themselves to live there for 4 years, is beyond me....  Sports scholarship or not, it's just BAD.

SEC or Little XII?  Playing in front of 5-10k every week or sold out areans in the SEC?  Seems like an easy choice to me...  OSU's basketball games have a great atmosphere, but 99% of the other Big XII venues will be....*crickets*... 

I'm still trying to figure out how we lost James Anderson to OSU.

[mrcrowley]

Has he visited OSU yet? 

Stillwater should be our best recruiting tool...  That place is BRUTAL!  How any high school kid finds a way to convince themselves to live there for 4 years, is beyond me....  Sports scholarship or not, it's just BAD.

SEC or Little XII?  Playing in front of 5-10k every week or sold out areans in the SEC?  Seems like an easy choice to me...  OSU's basketball games have a great atmosphere, but 99% of the other Big XII venues will be....*crickets*... 

I'm still trying to figure out how we lost James Anderson to OSU.

Stan Heath

[Tomhog™]

Has he visited OSU yet? 

Stillwater should be our best recruiting tool...  That place is BRUTAL!  How any high school kid finds a way to convince themselves to live there for 4 years, is beyond me....  Sports scholarship or not, it's just BAD.

SEC or Little XII?  Playing in front of 5-10k every week or sold out areans in the SEC?  Seems like an easy choice to me...  OSU's basketball games have a great atmosphere, but 99% of the other Big XII venues will be....*crickets*... 

I'm still trying to figure out how we lost James Anderson to OSU.

Stan Heath

Who

[GRIMMHOG]

How do you pronounce his first name? Rotnei

[HawgAdvocate]

How do you pronounce his first name? Rotnei

I've heard folks call him Rodney, but I'm thinking it's like Rodney, but with a T insetad of a D.

Rot-Knee is how I've been told it's pronounced.

[ConwayHog]

My wife saw on TV yesterday where ORU is broke, and the blame is being put on the extravagent spending of the Roberts family.  It was her understanding that a lawsuit had been filed against the Roberts to try and get repaid for some of the spending.

I don't know if they will file bankruptcy or what the future is for the school.  It might be fine if enough contributors donate enough money, but it appears they are trying to fix the leak that is taking out too much money.

I still think it's funny that someone who apparently claimed they can heal people built a hospital. 

[Kilgor]

Has he visited OSU yet? 

Stillwater should be our best recruiting tool...  That place is BRUTAL!  How any high school kid finds a way to convince themselves to live there for 4 years, is beyond me....  Sports scholarship or not, it's just BAD.

SEC or Little XII?  Playing in front of 5-10k every week or sold out areans in the SEC?  Seems like an easy choice to me...  OSU's basketball games have a great atmosphere, but 99% of the other Big XII venues will be....*crickets*... 

I'm still trying to figure out how we lost James Anderson to OSU.

T. Boone Pickens

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Boone_Pickens

[The_Iceman]

Fortson and Clarke = Reid and Bradley  ??

[pcrouch3809]

I'm still trying to figure out how we lost James Anderson to OSU.
[/quote]

T. Boone Pickens

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Boone_Pickens
[/quote]

Listen John, you'll have to excuse me, T. Boone Pickens just walked in. 

[HawgG]

Has he visited OSU yet? 

Stillwater should be our best recruiting tool...  That place is BRUTAL!  How any high school kid finds a way to convince themselves to live there for 4 years, is beyond me....  Sports scholarship or not, it's just BAD.

SEC or Little XII?  Playing in front of 5-10k every week or sold out areans in the SEC?  Seems like an easy choice to me...  OSU's basketball games have a great atmosphere, but 99% of the other Big XII venues will be....*crickets*... 

I'm still trying to figure out how we lost James Anderson to OSU.

Stan Heath

If you are going to answer at least have the facts right.

James Dickey is the reason why Anderson went to Okie State.

Look it up.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

Has he visited OSU yet? 

Stillwater should be our best recruiting tool...  That place is BRUTAL!  How any high school kid finds a way to convince themselves to live there for 4 years, is beyond me....  Sports scholarship or not, it's just BAD.

SEC or Little XII?  Playing in front of 5-10k every week or sold out areans in the SEC?  Seems like an easy choice to me...  OSU's basketball games have a great atmosphere, but 99% of the other Big XII venues will be....*crickets*... 

I'm still trying to figure out how we lost James Anderson to OSU.

Stan Heath

If you are going to answer at least have the facts right.

James Dickey is the reason why Anderson went to Okie State.

