Why, Mike, why did you abandon your system?

[NorthDallas40]

These guys who just beat Arkansas, just lost at home to LSU. They are God's definition of a donut team, and Arkansas didn't have a prayer of stopping them.

MA has this team so knotted up on defense that they cannot begin to stop anyone. He wants to play Portis and Qualls 35+ minutes a game, but he has not put in a defense that is consistent with that. When two guys have to conserve energy to make it through the game, they cannot do what this defensive style asks them to do. There are holes all over the floor. The other three players cannot possibly compensate. Now they are just dispirited on defense. They do not know what to do, because MA is asking them to do the impossible. You can't switch that far.

The first they they should do is stop pressing in the backcourt, period. They should fall back to halfcourt. If they want to press and trap from there, give it a try. When the fullcourt pressure is not enough to wear down the opponent, it becomes a sieve.

MA also is stubbornly committed to using player rotations that do not work. Look how screwed up MA is right now. He's tied himself into a pretzel. He started Kingsley and Durham last night, and they played 10 minutes each in the entire game. Anthlon Bell played 28 minutes, took nine shots, made three and scored 10 points. Anton Beard got five minutes. Nick Babb, five minutes. Manny Watkins, six minutes. Ky Madden, 32 minutes. Madden scored a bunch, gave up more, and threw away the ball five times. Madden had five of the team's 12 turnovers. Five!

MA has essentially converted the offense into a system to get Portis and Qualls their stats. Those two will take their numbers to the NBA draft in a few months, and MA will be royally screwed.

The minutes last night went

37 Qualls
35 Portis
32 Madden
28 Bell
16 Harris
16 Williams

What the Frank? Why, in a game against one of the SEC's best backcourts, would you fall back on the team's worst guards? Why would you take away your own depth advantage and try to outscore them with your absolutely worst defensive lineup?

It is clear MA is groping when he starts two guys who play 10 minutes for the whole game. He is just hoping that an adjustment will come to him sometime along the way. But he always falls back on this group that can't play defense, and he has become habitual about sabotaging his own defense by asking players to play almost the entire game.

This defensive scheme works ONLY if players learn to go as hard as they can THEN go to the bench for fresh reinforcements. If somebody, anybody is saving energy on defense, the whole thing collapses on itself. You can't play this way if you aren't committed to it. You get zero defense. Just like last night.

You've proven, MA, that you can ignore logic and data and play the wrong guys as much as you want. You have proven that you can lose at home to an NIT bubble team, if you want. You have proven you can make a 6-11 center useless by teaching him a man stance and having him switch out of the paint on defense, safely out of range of the rim that he should be protecting. Nice work. You're done now.

What a great and refreshing post. Now move it to Vent where it belongs and our similar posts get sent.

[Pork Twain]

People thought Anderson = Nolan. If you watched a lot of basketball yesterday you would not think this team is a top 50 team.

Nobody thought that.  People thought MA at UAB and Mizzou would be MA at Arkansas, but so far he has been Stan Heath

[The Hogfather]

Nobody thought that.  People thought MA at UAB and Mizzou would be MA at Arkansas, but so far he has been Stan Heath

Sad, but true.

[Atlhogfan1]

Kingsley chose the wrong program.  And Portis' offensive success or a smaller forward like Demarre Carroll does not refute this.  He may keep developing into an effective player at some point just because of the potential he has. 

Durham was a reach.  Some wanted to believe that he was going to go from NAIA guard to possible answer to our guard issue in 2 seasons but it just never seemed realistic.  Maybe he'll make that leap some JCs seem to do their sr. season.  Miles was supposed to have an impact too. 

I've posted the list of 14 players Coach A has brought in over the last 3 years.  It goes back to recruiting.  Arguments can be made that he has been hindered although not all will have a lot of merit.  But he has not recruited the players necessary to play how he wants to play.

