I am a Mike Anderson Guy

[5 little pigs]

Rpi 242 beats Rpi 23, enuff

[-Blu]

Tough road game? Clemson lost to Gardner webb and Winthrop. Two teams that are rent a wins.

They also beat LSU, who beat #16 WV at home, who beat the defending champs Uconn, who beat Dayton.  So, if we beat Dayton on Saturday, we'll be even 

[ballz2thewall]

They also beat LSU, who beat #16 WV at home, who beat the defending champs Uconn, who beat Dayton.  So, if we beat Dayton on Saturday, we'll be even 

aristotle in a bottle, man.

[hogsanity]

What can I say. I'm a sentimental guy.

I am not surprised that sentimentality is te reason many are so forgiving when it comes to the incredible failure the MA tenure has been so far. I mean this is a fan base that is jacked up about playing Texas, reminiscing about a rivalry that the Horns absolutely dominated.

The inability of Hog fans, the program and the state in general to let go of the past holds the state back in s many ways, from the athletic teams at the flag ship university, to business development, education, and everything in between.

[pigture perfect]

I can't say much more right now. Our sports teams are causing my Blood pressure meds to be increased. I'm already getting ready for baseball season.

[Wild Bill Hog]

MA's teams have struggled on the road for as long as he has been a hc.  This was discussed at the time he was hired.

[elkhog]

Watching Anderson during the time outs just standing there looking around sure reminds me of Stan Heath.
Nolan used to look like he was about to rip someone's head off.
I see that dry erase board they have but i don't think they ever write anything on it. This team is no better than last years.

You notice that too?   Rarely do I see any plays drawn up. 

The last minute and a half of the game looked different.  Looked like someone pulled the reins in and tried to hold on to a lead.  That does not seem to work well with Mikes team.  I'm still seeing panic when time is running out and the score is not favoring them.  To me that's the time the coach needs to call the time out and come up with some high percentage plays that will give the guys the confindence they need to finish.

[Biggus Piggus]

Seeing Kingsley get isolated 1:1 on defense at the top of the key against a point guard tells you all you need to know about the sophistication of Arkansas's defense.

[Pork Twain]

This is not the team I thought I would see when Mike was hired four years ago.

[Biggus Piggus]

They also beat LSU, who beat #16 WV at home, who beat the defending champs Uconn, who beat Dayton.  So, if we beat Dayton on Saturday, we'll be even 

LSU was not playing at a high level when they lost to Clemson. LSU got single-digit points out of four of five starters in that game, also shot 1-13 from 3-pt range. Very next game, Clemson beat High Point by 3. Then lost to Rutgers.

Through eight games, Arkansas is below average for perimeter defense, interior defense, shotblocking and defensive rebounding. The worst defensive lineup is the one that Mike Anderson chooses to start and finish games. Brilliant.

[J-co]

I too is am Mike Anderson guy, but he let me down yesterday with his inability to see that ky madden needed to be benched and Durham needed to be playing in that gm. also not playing Kingsley alongside Portis killed our rebounding and interior defense,he has to Bench Ky madden this guy is ruining this team on offense and defense.

[Biggus Piggus]

I too is am Mike Anderson guy, but he let me down yesterday with his inability to see that ky madden needed to be benched and Durham needed to be playing in that gm. also not playing Kingsley alongside Portis killed our rebounding and interior defense,he has to Bench Ky madden this guy is ruining this team on offense and defense.

MA does not know what defense to run with Kingsley and Portis together. He does not know how to coach that style of basketball. You'd end up with our big guys trapping on the perimeter, and the other team's big guys dunking. I'm pretty sure Melvin Watkins knows how to coach that style, though.

MA somewhere this fall decided he wanted to run Portis as Post Man A and Kingsley as Post Man B. That simplifies his efforts to rotate Qualls, Harris and Williams.

The thing that seems to have gone most wrong since last season is the direction of Madden. It's as though they made Madden compete against Durham and Beard for PT instead of making him compete against the two guards and wings. Madden won't shoot. He is pretending to be a point guard, and he is a below-average point guard.

Madden was the clutch shotmaker on last year's team. Now he won't shoot. Reminds me of how B.J. Young was a promising player after his first year with MA, but in year two his outside shot was completely broken. How does this happen?

Can you start funneling the offense through someone else and force Madden onto the wing? Will he start making shots again? Year to date, Madden has made 41% of his few 3-point attempts, only 32% inside the arc. And his turnover rate is by far the worst on the team.

Surely Madden is not doing the wrong things all by himself. His coaches have something to do with this.

Arkansas has played Madden and Bell together about 40% of game time. Bell, Qualls and Portis have been on court about half the time. Neither combination is good for defense. That is not strong enough. Both combinations are bad for defense.