Look it up.

so he recruited James Anderson harder and better than coach heath?

Is there a previous relationship with James Dicky?
Did Anderson just really really want to play for Coach Dicky?

we don't know the story there.

[hawgwash]

My wife saw on TV yesterday where ORU is broke, and the blame is being put on the extravagent spending of the Roberts family.  It was her understanding that a lawsuit had been filed against the Roberts to try and get repaid for some of the spending.

I don't know if they will file bankruptcy or what the future is for the school.  It might be fine if enough contributors donate enough money, but it appears they are trying to fix the leak that is taking out too much money.

I still think it's funny that someone who apparently claimed they can heal people built a hospital. 

Remember when Oral Roberts said if he couldn't raise $1,000,000 (or some specified some), God was going to "call him home"?

[HawgG]

Has he visited OSU yet? 

Stillwater should be our best recruiting tool...  That place is BRUTAL!  How any high school kid finds a way to convince themselves to live there for 4 years, is beyond me....  Sports scholarship or not, it's just BAD.

SEC or Little XII?  Playing in front of 5-10k every week or sold out areans in the SEC?  Seems like an easy choice to me...  OSU's basketball games have a great atmosphere, but 99% of the other Big XII venues will be....*crickets*... 

I'm still trying to figure out how we lost James Anderson to OSU.

Stan Heath

If you are going to answer at least have the facts right.

James Dickey is the reason why Anderson went to Okie State.

Look it up.

so he recruited James Anderson harder and better than coach heath?

Is there a previous relationship with James Dicky?
Did Anderson just really really want to play for Coach Dicky?

we don't know the story there.

Yes credit Dickey for having a much longer relationship with Anderson then Heath and his staff.

However make no mistake about it, Anderson's HS coach's relationship with Dickey and Sutton is the main reason why Anderson picked OSU.

Also make no mistake about it that if Anderson had signed with Arkansas Stan would still be the HC here.

So for those that are happy that there was a coaching change do not ever say that they wish James Anderson was a Razorback.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

Has he visited OSU yet? 

Stillwater should be our best recruiting tool...  That place is BRUTAL!  How any high school kid finds a way to convince themselves to live there for 4 years, is beyond me....  Sports scholarship or not, it's just BAD.

SEC or Little XII?  Playing in front of 5-10k every week or sold out areans in the SEC?  Seems like an easy choice to me...  OSU's basketball games have a great atmosphere, but 99% of the other Big XII venues will be....*crickets*... 

I'm still trying to figure out how we lost James Anderson to OSU.

Stan Heath

If you are going to answer at least have the facts right.

James Dickey is the reason why Anderson went to Okie State.

Look it up.

so he recruited James Anderson harder and better than coach heath?

Is there a previous relationship with James Dicky?
Did Anderson just really really want to play for Coach Dicky?

we don't know the story there.

Yes credit Dickey for having a much longer relationship with Anderson then Heath and his staff.

However make no mistake about it, Anderson's HS coach's relationship with Dickey and Sutton is the main reason why Anderson picked OSU.

Also make no mistake about it that if Anderson had signed with Arkansas Stan would still be the HC here.

So for those that are happy that there was a coaching change do not ever say that they wish James Anderson was a Razorback.

i wish we had the future big 12 freshman of the year

and i dont like it when my basketball team underachieves so i guess you could say i was glad there was a coaching change too.

i wish coach heath all the luck in the world at USF. He'll do just fine there.

[HawgG]

i wish we had the future big 12 freshman of the year

and i dont like it when my basketball team underachieves so i guess you could say i was glad there was a coaching change too.

i wish coach heath all the luck in the world at USF. He'll do just fine there.

Hollywood you and I understand this, gaining success and maintaining success comes down to recruiting.

Nolan knew just as much or more about coaching the season he got fired as he did when his '94 team won the National Title, but his recruiting was not on the same level and that is what got him fired.

Stan Heath had faults no doubt about it, but I often laugh at the long list of things people bring up as reasons why he got fired.Recruiting or rather the misses in critical areas is what got Stan canned.That applys to him at USF too.Got to get it right there or else history will repeat itself.

Coach Pelphrey has many Razorbacks fans calling him the greatest thing since the making of the DVR.Understand this, while he gets to start off much better then either Nolan or Stan did, his ultimate success or failure will come down to recruiting, not what style of pace he plays.

Nothing is more important then recruiting, and that is why so many coaches are more then willing to cheat in order to get ahead.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

i wish we had the future big 12 freshman of the year

and i dont like it when my basketball team underachieves so i guess you could say i was glad there was a coaching change too.

i wish coach heath all the luck in the world at USF. He'll do just fine there.