Timing.  Coaching success sometimes depends on timing.  Mike has had success at two other programs.  At UAB, he used the JCs and lower academic requirements to build a great mid major team.  His system fits perfectly for that level as it is built for undersized teams with tweeners and quick guards where he has nearly unlimited access to signing JC players without restrictions.  At Mizzou, I know his diehard fans don't like this mentioned, but his nephew's transfer in cannot be downplayed.   He also got the guards he needed to run his system.  Then Bowers and the Pressey's who are "family" came on board.  Timing was good to have good teams there.  They would have been at Arkansas had Coach A been at Arkansas.  The E8 season assured he would be our coach.  It was inevitable.  The question is can he repeat it again and keep the program at a high level of success?  Or did we miss the window?

I'm tired of talking about the defensive issues some of which are self inflicted.  We have discussed alternatives like dropping back and trying to play more zones or packed in man to protect players, hide liabilities, give Kingsley an actual chance to thrive defensively, etc. 

We've also beaten the lineups to death.  I asked before SEC play if we thought Coach A had found the right rotations and guessed not.  He hasn't.  He is still guessing.  But he'll probably stumble into something at some point this season and some players will get hot and they'll be enough success to get a solid seed in the NCAAT.  Portis will go to the draft, Qualls ?, Kapita or some other F will see the void the roster has at that position and sign on to go with Whitt.  The guards will be better next season and the team may get closer to what Coach A wants and we'll be a borderline NCAAT again next season and the next and the next ........

[hamARchy in the USA]

I'm not ready to give up on ma.  He won at uab and um.

That's one of those myths that just won't die.  MA has never built a consistent winner.   In this his 13th year as a head coach he doesn't have a single outright conference title to his name.  In the last 8 years since moving up to the Mizzou job, he has had only one team finish the conference race better than 5th and that was only 3rd.  He did have one team at each of his previous stops that was deemed to have had a breakout year but those were nothing of the sort.  Breakout years suggest years that led to bigger and better things.  That didn't happen at all.  The programs regressed. 

It's no secret why his teams over the years have been inconsistent at best.  Throughout his history his teams have often played uninspired and fundamentals are typically lacking.  MA proved before he arrived at Arkansas to be a middle of the road coach who gets middle of the road results.  Nothing that's happening now should be a surprise to anyone.

[thebignasty]

Last night,  it seemed like 2 defenders followed the ball handler on every screen.  That alone had us out of position over and over and over.

[Atlhogfan1]

That's one of those myths that just won't die.  MA has never built a consistent winner.   In this his 13th year as a head coach he doesn't have a single outright conference title to his name.  In the last 8 years since moving up to the Mizzou job, he has had only one team finish the conference race better than 5th and that was only 3rd.  He did have one team at each of his previous stops that was deemed to have had a breakout year but those were nothing of the sort.  Breakout years suggest years that led to bigger and better things.  That didn't happen at all.  The programs regressed. 

It's no secret why his teams over the years have been inconsistent at best.  Throughout his history his teams have often played uninspired and fundamentals are typically lacking.  MA proved before he arrived at Arkansas to be a middle of the road coach who gets middle of the road results.  Nothing that's happening now should be a surprise to anyone.

What his teams' inconsistency and lack of high level of success in conference does is affect seeding in the NCAAT and the tourney is what matters. 

Ignored is what happened at the end of the Mizzou tenure plus their scholarship situation when he left.

[Atlhogfan1]

Last night,  it seemed like 2 defenders followed the ball handler on every screen.  That alone had us out of position over and over and over.

They did.  I rewatched a lot of the game and it was remarkable how this was repeated.  Our defenders away from the ball then got caught watching or in "no man's" land as OM players drifted to open spots or to the rim.  Our players looked like fools in those situations and there were many.  Madden in the first half, and I hate to mention him since he is taking so much abuse, was caught watching the ball on the wing while two of his teammates chased the ball and his man drifted towards the corner for an open three.  Portis was in the post and two of his teammates came his way chasing the ball.  Portis didn't know to help or step back to the basket so he stood and did neither and the pass went to the rim for an OM dunk.  At this point it is nearly comical. 