[mizzouman]

What surprises me is that a lot of people, including MA himself, pretty say that Madden does not need to be in there in the last minute of a close game.  He's a senior!!  If you can't trust a senior guard to handle the situation, then maybe he doesn't need to be out there a lot period. 

[Kevin]

Guard/ wing rotation
Madden
Qualls
Bell
Beard
Watkins

4/5 man rotation
Portis
Williams
Madden

Everyone else sits.

[hogsanity]

Through eight games, Arkansas is below average for perimeter defense, interior defense, shotblocking and defensive rebounding. The worst defensive lineup is the one that Mike Anderson chooses to start and finish games. Brilliant.

It is because none of his good defenders can score, at all.   

[HoustonwehaveaProblem]

MA does not know what defense to run with Kingsley and Portis together. He does not know how to coach that style of basketball. You'd end up with our big guys trapping on the perimeter, and the other team's big guys dunking. I'm pretty sure Melvin Watkins knows how to coach that style, though.

MA somewhere this fall decided he wanted to run Portis as Post Man A and Kingsley as Post Man B. That simplifies his efforts to rotate Qualls, Harris and Williams.

The thing that seems to have gone most wrong since last season is the direction of Madden. It's as though they made Madden compete against Durham and Beard for PT instead of making him compete against the two guards and wings. Madden won't shoot. He is pretending to be a point guard, and he is a below-average point guard.

Madden was the clutch shotmaker on last year's team. Now he won't shoot. Reminds me of how B.J. Young was a promising player after his first year with MA, but in year two his outside shot was completely broken. How does this happen?

Can you start funneling the offense through someone else and force Madden onto the wing? Will he start making shots again? Year to date, Madden has made 41% of his few 3-point attempts, only 32% inside the arc. And his turnover rate is by far the worst on the team.

Surely Madden is not doing the wrong things all by himself. His coaches have something to do with this.

Arkansas has played Madden and Bell together about 40% of game time. Bell, Qualls and Portis have been on court about half the time. Neither combination is good for defense. That is not strong enough. Both combinations are bad for defense.

Exactly right! MA style is built by playing great defense first, but we are playing the worst defenders the most minutes. Obviously you can get past Portis being a below average defender because of what he can do on the offensive end. However, Madden footwork and quickness doesn't allow him to play good defense against the opponents PG, plus Bell might be the worst defender I have seen at Arkansas in a number of years.

3 of your starters and finishers are below average defensive players. That is a recipe for disaster in this system.

[Biggus Piggus]

Let me simplify this discussion. Clemson's coach, Brad Brownell, is going to get fired after this season. He is five years in, and Clemson is an exceedingly mediocre basketball team. They will get destroyed in the ACC. And Brownell coached rings around MA yesterday.

[ChicoHog]

This is not the team I thought I would see when Mike was hired four years ago.

Funny, because this is exactly what I thought we would see.  Poor shooting, no rebounding, dumb fouls 35 feet from the basket, no half court defense or offense and giving up leads with bad decisions.  Typical Anderson basketball that relies on one skill.  Causing turnovers on defense. 

[The_Iceman]

Let me simplify this discussion. Clemson's coach, Brad Brownell, is going to get fired after this season. He is five years in, and Clemson is an exceedingly mediocre basketball team. They will get destroyed in the ACC. And Brownell coached rings around MA yesterday.

An there is an Elite 8 coach coming to Bud Walton on Saturday.

[latrops]

What surprises me is that a lot of people, including MA himself, pretty say that Madden does not need to be in there in the last minute of a close game.  He's a senior!!  If you can't trust a senior guard to handle the situation, then maybe he doesn't need to be out there a lot period. 

Our alternatives are a true freshman and a JUCO transfer that has been mostly ineffective.  We are high on the freshman, Beard, but he is 8 games into his college career.

[DeltaBoy]

Mind boggling lose to Clemson!

[clew]

Guys, this had to happen. Mike Anderson had to be hired so that we could see this play out. If we had not seen this play out, we would've always been divided as a Fanbase. I hate it that things have not turned out the way that we hoped they might.there is still some hope for the season, so I'm going to stay on the wagon a little while longer. But if we don't make the tournament the season and Greg Marshall is still at Wichita State, we seriously need to consider making him an offer.

[Atlhogfan1]

Guys, this had to happen. Mike Anderson had to be hired so that we could see this play out. If we had not seen this play out, we would've always been divided as a Fanbase.

Absolutely.  Had to do this for closure.

And the worst thing that can happen is if we see just enough success for this to continue for a long time.  Need to have some great success (and not one flash in the pan season) or little success so that we can get that closure. 

[hogsanity]

Absolutely.  Had to do this for closure.

