What is the #1 thing we need to do better to make it to the tourney?

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

I believe that we are talented enough and have good enough coaching to not only make the tourney, but to get to the sweet 16. 

What is lacking right now?  Is it heart?  Desire?  Confidence?

If that's the case, we can still turn this thing around in a major way.  I think these might be our main issues and I believe they can still be corrected.

Our boys just need that winner's mentality because the pieces are there.  When I compare this team player for player to the Stan Heath and Pel years, it's not even close.  We have the athletes needed. 

It's time for Mike and this staff to get these kids to start believing in themselves as a group.

I think this is good news.  You can't teach ability.  But you can teach a kid with ability to be a winner.  Take it up a notch in practice.  Run The Hill a few extra times.  Then walk on to that court with nothing but pity for the other team you are about to dominate.  The player you are about to shut down.  The defender you are about to embarrass.  The opposing coach you are about to help put on the hot seat. 

WE NEED ATTITUDE!





:razorback:

[popcornhog]

play consistently/close on the road.

[william.lane123]

Quit playing one on one and play some team basketball! 

[ErieHog]

Effort.    Attention to detail.     It shows up in defensive efficiency, more than anywhere else.

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

play consistently/close on the road.

I agree.  Again, I think it's a mental thing.  The teams that can go on the road and be consistent are the ones that can shut everything else out and focus.  Play their game regardless.  We have that kind of talent.  We just need to get "our head right with ball".

[Kevin]

Get stops on defense

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

Effort.    Attention to detail.     It shows up in defensive efficiency, more than anywhere else.

Get stops on defense

Defense and rebounding are the most "who wants it more?" aspects of the game.  It's desire.  You don't "out-effort" someone to hit a 3 by wanting it more.  But you can get a loose ball, a turnover, a rebound, a defensive stop with effort and desire.

[forrest city joe]

Get stops on defense

Now on this we agree. WE HAVE GOT TO PLAY A LOT BETTER DEFENSE. that is the big problem i see right now. and we have got to get Portis and Kingsley on the court at the same time.teams are attacking the basket at will. giving up to many lay-ups and dunks. defense is hard work. and these guys have got to put in the work and start playing some defense. got to stop giving people Layups and dunks, and wide open shots.

[Hoggish1]

play consistently/close on the road.

That would require not playing too fast and out of control early until we get a feel for the surroundings.

In that scenario we need to have some plays in the half court to get some buckets.

Also we need out best defending combination in during the first five minutes of each away game.

[mhuff]

Good topic...... Play better defense.... on offense..... more touches in the middle.

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

I'm not trying to be a pumper, but some things can be fixed and some can't. 

Everything I'm reading that most think we need to make the tourney can be fixed with a slight change in mentality. 

I think it will be.

[Dr. Starcs]

Good points notshavin.

I really think CMA needs to re-adjust his defensive philosophy. You can pressure without compromising, but as you and Erie pointed out, the effort and attention to detail need to be much better.

[Danny J]

Lineup changes/sub patterns + time for everything to gel + concerted effort to get ball to low post mismatches + better overall defense(everything from the press and switching up defenses) + generation of intensity without being at home and needing BWA to get the players motivated.

I mentioned in the summer it will likely be end of January before we see vast improvement over next year. I think it will take time for the newcomers and sub patterns to gel. Learning experience not only for players but coaches. The last point I made I think is probably the most important. We are not going to consistently beat average to below average teams on the road unless we can generate intensity, not from the crowd, but because of "want to". The most successful uptempo teams, including ours in the past, are successful because they are not 100% reliant on a home crowd to generate intensity.

[tophawg19]

more 1/2 court offense and get back to fundamentals on defense . time to park the fastest 40 minutes of what the hell '' . and get back to solid basics

[mhuff]

Lineup changes/sub patterns + time for everything to gel + concerted effort to get ball to low post mismatches + better overall defense(everything from the press and switching up defenses) + generation of intensity without being at home and needing BWA to get the players motivated.

I mentioned in the summer it will likely be end of January before we see vast improvement over next year. I think it will take time for the newcomers and sub patterns to gel. Learning experience not only for players but coaches. The last point I made I think is probably the most important. We are not going to consistently beat average to below average teams on the road unless we can generate intensity, not from the crowd, but because of "want to". The most successful uptempo teams, including ours in the past, are successful because they are not 100% reliant on a home crowd to generate intensity.