And teams are pressing us.  The supposed "Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball" pick teams up off the bus fighting bears are getting pressed and run on.  North Texas and Iona even tried.  Recruiting has to get better in getting the players necessary to play this way. 

[hamARchy in the USA]

What his teams' inconsistency and lack of high level of success in conference does is affect seeding in the NCAAT and the tourney is what matters. 

Ignored is what happened at the end of the Mizzou tenure plus their scholarship situation when he left.

Win a major conference title and getting into the NCAA tourney is a given.  Further, you have a team that's developed over the course of a season the habit of consistently playing with intensity and out-toughing an opponent at crunch time.   Additionally, those championship banners help sell the program to recruits and future coaches and the consistent winning puts fans in the stands.  It behooves a program to strive for excellence.

Winning conference championships is a higher standard than making the NCAA Tourney.  It appears that standard has been lowered here to simply making the NCAA tourney because that's a threshold which it was thought MA could achieve. 

[Atlhogfan1]

Win a major conference title and getting into the NCAA tourney is a given.  Further, you have a team that's developed over the course of a season the habit of consistently playing with intensity and out-toughing an opponent at crunch time.   Additionally, those championship banners help sell the program to recruits and future coaches and the consistent winning puts fans in the stands.  It behooves a program to strive for excellence.

Winning conference championships is a higher standard than making the NCAA Tourney.  It appears that standard has been lowered here to simply making the NCAA tourney because that's a threshold which it was thought MA could achieve.

Winning a conference championship of course has benefits.  Teams are remembered for what they do in the NCAAT.  Yes the standard appears for now is just make the NCAAT and not even every season.  And winning conference championships is a higher standard than just making the NCAAT.  Sw 16, E8, F4 are  much more important than a conference championship.  Can those be had without at least competing for conference championships?  You would think a conf champ contender would be capable of those achievements and the NCAAT seeding would reflect it. 

[Danny J]

Last night,  it seemed like 2 defenders followed the ball handler on every screen.  That alone had us out of position over and over and over.

You are correct. It was either that or switch the screen which led to Williams, Kingsley or Portis trying to defend Moody and Summers 25+ feet away from the basket. Did not work one time yet we did it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. No adjustments at all....none. I think CMA was praying something like the UGA or Tenn game would happen again. That somehow with 5 minutes to go we would be within 6 points and make a run.

[TNhawgfan]

We do not have that much talent!! We FOOL people with our system into thinking we're a good team. But these SEC teams that know us "called our bluff".

Yes we do. Portis is NBA talent. Qualls may be too. With the right system, Bell and Beard would be scoring machines. Say what you will about kingsley but he has tons of potential.  UT's coach even said Moses would play 35 minutes a night for them. Don't say we don't have talent, we aren't utilizing our talent

[The Hogfather]

We most certainly have really good talent for a college team.

[Atlhogfan1]

We most certainly have really good talent for a college team.

Just not fitting what we are trying to do.  Every player is a mess on one end of the court right now if not both.  Then the minutes played is erratic.  No plan or rhythm yet to allow the players to know their role and thrive in it consistently. 

The positive is 13-4, a good RPI, SOS and a lot of winnable games left.

[Danny J]

Just not fitting what we are trying to do.  Every player is a mess on one end of the court right now if not both.  Then the minutes played is erratic.  No plan or rhythm yet to allow the players to know their role and thrive in it consistently. 

The positive is 13-4, a good RPI, SOS and a lot of winnable games left.

That is the way I see it as well.

[ChicoHog]

That's one of those myths that just won't die.  MA has never built a consistent winner.   In this his 13th year as a head coach he doesn't have a single outright conference title to his name.  In the last 8 years since moving up to the Mizzou job, he has had only one team finish the conference race better than 5th and that was only 3rd.  He did have one team at each of his previous stops that was deemed to have had a breakout year but those were nothing of the sort.  Breakout years suggest years that led to bigger and better things.  That didn't happen at all.  The programs regressed. 