Hollywood you and I understand this, gaining success and maintaining success comes down to recruiting.

Nolan knew just as much or more about coaching the season he got fired as he did when his '94 team won the National Title, but his recruiting was not on the same level and that is what got him fired.

Stan Heath had faults no doubt about it, but I often laugh at the long list of things people bring up as reasons why he got fired.Recruiting or rather the misses in critical areas is what got Stan canned.That applys to him at USF too.Got to get it right there or else history will repeat itself.

Coach Pelphrey has many Razorbacks fans calling him the greatest thing since the making of the DVR.Understand this, while he gets to start off much better then either Nolan or Stan did, his ultimate success or failure will come down to recruiting, not what style of pace he plays.

Nothing is more important then recruiting, and that is why so many coaches are more then willing to cheat in order to get ahead.

Nobody knows about coach Pel yet. I really have not seen anybody crowning coach Pel the new Dean Smith yet but all the talk about how conditioned the players are right now tends to get people fired up.
And there is no doubt this team he has can do some damage. We have some serious offensive weapons. Gotta give it up to coach heath for getting Hill, Townes, Thomas, Weems, Welsh, Ervin.
There's also talk of team chemistry improving. Team chemistry had been a big issue.

Sure recruiting had alot to do with coach heath getting the ax. But also game attendance played a HUGE role and of course Arkansas underachieving had alot to do with coach Heath getting fired.

I will go down as a Heath fan. I supported him and backed him up against people on various message boards but the bottom line is we were not getting much out of the product on the court. We were AWFUL on the road. I mean it didnt matter who we played, we were AWFUL on the road no matter where or who we played.

If coach P can get this team to the sweet 16, i'll give him mad props but we will not know for sure about Coach P until we see his product on the court in year 3.
That 09 class looks to be loaded.
Just ready for things to get tipped off. Im sick of seeing the football team underperform under nuttjob.

[The_Iceman]

09 will be Pel's defining recruiting year.

if he gets all of his top prospects.... its back to Hawg Ball!

[coach, my back hurts]

Whats the big deal about '09?  Do we have some good in-state athletes?

[oldfart]

I just want to hear one of our guys on an interview say "We wanted it more than they did"....

[razorhead94]

Its obvious why Stan got fired.  It wasn't because of bad recruiting.  Stan was very good in this area.  It is perhaps what he did with that talent that got him fired.  Being inconsistent throughout the year and a very very poor road record were not good.  And also there was an inconsistency in fan apathy and putting fans in bud walton.  It was obvious that arkansas had more talent on the floor than most of their opponents, however, they would get the best of us.  If you go back and look at some of the opposing coach's comments they will tell you ark. had some of the best talent in the SEC.  Stan underachieved here.  Maybe not by his standards but by the standards of arkansas basketball.  It was time to move on.

[clifflee4mvp]

Its obvious why Stan got fired.  It wasn't because of bad recruiting.  Stan was very good in this area.  It is perhaps what he did with that talent that got him fired.  Being inconsistent throughout the year and a very very poor road record were not good.  It was obvious that arkansas had more talent on the floor than most of their opponents, however, they would get the best of us.  If you go back and look at some of the opposing coach's comments they will tell you ark. had some of the best talent in the SEC.  Stan underachieved here.  Maybe not by his standards but by the standards of arkansas basketball.  It was time to move on.

absolutely love your avatar.

[razorhead94]

Its obvious why Stan got fired.  It wasn't because of bad recruiting.  Stan was very good in this area.  It is perhaps what he did with that talent that got him fired.  Being inconsistent throughout the year and a very very poor road record were not good.  It was obvious that arkansas had more talent on the floor than most of their opponents, however, they would get the best of us.  If you go back and look at some of the opposing coach's comments they will tell you ark. had some of the best talent in the SEC.  Stan underachieved here.  Maybe not by his standards but by the standards of arkansas basketball.  It was time to move on.

absolutely love your avatar.

One of my favorite players of all time.

[clifflee4mvp]

Its obvious why Stan got fired.  It wasn't because of bad recruiting.  Stan was very good in this area.  It is perhaps what he did with that talent that got him fired.  Being inconsistent throughout the year and a very very poor road record were not good.  It was obvious that arkansas had more talent on the floor than most of their opponents, however, they would get the best of us.  If you go back and look at some of the opposing coach's comments they will tell you ark. had some of the best talent in the SEC.  Stan underachieved here.  Maybe not by his standards but by the standards of arkansas basketball.  It was time to move on.

absolutely love your avatar.