And the worst thing that can happen is if we see just enough success for this to continue for a long time.  Need to have some great success (and not one flash in the pan season) or little success so that we can get that closure. 

Part of me hopes they make the ncaat this year, because it just makes it more fun, but the other part of me knows what the result of making the tourney will be.

[Boardon Hamsay]

Part of me hopes they make the ncaat this year, because it just makes it more fun, but the other part of me knows what the result of making the tourney will be.

Yep, I agree. I want to make the tournament but fear doing so is a longer run trap.

[hogsanity]

Yep, I agree. I want to make the tournament but fear doing so is a longer run trap.

The way I think it goes down, they make it in, maybe even win a game, then Qualls and Portis leave, so everyone waits on Monk and co, which may or may not ever happen. So MA gets another 3 or 4 years based on ONE NCAAT appearance.

[Boardon Hamsay]

The way I think it goes down, they make it in, maybe even win a game, then Qualls and Portis leave, so everyone waits on Monk and co, which may or may not ever happen. So MA gets another 3 or 4 years based on ONE NCAAT appearance.

Yep. It's like, "Yay! We're going to the tournament.....oh, hmmm. Crap, we might be screwed."

[Breems]

Here's what I'm seeing.

"The lowly fan base beneath us has made the head coach a personal issue and refuses to criticize him because of  the taste of nostalgia."

From the same folks...

"It would be a bad thing for the team to improve and make the tournament."

Do you know what that fear of improvement stems from? Making the head coach a personal issue and the taste of nostalgia.

[Atlhogfan1]

Here's what I'm seeing.

"The lowly fan base beneath us has made the head coach a personal issue and refuses to criticize him because of  the taste of nostalgia."

From the same folks...

"It would be a bad thing for the team to improve and make the tournament."

Do you know what that fear of improvement stems from? Making the head coach a personal issue and the taste of nostalgia.

You missed on this attempt. 

[The_Iceman]

If Mike had no connection to Nolan Richardson, he still had a resume worthy of being hired at Arkansas. At this point, I rarely even think about Nolan and 1994 when I watch this team play.

The only time it creeps into my thought process is when the time might come we need to consider letting him go. How rough would it be to fire him after bringing him back to help rebuild the connection with those old teams?

There is still a long season ahead of us where a lot can happen. We saw that last year with the run this team made. Mike is going to need to make some adjustments tho to his lineup and rotation, especially on the road.

[hogsanity]

Yep. It's like, "Yay! We're going to the tournament.....oh, hmmm. Crap, we might be screwed."

What is bad is, I don't really care either way. 3 nccat appearances n the last 13 or so years has done that. I can enjoy the tournament just as much with no Hogs in it.  Even if they make t in, I know they wont make any noise.  Too many teams with good guard play would put an end to that pretty quickly.

[HF#1]

The biggest misconception about Mike Anderson is that he is anything like Nolan Richardson.  He doesn't coach like Nolan, his teams don't play like Nolan's.  We might be as far away from 40 minutes of hell as we've ever been.

[Wisco Pig]

I'm with Hogsanity -- as a fan, apathy has become the only reasonable attitude toward this team.  The Razorbacks have the same number of NCAA tournament wins this century (1) as Arkansas-Pine Bluff.  That little factoid pops into my mind every time Arkansas basketball posts a result like the one Sunday evening.

[Boardon Hamsay]

What is bad is, I don't really care either way. 3 nccat appearances n the last 13 or so years has done that. I can enjoy the tournament just as much with no Hogs in it.  Even if they make t in, I know they wont make any noise.  Too many teams with good guard play would put an end to that pretty quickly.

I'm in the same boat. I love the tournament! One of my favorite times of the year. I'm somewhere between "apathy" and "disinterested" when it comes to Hog bball. It just is what it is for me.

[Breems]

If Mike had no connection to Nolan Richardson, he still had a resume worthy of being hired at Arkansas. At this point, I rarely even think about Nolan and 1994 when I watch this team play.

The only time it creeps into my thought process is when the time might come we need to consider letting him go. How rough would it be to fire him after bringing him back to help rebuild the connection with those old teams?

There is still a long season ahead of us where a lot can happen. We saw that last year with the run this team made. Mike is going to need to make some adjustments tho to his lineup and rotation, especially on the road.

Indeed. Mike earned the job. Connections were simply a catalyst.

Connections will not and are not keeping him off the hot seat. Thus far, (frustratingly) slow improvement has. Things are new at Arkansas. Businessman Long needs to keep revenue and excitement afloat. If the time comes, we will cut our ties. If not, I've severely underestimated the administration.

[Biggus Piggus]

I fear more of what we have seen. Arkansas's results might continue to swing wildly according to how the guard matchups go, as they did in the past two seasons.