It's no secret why his teams over the years have been inconsistent at best.  Throughout his history his teams have often played uninspired and fundamentals are typically lacking.  MA proved before he arrived at Arkansas to be a middle of the road coach who gets middle of the road results.  Nothing that's happening now should be a surprise to anyone.

Great post.  So tired of hearing about him bringing Mizzou to the elite 8.  Stan heath got Kent st to the Elite 8.  Sometimes things like that happen.  Catch lightning in a bottle. Look at a much larger sample size and how a team/program has done over the years competing in their respective conference.  Season won/loss records, etc.,  The tournament is a crapshoot and sometimes teams get upset in the first round and sometimes lower rated seeds go a long way.  Best indicator of a good coach/program is a 5 to 10 year record and how they competed in their conference and did they make the NCAA's on a consistent basis.  IMO Anderson fails those standards. 

[jchill]

Our fundamental defense,footwork,hand work, spacing....are all horrible. This is nothing new. He thinks his 2 cash cows,Poetis n Quall will just outscore most opponents. What other opponents are doing is letting them have their points, but continuing sound D on everyone else and shutting us down. We play like 5 individuals(no matter which 5 is on the court) instead of a team.Our guard play has no direction, they're passing the ball around out there like they're lost.

We play like five individuals? Aren't we among the nation leaders in assists?

[The Hogfather]

Him taking Missouri to the Elite 8 is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than Heath taking Kent State to the Elite 8.  That is such an embarrassing attempt at degrading Mike.

[TheOtherColombia]

Him taking Missouri to the Elite 8 is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than Heath taking Kent State to the Elite 8.  That is such an embarrassing attempt at degrading Mike.

Really it is degrading to Heath...taking Missouri to an elite 8 is easier than getting Kent State there.

[HogBreath]

Really it is degrading to Heath...taking Missouri to an elite 8 is easier than getting Kent State there.

And you can't forget..Heath got the Hogs to the big dance, Mike hasn't.

[spahoopsfan]

In his 10 minutes on the floor, Moses took one shot, which he missed; the rest of his stat line was zeros.

Durham produced two assists and was called for one foul in 10 minutes.

Arguably our best defender, Manny, got six minutes.

Anton Beard? Five minutes. Nick Babb got five as well.

Manny did nothing in his six minutes. The players who played was not the problem, the problem is that this team can't play a team who handles the ball as well as Ole Miss and shoots free throws like they do full court press.  This team is not quick enough to forces Ole Miss to turn in over enough to justify giving up easy baskets.  It also tired out the players that needed to play.  I'm all for Babb getting more playing time but he is too reluctant to shoot.
Our bigs at not good on the defensive side of the ball.  Kingsley is ok but the rest are poor and do a bad job at blocking out to boot.

[jchill]

Did anyone remember that Ole Miss shot 74% in the first half? I do not mean slam dunks or point blank put-backs, but contested threes. I mean it's difficult to shoot like that in practice. How about that one shot that Ole Miss made when the shot clock was about to expire and the guy banks in a prayer at the end? Unfortunately in the Hogs losses this year, teams turned in incredible offensive games. Yes I agree that the Hogs need to shore up their defense, but I think we are being a little too hard on them. Mike Anderson is a very good coach and will prove it in time, unless the masses get too impatient and run him off. We had many good coaches during the time I have been watching the Hogs and we have run them off. At one point, we had Eddie Sutton and Lou Holtz at Arkansas. I am taking about two legendary coaches and ran them off (I know Lou kind of hasten his departure, but he was losing the fans). Ran off one of my favorites in Ken Hatfield. All Ken did was win, but that was not good enough. We ran off Nolan and now people realized that he was justified in his feelings about the mistreatment. People, let's be realistic and give Anderson time to rebuild. He will get there.

[ChitownHawg]

All I can hear ringing in my ears over and over is MA's intro presser where he says - "If a bear and I go to fight pray for the bear."

Hey Mike the bear is in the stands ROTFLA.