One of my favorite players of all time.

him and Pat bradley are my two all-time guys. Guess I have a thing for the 3-ball!

[HawgG]

Its obvious why Stan got fired.  It wasn't because of bad recruiting.  Stan was very good in this area.  It is perhaps what he did with that talent that got him fired.  Being inconsistent throughout the year and a very very poor road record were not good.  And also there was an inconsistency in fan apathy and putting fans in bud walton.  It was obvious that arkansas had more talent on the floor than most of their opponents, however, they would get the best of us.  If you go back and look at some of the opposing coach's comments they will tell you ark. had some of the best talent in the SEC.  Stan underachieved here.  Maybe not by his standards but by the standards of arkansas basketball.  It was time to move on.

Not one true PG(floor leader) in 5 recruiting classes.

2003 class
No Post players signed that would be eligible.

2004 class
Allowing R.Thompson to convince him that Dontell Jefferson was a potential star PG.Misses on Gibson(soft commitment for a while), misses on Aldridge(connected to Gibson), pitifully looses Charles Rhodes to rival MSU(Rhodes wanted to be a Razorback),decided to take Charles Thomas over Taj Grey.Looses out on Kyle Lowery.

2005 class
Without a doubt the worse signing class in the history on D-1 basketball.
Signed Sean McCurdy, Ryan McBride, and Cyrus McGowen
Those three players contributed a halfcourt made basket and a tip-in dunk, that is all the positives Arkansas received from that class.The negatives for outweight the positives, as in helping Arkansas loose games.

2006 class
Was Heath's best one but loosing out mysteriously to GT for Thad Young hurt badly.

These are the facts and as I said before recruiting got Heath fired as it did Nolan and just about every other high D-1 head coach.

Go over to Illinois message boards and read some of the things the Fighting Illini fans have been saying about Bruce Weber.Illinois has very good attendance, play an exciting style, has had major success recently,and Weber is an outstanding floor coach.However that hasn't stop the fans from ripping him about his recruiting and some have even called for a change.If Weber looses his job someday recruiting , or lack there of will be the reason, because he is damn good everywhere else.

[The Boar War]

2005 class
Without a doubt the worse signing class in the history on D-1 basketball.
Signed Sean McCurdy, Ryan McBride, and Cyrus McGowen
Those three players contributed a halfcourt made basket and a tip-in dunk, that is all the positives Arkansas received from that class.The negatives for outweight the positives, as in helping Arkansas loose games.

Youre right.  Who wants to trade those three scholarships (which we aren't even using) for a halfway decent junior class. 

[Tomhog™]

I agree that Heath's recruiting was something to be desired.  2005 was a total wash.  His last year was by far his best year of recruiting, but still falls short of what a team like the Hogs should expect.  SHould they rank up with North Carolina and Duke year in and year out?  Not in my opinion.  But the recruiting should be good enough that Arkansas make the dance 9 years out of 10, Sweet Sixteen on a regular basis and a Final Four thrown in at least once.  It's been 12 years since a Final Four.  TWELVE YEARS.  Arkansas has fallen off the map and this is the year that Pel could turn it around and at least get the Hogs to the Sweet Sixteen. 

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

I agree that Heath's recruiting was something to be desired.  2005 was a total wash.  His last year was by far his best year of recruiting, but still falls short of what a team like the Hogs should expect.  SHould they rank up with North Carolina and Duke year in and year out?  Not in my opinion.  But the recruiting should be good enough that Arkansas make the dance 9 years out of 10, Sweet Sixteen on a regular basis and a Final Four thrown in at least once.  It's been 12 years since a Final Four.  TWELVE YEARS.  Arkansas has fallen off the map and this is the year that Pel could turn it around and at least get the Hogs to the Sweet Sixteen. 

that "12 years removed fron the FF stat" is not was is really bothersome.

Its been 8 years since we've even won a NCAAT game!!!!!

[dotnet]

James Anderson will NOT be the big 12 freshman of the year.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

James Anderson will NOT be the big 12 freshman of the year.

ok
he'll be second behind Michael Beasly

[razorhead94]

Its obvious why Stan got fired.  It wasn't because of bad recruiting.  Stan was very good in this area.  It is perhaps what he did with that talent that got him fired.  Being inconsistent throughout the year and a very very poor road record were not good.  And also there was an inconsistency in fan apathy and putting fans in bud walton.  It was obvious that arkansas had more talent on the floor than most of their opponents, however, they would get the best of us.  If you go back and look at some of the opposing coach's comments they will tell you ark. had some of the best talent in the SEC.  Stan underachieved here.  Maybe not by his standards but by the standards of arkansas basketball.  It was time to move on.