[hogsanity]

If Mike had no connection to Nolan Richardson, he still had a resume worthy of being hired at Arkansas.

So did a dozen other guys, without the nostalgic baggage. 

And there is no way you don't think of 94 when this teams plays, especially at home, since Nolan is there many games, and they show the NC banner once or twice during every broadcast.

[hogsanity]

I fear more of what we have seen. Arkansas's results might continue to swing wildly according to how the guard matchups go, as they did in the past two seasons.

And from what I have seen from the SEC teams I have watched, that could be a problem, even some teams that are not that good overall have guards that could give the hogs trouble, especially on the road.

[Wildhog]

Still have no idea how we lost that game.

[Boardon Hamsay]

Here's what I'm seeing.

"The lowly fan base beneath us has made the head coach a personal issue and refuses to criticize him because of  the taste of nostalgia."

From the same folks...

"It would be a bad thing for the team to improve and make the tournament."

Do you know what that fear of improvement stems from? Making the head coach a personal issue and the taste of nostalgia.

The takeaway I get here is, our current situation is based in part on a nostalgic gamble that hasn't quite panned out and a lot of us are so apathetic towards the bball program, we can talk about it civilly without letting emotion get in the way. That's the vibe I get and for some of us, that's the "vibe" so to speak, we have feared was coming.

[The_Iceman]

And there is no way you don't think of 94 when this teams plays, especially at home, since Nolan is there many games, and they show the NC banner once or twice during every broadcast.

And I thought of the 1994 team when Stan Heath and Pelphrey were here too. Mike being the coach really doesn't make me think about it any more or less, even tho it is nice to see Nolan back.

To me, Mike on the bench is there based on his own merit and is judged in my eyes based on his own resume.

[GuvHog]

Indeed. Mike earned the job. Connections were simply a catalyst.

Connections will not and are not keeping him off the hot seat. Thus far, (frustratingly) slow improvement has. Things are new at Arkansas. Businessman Long needs to keep revenue and excitement afloat. If the time comes, we will cut our ties. If not, I've severely underestimated the administration.

You're kidding right?? The U of A fired Pel to go after Mike Anderson. He was the ONLY target from day one. Granted he was more than qualified but anyone who seriously believes his attachment to Nolan had nothing to do with him getting the job is not being honest about it.

[The_Iceman]

You're kidding right?? The U of A fired Pel to go after Mike Anderson. He was the ONLY target from day one. Granted he was more than qualified but anyone who seriously believes his attachment to Nolan had nothing to do with him getting the job is not being honest about it.

Yes, his attachment to Nolan was a factor. But it is used by some to say he would have never been hired if it wasn't for that connection. His resume was clearly good enough to be the head coach at Arkansas, especially considering the two previous disasters we hired.

[hogsanity]

His resume was clearly good enough to be the head coach at Arkansas, especially considering the two previous disasters we hired.

And so were several others.

[hogsanity]

You're kidding right?? The U of A fired Pel to go after Mike Anderson. He was the ONLY target from day one. Granted he was more than qualified but anyone who seriously believes his attachment to Nolan had nothing to do with him getting the job is not being honest about it.

Actually, I think it was more than that, I think MA reached out to some ptb in Arkansas, when he saw the looming disaster coming at Mizzou, and told them he would come if they fired Pel. I do not think they had any intention of letting Pel go after that season otherwise.

[Biggus Piggus]

Actually, I think it was more than that, I think MA reached out to some ptb in Arkansas, when he saw the looming disaster coming at Mizzou, and told them he would come if they fired Pel. I do not think they had any intention of letting Pel go after that season otherwise.

Oh gawd hogsanity you are going off the deep end again. This is ridiculous and wholly fabricated.

[hogsanity]

Oh gawd hogsanity you are going off the deep end again. This is ridiculous and wholly fabricated.

and you know it is fabricated because you were in the rooms with these people during that time?

It does not matter. The bball program is now saddled with a almost untouchable coach. Minimal success will keep him here for as long as he wants to be here.

[GuvHog]

Yes, his attachment to Nolan was a factor. But it is used by some to say he would have never been hired if it wasn't for that connection. His resume was clearly good enough to be the head coach at Arkansas, especially considering the two previous disasters we hired.

He might have still gotten offered the job but he wouldn't have been at the top of the list and he sure wouldn't have been offered over 2 Million dollars a year. His connections to Nolan got him both.

[Breems]

Actually, I think it was more than that, I think MA reached out to some ptb in Arkansas, when he saw the looming disaster coming at Mizzou, and told them he would come if they fired Pel. I do not think they had any intention of letting Pel go after that season otherwise.

Now I'm seriously enjoying this.

[HogBreath]

And Brownell coached rings around MA yesterday.

CMA isn't much of a coach.