[khawg95]

Did anyone remember that Ole Miss shot 74% in the first half? I do not mean slam dunks or point blank put-backs, but contested threes. I mean it's difficult to shoot like that in practice. How about that one shot that Ole Miss made when the shot clock was about to expire and the guy banks in a prayer at the end? Unfortunately in the Hogs losses this year, teams turned in incredible offensive games. Yes I agree that the Hogs need to shore up their defense, but I think we are being a little too hard on them. Mike Anderson is a very good coach and will prove it in time, unless the masses get too impatient and run him off. We had many good coaches during the time I have been watching the Hogs and we have run them off. At one point, we had Eddie Sutton and Lou Holtz at Arkansas. I am taking about two legendary coaches and ran them off (I know Lou kind of hasten his departure, but he was losing the fans). Ran off one of my favorites in Ken Hatfield. All Ken did was win, but that was not good enough. We ran off Nolan and now people realized that he was justified in his feelings about the mistreatment. People, let's be realistic and give Anderson time to rebuild. He will get there.

Many of the shots were not contested and many were dunks because of he horrible defense. The constant switching makes me wonder how stubborn MA is. Why are BP and or MK always chasing guards

[Hogs-n-Roses]

Many of the shots were not contested and many were dunks because of he horrible defense. The constant switching makes me wonder how stubborn MA is. Why are BP and or MK always chasing guards

Its the nature of the scramble defense. Our more athletic off guards are supposed to fill the backside and cover passing lanes which stop the extra pass to a dunk. We're out of position and too slow to react. Other teams coaches are pointing these situations out to their players and they're taking advantage to the tune of about 5-8 extra buckets per game.

[The Hogfather]

I'm not going to explain the difference to you guys if you can't figure it out.  Not worth my time.

[NorthDallas40]

Did anyone remember that Ole Miss shot 74% in the first half? I do not mean slam dunks or point blank put-backs, but contested threes. I mean it's difficult to shoot like that in practice. How about that one shot that Ole Miss made when the shot clock was about to expire and the guy banks in a prayer at the end? Unfortunately in the Hogs losses this year, teams turned in incredible offensive games. Yes I agree that the Hogs need to shore up their defense, but I think we are being a little too hard on them. Mike Anderson is a very good coach and will prove it in time, unless the masses get too impatient and run him off. We had many good coaches during the time I have been watching the Hogs and we have run them off. At one point, we had Eddie Sutton and Lou Holtz at Arkansas. I am taking about two legendary coaches and ran them off (I know Lou kind of hasten his departure, but he was losing the fans). Ran off one of my favorites in Ken Hatfield. All Ken did was win, but that was not good enough. We ran off Nolan and now people realized that he was justified in his feelings about the mistreatment. People, let's be realistic and give Anderson time to rebuild. He will get there.

I re watched nearly every single 3 and jumper Ole Miss hit because I was using them as examples to teach my kids how NOT to play defense. Your point that they hit contested threes either means you did not watch the game or you are someone close to the program who is spreading propaganda. It was such terrible D that I even outlined some of the shots they hit by minute mark and our player who was schooled, which was considered a vent and sent there. It was comical and pathetic from a team supposedly built to play ferocious defense.

[HognotinMemphis]

Mike did "win" at UAB and Mizzou.

Here are his numbers at both places, and thus far for us:

UAB: 89-41 (.685), 42-20 (.677). Three NCAAs and one NIT in four seasons.

Mizzouri: 111-57 (.661), 43-37 (.538). Three NCAAs in five seasons.

Arkansas: 72-43 (.626), 28-28 (.500). One NIT in his first three seasons.

From this, it looks clear that Mike's ability to coach (and recruit?) is declining with time. Hmmm, why does this seem so familiar to me? Has this happened before with Razorback basketball?

Or, has Mike pulled a Houston Nutt and simply Peter Principled himself? Easier to be successful at UAB and even at Mizzou during the years he was at both, than at Arkansas now...most would generally agree with this, I think. In this case, it is reasonable to see less and less success from Mike. 1 NIT in 3 seasons...not what I expected.