Really good.

[Danny J]

Really good.

Why thank you good sir!

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

Good points notshavin.

I really think CMA needs to re-adjust his defensive philosophy. You can pressure without compromising, but as you and Erie pointed out, the effort and attention to detail need to be much better.

I agree.  I'm not a CMA pumper to the death.  He has got to show he has "it"(and I think he does, but we'll see) and "it" is making these adjustments in PRACTICE.  PRACTICE.  I haven't been able to watch any this season, but I'm curious as to how hard they are working.  I hope they step it up.  By the time the game comes around, it's too late.  Players learn to win these battles running that Hill, moving their feet 'til they move on sheer muscle memory, boxing out, diving for balls, doing whatever it takes until it becomes innate.

Our great teams knew where their teammates would be, were in better shape than their opponents, had no fear and were focused because the games were FUN compared to what they went through against each other in PRACTICE.

[TheRazorback500]

Act like we want it, especially on the road. We seem to play lackadaisical at times.
Improve our mental toughness.
Run some set plays-I haven't seen a give-and-go since our earlier home games.
Don't try to look like Al Dillard-shoot threes only within the rhythm of the offense.

:razorback:

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

We are not going to consistently beat average to below average teams on the road unless we can generate intensity, not from the crowd, but because of "want to". The most successful uptempo teams, including ours in the past, are successful because they are not 100% reliant on a home crowd to generate intensity.

Right on

[WADHOG]

Defend the perimeter, block out and crash the boards

[UNCLE BACK]

We need multiple guys who can shoot the ball no matter what Gym they are in.

[#fastest40]

score more than the other team

[latrops]

To keep it simple...mix it up.  We are too predictable in just about everything we do.  Pressing whether it is working or not.  Switching screens whether it is working or not.  Playing certain players more and others less based on need and seniority rather than effectiveness or consistency. 

I'm not saying we drop the press and do something else.  The press is a big part of CMAs coaching philosophy.  I just think it is more effective when it is used a little more selectively.  Again, mix things up a bit more.

[hogsanity]

Slow down on the road, especially at the start of games. Teams come out ready for the press, ready for the traps, and often it leads to early runs that really get the home team going. Rebound better. Show at least some ability AND WILLINGNESS to play a half court game.

As was said above, these are not difficult fixes, but they come from the HC. IF MA is not willing to go away from his "style" it won't happen.

[MoneyMcFadden]

Ball Movement.

[Like it is]

PLAY SMARTER BASKETBALL !!!!!!!!!! EX: too many stupid fouls, better shot selection, accepting roles

[Pork Twain]

Ability to make adjustments and win road games.

[Hogfaniam]

We need to learn how to tie our shoes properly.  And if you know basketball history, you know what and who I mean.

[GuvHog]

It's really very simple: Take care of business at home and win on the road.

[Kevin]

finish defensive possessions with REBOUNDS!!!

if we don't do this saturday, we will be in trouble again

[rude1]

Effort.    Attention to detail.     It shows up in defensive efficiency, more than anywhere else.

I agree with this but would add change the defensive scheme of having our bigs come out and switch a ball screen 20+' from the basket, nothing has nor ever will good come from doing this. Every team is walking their big up high to set a ball screen so that our bigs will switch and give them the mismatch to exploit.

[Boardon Hamsay]

Get stops on defense

I agree. Colin Cowherd had a great line yesterday when talking about John Wall's maturity. He said John Wall has grown this year especially on defense because he cares about his teammates more. Melo is all about himself; can't play defense. John Wall used to play that way but his defense has come around as he's built chemistry with the team. Scoring a lot of the time is how you feel about yourself. Defense is about caring for your teammates and not wanting to let them down. Not saying our team doesn't but at times the five on the court aren't on the same page defensively. We need to gel more defensively as a team. At times, our guys are looking to do different things and it leaves a shooter wide open.

[rude1]

I agree. Colin Cowherd had a great line yesterday when talking about John Wall's maturity. He said John Wall has grown this year especially on defense because he cares about his teammates more. Melo is all about himself; can't play defense. John Wall used to play that way but his defense has come around as he's built chemistry with the team. Scoring a lot of the time is how you feel about yourself. Defense is about caring for your teammates and not wanting to let them down. Not saying our team doesn't but at times the five on the court aren't on the same page defensively. We need to gel more defensively as a team. At times, our guys are looking to do different things and it leaves a shooter wide open.