Not one true PG(floor leader) in 5 recruiting classes.

2003 class
No Post players signed that would be eligible.

2004 class
Allowing R.Thompson to convince him that Dontell Jefferson was a potential star PG.Misses on Gibson(soft commitment for a while), misses on Aldridge(connected to Gibson), pitifully looses Charles Rhodes to rival MSU(Rhodes wanted to be a Razorback),decided to take Charles Thomas over Taj Grey.Looses out on Kyle Lowery.

2005 class
Without a doubt the worse signing class in the history on D-1 basketball.
Signed Sean McCurdy, Ryan McBride, and Cyrus McGowen
Those three players contributed a halfcourt made basket and a tip-in dunk, that is all the positives Arkansas received from that class.The negatives for outweight the positives, as in helping Arkansas loose games.

2006 class
Was Heath's best one but loosing out mysteriously to GT for Thad Young hurt badly.

These are the facts and as I said before recruiting got Heath fired as it did Nolan and just about every other high D-1 head coach.

Go over to Illinois message boards and read some of the things the Fighting Illini fans have been saying about Bruce Weber.Illinois has very good attendance, play an exciting style, has had major success recently,and Weber is an outstanding floor coach.However that hasn't stop the fans from ripping him about his recruiting and some have even called for a change.If Weber looses his job someday recruiting , or lack there of will be the reason, because he is damn good everywhere else.

I see what you are saying and recruiting does play a big role.  But in this case, this was not Stan's downfall.  He had to go through a rebuilding period when he got here because there were no players here.
As far as missing out on recruits, it happens at every school.  I think we did ok recruiting some other guys. 

Four Star (Rivals):
Hill
Thomas
Townes
Ervin
Beverly
Washington
Weems

Are you telling me that you wouldn't take that right now?  Stan also had 2 classes in the top 15.  Its just sad that we couldn't do much of anything with these guys that we have now.  Stan built it up but he cant do anything with it.  IT COMES DOWN TO COACHING.  Just wait and see how we play this year with Pelphrey.  I think you will see a stark difference.  And its not because of different players but different coaching.  Besides Tennessee, I don't think you can name another team in the SEC with more talent right now.

[dotnet]

James Anderson will NOT be the big 12 freshman of the year.

ok
he'll be second behind Michael Beasly

Bill Walker, Deandre Jordan, Craig Brackens, Blake Griffin...

While I wouldn't disagree that he has a decent shot at being freshman of the year... I just think there is way too much new talent in the big 12 (that will all get plenty of playing time) to make such a bold statement.  UT has a freshman too.. I think its Gary Johnson?  Either way.. it sucks he isn't playing for Arkansas.

[J Man]

My wife saw on TV yesterday where ORU is broke, and the blame is being put on the extravagent spending of the Roberts family.  It was her understanding that a lawsuit had been filed against the Roberts to try and get repaid for some of the spending.

I don't know if they will file bankruptcy or what the future is for the school.  It might be fine if enough contributors donate enough money, but it appears they are trying to fix the leak that is taking out too much money.

I still think it's funny that someone who apparently claimed they can heal people built a hospital. 

Remember when Oral Roberts said if he couldn't raise $1,000,000 (or some specified some), God was going to "call him home"?

He was trying to raise money for a family vacation.

[slopinhogs]

come on Rotnie be a hog think of the fun you could have in the razorback red and white,in a gym full of crazed hog fan screaming woooooo pigggg sooooooiiieeeeee razorbacks.

[pignatious]

The Tulsa media is big time hoping this kid doesn't commit to Arkansas. The bias is unbelievable. The Tulsa World has really stopped covering the Hogs for all practical purposes. The radio guys that I have heard don't even mention the Hogs. He needs to and will make the best decision for himself. Personally, I think Arkansas would be best for his style. Pelphrey loves the three and so does Rotnei. He could be a scoring machine here and help lead the program back to the top.

[WMHawgfan]

he is the missing piece from this recruiting class. We have the point guard. We have the guys who can go to the basket and draw the defense. No what we need is the guy who can spot up and drill the 3 all day long. Rotnei Clarke come on down!

[mrcrowley]

I live about 25 minutes from Verdigris i will do my part by gearing up and going to his games.