But in another thread, you've already stated that Mike is at U of A as long as he likes unless he is caught with a 14 yr old boy. So, why is anyone wasting any time on this subject?

[The_Iceman]

We lose one game at home, and people are already declaring Mike Anderson and the entire season a failure?

Geez guys, there are still 14 SEC games left. We saw the run he made last year after a much worse start than this.

[DeltaBoy]

Some numbers:

Arkansas scored zero points in transition last night. Zero.

Ole Miss outscored the Hogs in points off turnovers.

Ole Miss outscored the Hogs in the paint, 28-16.

Ole Miss's bench outscored Arkansas's 33-15.

But even that is deceptive, because Arkansas "started" Kingsley and Durham but played them only 10 minutes in the whole game. Ten of those 15 came from Bell, who played starter's minutes. The bench was just wasted.

Well stated.  He got to modifie to win now and keep recruiting.

[ChicoHog]

We lose one game at home, and people are already declaring Mike Anderson and the entire season a failure?

Geez guys, there are still 14 SEC games left. We saw the run he made last year after a much worse start than this.

Agree that there is a lot of basketball left to be played.  The issue is we want a different kind of basketball with solid fundamentals, no scramble defense giving up uncontested shots and some sign of improvement.  If that happens, great.  I just don't see it under Anderson.  If we shoot well we will win quite a few games.  if not, forget it because we give up way too many easy baskets to the opponent. 

[riccoar]

One glaring thing.  Press never worked, except to tire out our players.  One question, why does Anderson get up and coach so much at home, yet seem so stoic on the road?

[hview]

There's not been enough consistency from game to game to tell what system MA is trying to implement. 

[Paul]

I'm not going to explain the difference to you guys if you can't figure it out.  Not worth my time.

oh, ok   

[jchill]

I re watched nearly every single 3 and jumper Ole Miss hit because I was using them as examples to teach my kids how NOT to play defense. Your point that they hit contested threes either means you did not watch the game or you are someone close to the program who is spreading propaganda. It was such terrible D that I even outlined some of the shots they hit by minute mark and our player who was schooled, which was considered a vent and sent there. It was comical and pathetic from a team supposedly built to play ferocious defense.

I watched the game and there were contested threes that Ole Miss made. I do admit there were times that the defense left players wide open for threes. The defense this year is terrible. I am not disputing that, but Ole Miss was on fire that night like Iowa State was against us. It's hard for any team to shoot that well, unfortunately Arkansas ran into a hot Ole Miss team. Sort of like Manny getting clocked by Marquez. Manny is still a great fighter, but like any fighter all it takes is the right punch and he's going down. For all those who are complaining, let's wait and see what happens by the end of the season. I will say it right now. We will make the NCAAT and we will advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Mark my words!

[jchill]

I watched the game and there were contested threes that Ole Miss made. I do admit there were times that the defense left players wide open for threes. The defense this year is terrible. I am not disputing that, but Ole Miss was on fire that night like Iowa State was against us. It's hard for any team to shoot that well, unfortunately Arkansas ran into a hot Ole Miss team. Sort of like Manny getting clocked by Marquez. Manny is still a great fighter, but like any fighter all it takes is the right punch and he's going down. For all those who are complaining, let's wait and see what happens by the end of the season. I will say it right now. We will make the NCAAT and we will advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Mark my words!

Well one prediction down and one more to go. Go Hogs!!!

[Atlhogfan1]

Well one prediction down and one more to go. Go Hogs!!!

You good with chocolate chip?

[sowmonella]

These guys who just beat Arkansas, just lost at home to LSU. They are God's definition of a donut team, and Arkansas didn't have a prayer of stopping them.