I agree except that all 5 of our guys are on the same page defensively, let someone else stop the ball, or let him go so we can get the ball back and play on offense where we love it.

[Biggus Piggus]

Fit the strategy with the players. Quit asking players to do things they can't.

[Hogfan1660]

Score more than the other team. Just saying!

[code red]

1/2 court defense off makes.  Full court less.

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

We need to learn how to tie our shoes properly.  And if you know basketball history, you know what and who I mean.

This is part of the point I was trying to make about practice.  The battles have to be fought and won in practice.  A lot of Wooden's players would make fun of him for the "tying the shoes" routine, but in the end they understood it was about doing the little things the right way, with the right mindset.

Fit the strategy with the players. Quit asking players to do things they can't.

I don't disagree - can you elaborate?

[masshog2412]

I think when we trap the inbound we need to try and flash for the steal a little more on the easy over the top pass from the double if we can get the other teams guards to think twice about that easy lob pass to break pressure we are then playing 3 on 4 n struggling to get leaving lots of easy looks...I love Mike's system but if we can get their guards to hesitate against it a little more it could cause more turnovers and our confidence goes through the roof resulting in higher energy levels from players

[Dr. Starcs]

If you can't keep a guy in front of you 40 feet from the basket, please back off.

[rzrbackramsfan]

Make shots

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

I think when we trap the inbound we need to try and flash for the steal a little more on the easy over the top pass from the double if we can get the other teams guards to think twice about that easy lob pass to break pressure we are then playing 3 on 4 n struggling to get leaving lots of easy looks...I love Mike's system but if we can get their guards to hesitate against it a little more it could cause more turnovers and our confidence goes through the roof resulting in higher energy levels from players

I agree.  I've seen Portis' wingspan at times come close but I think we just aren't aggressive enough.  Refs get tired of blowing the whistle and the more havoc and "out of control" scenarios we help create eventually will take it's toll on the other team.  To have to spend so much mental and physical energy on just bringing the ball up the court really can take it's toll on our opponents in the long run.

[Thepigdoctor]

We were tearing up the country in assists, turnover margin, and scorching the nets prior to the two losses. Smu was down players and thus far have played underwhelming ball.

Getting ranked was the worst thing that happened all year before the Clemson loss.

We got too big for our britches too quickly, with only a solid first half @smu, and a home win over a fairly solid Iona team propping us up. We lacked anything even resembling emotion against Iowa st and Clemson. I thought we looked incredibly flat in both games, settled for far too many first look threes in both games, and played with some unwarranted sense of entitlement. Iowa St shot us out of the gym and were well prepared for our style with their ability to handle the basketball.

A return to Bud Walton against Dayton should breathe some life back into the team energy wise. What we lacked in both losses was the energy level we play with at home and somehow manufactured in the first half @smu.

The trademark of 40 minutes of hell, fastest 40 minutes, and whatever other phrase you want to use for this brand of basketball is energy. We consistently lack that on the road and I believe that is a personnel issue, along with something CMA just doesn't possess as Nolan did. This team does not have a true heart and soul. A Trey Flowers if you will.

The same thing that lead to Nolan's downfall, was the same thing that lead to all of his success. It was Nolan against the world and for the most part, all of his Razorback teams bought into that mentality. CMA does not have that same nature, thus is unable to instill that same "hatred" for all that oppose his teams. Therefore, we MUST manufacture this internally to be successful in this style of basketball. That to me is the number one reason we look like world beaters at home, but struggle to even look mediocre on the road. I don't think we have that player or players on this team to inspire greatness, push the others when faced with adversity, or light a fire when needed. The great fans of Arkansas provide the 6th man energy this team needs. Unfortunately until we recruit one, two, or even three players that bring that chip on their shoulder, we're going to be underwhelmed by results.

Don't get me wrong, I like this team and see potential, but unless they find some nuts, Larry Johnson keeps ringing in my ears. We gotta go find ourselves some men.

Watch teams that play similar styles, like for instance Louisville. They have talented rosters to start, but play with an energy level and toughness that we have lacked for years now. We look soft compared to a team like that.

So what we need to do to turn this season around, in my opinion, does not start or end with matchups, X's and O's, or game planning; it's entirely attitude.

So the #1 thing to me, get some attitude and play with some hate.