MA has this team so knotted up on defense that they cannot begin to stop anyone. He wants to play Portis and Qualls 35+ minutes a game, but he has not put in a defense that is consistent with that. When two guys have to conserve energy to make it through the game, they cannot do what this defensive style asks them to do. There are holes all over the floor. The other three players cannot possibly compensate. Now they are just dispirited on defense. They do not know what to do, because MA is asking them to do the impossible. You can't switch that far.

The first they they should do is stop pressing in the backcourt, period. They should fall back to halfcourt. If they want to press and trap from there, give it a try. When the fullcourt pressure is not enough to wear down the opponent, it becomes a sieve.

MA also is stubbornly committed to using player rotations that do not work. Look how screwed up MA is right now. He's tied himself into a pretzel. He started Kingsley and Durham last night, and they played 10 minutes each in the entire game. Anthlon Bell played 28 minutes, took nine shots, made three and scored 10 points. Anton Beard got five minutes. Nick Babb, five minutes. Manny Watkins, six minutes. Ky Madden, 32 minutes. Madden scored a bunch, gave up more, and threw away the ball five times. Madden had five of the team's 12 turnovers. Five!

MA has essentially converted the offense into a system to get Portis and Qualls their stats. Those two will take their numbers to the NBA draft in a few months, and MA will be royally screwed.

The minutes last night went

37 Qualls
35 Portis
32 Madden
28 Bell
16 Harris
16 Williams

What the Frank? Why, in a game against one of the SEC's best backcourts, would you fall back on the team's worst guards? Why would you take away your own depth advantage and try to outscore them with your absolutely worst defensive lineup?

It is clear MA is groping when he starts two guys who play 10 minutes for the whole game. He is just hoping that an adjustment will come to him sometime along the way. But he always falls back on this group that can't play defense, and he has become habitual about sabotaging his own defense by asking players to play almost the entire game.

This defensive scheme works ONLY if players learn to go as hard as they can THEN go to the bench for fresh reinforcements. If somebody, anybody is saving energy on defense, the whole thing collapses on itself. You can't play this way if you aren't committed to it. You get zero defense. Just like last night.

You've proven, MA, that you can ignore logic and data and play the wrong guys as much as you want. You have proven that you can lose at home to an NIT bubble team, if you want. You have proven you can make a 6-11 center useless by teaching him a man stance and having him switch out of the paint on defense, safely out of range of the rim that he should be protecting. Nice work. You're done now.

[Rawland Watson]

Haha man January 17 and 18 was Armageddon on this board, other than the OP I don't see many of you clowns

[hawgwild child]

We lose one game at home, and people are already declaring Mike Anderson and the entire season a failure?

Geez guys, there are still 14 SEC games left. We saw the run he made last year after a much worse start than this.

This now

[WarPig88]

You good with chocolate chip?

At least he doesn't need a towel to cry in because the team is doing well like you do.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Atlhogfan1]

At least he doesn't need a towel to cry in because the team is doing well like you do.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My stalker is back!  LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Randy Johnson]

These guys who just beat Arkansas, just lost at home to LSU. They are God's definition of a donut team, and Arkansas didn't have a prayer of stopping them.

MA has this team so knotted up on defense that they cannot begin to stop anyone. He wants to play Portis and Qualls 35+ minutes a game, but he has not put in a defense that is consistent with that. When two guys have to conserve energy to make it through the game, they cannot do what this defensive style asks them to do. There are holes all over the floor. The other three players cannot possibly compensate. Now they are just dispirited on defense. They do not know what to do, because MA is asking them to do the impossible. You can't switch that far.

The first they they should do is stop pressing in the backcourt, period. They should fall back to halfcourt. If they want to press and trap from there, give it a try. When the fullcourt pressure is not enough to wear down the opponent, it becomes a sieve.

MA also is stubbornly committed to using player rotations that do not work. Look how screwed up MA is right now. He's tied himself into a pretzel. He started Kingsley and Durham last night, and they played 10 minutes each in the entire game. Anthlon Bell played 28 minutes, took nine shots, made three and scored 10 points. Anton Beard got five minutes. Nick Babb, five minutes. Manny Watkins, six minutes. Ky Madden, 32 minutes. Madden scored a bunch, gave up more, and threw away the ball five times. Madden had five of the team's 12 turnovers. Five!

MA has essentially converted the offense into a system to get Portis and Qualls their stats. Those two will take their numbers to the NBA draft in a few months, and MA will be royally screwed.

The minutes last night went

37 Qualls
35 Portis
32 Madden
28 Bell
16 Harris
16 Williams

What the Frank? Why, in a game against one of the SEC's best backcourts, would you fall back on the team's worst guards? Why would you take away your own depth advantage and try to outscore them with your absolutely worst defensive lineup?

It is clear MA is groping when he starts two guys who play 10 minutes for the whole game. He is just hoping that an adjustment will come to him sometime along the way. But he always falls back on this group that can't play defense, and he has become habitual about sabotaging his own defense by asking players to play almost the entire game.

This defensive scheme works ONLY if players learn to go as hard as they can THEN go to the bench for fresh reinforcements. If somebody, anybody is saving energy on defense, the whole thing collapses on itself. You can't play this way if you aren't committed to it. You get zero defense. Just like last night.

You've proven, MA, that you can ignore logic and data and play the wrong guys as much as you want. You have proven that you can lose at home to an NIT bubble team, if you want. You have proven you can make a 6-11 center useless by teaching him a man stance and having him switch out of the paint on defense, safely out of range of the rim that he should be protecting. Nice work. You're done now.

Quit on this after line one

[Atlhogfan1]

Apparently Coach A agreed with Biggus.  Beard played 27 minutes the next game and has only played less than 21 twice since (17 and 18). 

[dhornjr1]

Apparently Coach A agreed with Biggus.  Beard played 27 minutes the next game and has only played less than 21 twice since (17 and 18). 

Biggus is Mike's John Robert Starr, huh?

[Swinesong1]

Kingsley chose the wrong program.  And Portis' offensive success or a smaller forward like Demarre Carroll does not refute this.  He may keep developing into an effective player at some point just because of the potential he has. 

Durham was a reach.  Some wanted to believe that he was going to go from NAIA guard to possible answer to our guard issue in 2 seasons but it just never seemed realistic.  Maybe he'll make that leap some JCs seem to do their sr. season.  Miles was supposed to have an impact too. 

I've posted the list of 14 players Coach A has brought in over the last 3 years.  It goes back to recruiting.  Arguments can be made that he has been hindered although not all will have a lot of merit.  But he has not recruited the players necessary to play how he wants to play.

Timing.  Coaching success sometimes depends on timing.  Mike has had success at two other programs.  At UAB, he used the JCs and lower academic requirements to build a great mid major team.  His system fits perfectly for that level as it is built for undersized teams with tweeners and quick guards where he has nearly unlimited access to signing JC players without restrictions.  At Mizzou, I know his diehard fans don't like this mentioned, but his nephew's transfer in cannot be downplayed.   He also got the guards he needed to run his system.  Then Bowers and the Pressey's who are "family" came on board.  Timing was good to have good teams there.  They would have been at Arkansas had Coach A been at Arkansas.  The E8 season assured he would be our coach.  It was inevitable.  The question is can he repeat it again and keep the program at a high level of success?  Or did we miss the window?

I'm tired of talking about the defensive issues some of which are self inflicted.  We have discussed alternatives like dropping back and trying to play more zones or packed in man to protect players, hide liabilities, give Kingsley an actual chance to thrive defensively, etc. 

We've also beaten the lineups to death.  I asked before SEC play if we thought Coach A had found the right rotations and guessed not.  He hasn't.  He is still guessing.  But he'll probably stumble into something at some point this season and some players will get hot and they'll be enough success to get a solid seed in the NCAAT.  Portis will go to the draft, Qualls ?, Kapita or some other F will see the void the roster has at that position and sign on to go with Whitt.  The guards will be better next season and the team may get closer to what Coach A wants and we'll be a borderline NCAAT again next season and the next and the next ........

You nailed it!