TJ Carpenter (810 WHB KC) was just on 99.5 Hog Sports Radio and said

[HognitiveDissonance]

Mike is not a complacent guy. I grew up around the program in the 90's. Wayne Stehlik was my neighbor and I played basketball with Yvonne a lot. Mike is cool, calm, and collected, but he has no problems letting into someone. He has strong morals, and holds those around him up to high standards. He is strict and old school. Just because he is not raging on the sidelines doesn't mean he ain't teaching those kids a lesson in the locker rooms. I'm sure they are getting it handed to them. As a kid I had a lot of respect for Nolan and Mike. They would drill me with tips when I would mess something up yet make sure to give me enough encouragement to buck up and try again. I learned a lot from them, and not just about basketball either. I 100% doubt any notion that Mike is complacent here and has given up this year. I'm certain he way more hungry than any of us are for a championship and he is probably still preaching in the locker room that this team can make the tournament, somehow someway, and he probably believes it himself too, and shows that belief everyday in practice to those kids.

Here's the problem, though.
I, probably like many others, agree with you 100%.
But that has nothing to do with recruiting and maintaining a consistent, winning college basketball program.

[OperationRestoreHawgBall]

Bo is the defender of never firing any coach. He defended Pel to the bitter end. Doesn't want to lose his access to the program or coaches. Its could be considered as weakness, like most of the Arkansas sports media. Watchdogs they are certainly not.

Even the greatest Mike defender, Bo Mattingly, is showing doubt today on his show. He questioned: "Did Mike miss his window."

[OperationRestoreHawgBall]

I think there are times when we have successfully locked down the other team's leading scorer. But that doesn't take much scouting at all.

I think when saying "scouting" it is meant to include film breakdown and team prep.  This has been something said about him before he got to Arkansas especially by Mizzou fans when he was there.  It goes back to Nolan and his statements about wanting teams to have to prepare for what he does and if his teams do what they are supposed to they will have success and practices are focused on working on what we do vs what the opponents do.  Nolan could say things like that especially when winning.  This is where Mike's repeating what Nolan once said doesn't carry the same message and fans don't buy it. 

I have some doubts this was totally true with Nolan as I saw some practices back in the day and you saw some game plans specific to opponents.  Nolan said things in a blustery way that weren't always true as we know like the stupid Burger King AA comments when he had teams with multiple McD AA's.  Mike tries repeating them now.  And Nolan's "cut off the head" philosophy on D was an example of how he and his staff prepared his teams for opponents.  I do have my doubts Mike and this staff is nearly as strong in preparing their teams and I have my doubts enough time is spent breaking down opponents with the team.  But it is speculation.  If they are, then they are failing.

[OperationRestoreHawgBall]

"FROM ALL INDICATIONS" Such BS. Fans are always projecting greatness onto the incoming recruiting class before they even see a minute of playing time.

Two weeks ago (after the A&M game) people were talking about how well Mike was doing with the players he has.  Maybe the best job in the SEC.

Now, this.  Maybe, understandably so after a really bad losing streak.

There is a considerable athleticism gap between us and every opponent we play... we are on the short of the stick.  I NEVER thought I would say that about a Mike Anderson coached team.

From all indications, the four guys coming in are more athletic than everybody on the roster expect Moses.  It should make for a good 2016-17 season.

I like Mike!

[OperationRestoreHawgBall]

This Jeff Long nonsense has to stop. He has nothing to do with our basketball problems, and his record in hiring coaches is not at all bad, even with the benefit of hindsight, but hiring coaches is just a small role for the AD to fill. He is an EXCELLENT enabler of his coaches by getting them the things they think they need to succeed, he is critical to keeping U of A overall financial success high, and...CFB playoff committee chairmanship is just a bonus on top of that. We are lucky to have him, whether he fires MA this year or next.

I firmly believe our basketball program will continue to suffer no matter who the coach is as long as Jeff Long is the director of athletics.

[Swinesong1]

Some people are proud to show their ignorance.  Strutting around like a peacock.  This thread proves it.

[nchogg]

The reality is they are not playing good basketball as a team. I know CMA is loyal to his assistant coaches. This team has not been consistent. I wish he would look at his staff as a whole to correct the issues. It's all coaching and being prepared for every team you play. I do not want to see him fired but he needs to evaluate the whole picture.

[rljjr]

TJ said he felt certain that MA is capable of doing a better job as the coach based on prior records with UAB and Mizzou, but for some reason he just isn't.  His explanation was MA being too complacent in the job.  I've been thinking about it and really can't come up with any better explanation.  Although i'm no BB expert by any means, what i saw in the game last night was obvious to me and my kids - total lack of adjustment in how we were playing.  If those 2 Aub guys are punkin' you with 3's, then you quit trapping and put your best defenders on them to stick like glue and try to contest every shot.  We forced 20+ turnovers last night and were about even on rebounding, but those open-look 3's outweighed those factors in my opinion.

Based on prior records? He's got a nearly identical record at all three places. He is who he is. I'm not sure why we're expecting more.

[wheelspigharvey]

"FROM ALL INDICATIONS" Such BS. Fans are always projecting greatness onto the incoming recruiting class before they even see a minute of playing time.

Not saying I know for a fact they will have an immediate impact but you have seen these guys offer lists?  You know the class is in the top 30 or so?

[nwahogfan1]

that the major problems are that MA is lazy (complacent) and that the coaching staff doesn't scout the opposing teams at all to prepare for games, so we're not taking advantage of things that would help us win more.  He also said he hoped that Mizzou would beat us this weekend to wake up the PTB and wake up MA and the staff.   Thoughts?  I'll hang up and listen..

I bet this is completely accurate reporting because it looks like it on the court both with our game preparing and recruiting misses.

Mike says over and over he is only worried about his team and how we play and not what the other team does.  So this is not surprising.  To me this is lazy coaching and not preparing your team for the best chance to win. 

You only have to watch one game to see us using below average SEC athletes pressing in the full court and guarding 30 feet from the basket no matter who we play to know this article is accurate.  Nothing changes.  Kentucky said thank you Mike.  They ran us out of our own gym but when a slower pace team like Tn played them Kentucky struggled in the 2nd half and got beat.  Tn adjusted especially at half time and tried to make Ky play left handed.  We helped ky and they killed us.   
If you do not have race horses then you don't challenge a faster horse for a race.  Don't make since.  Only thing Mike is doing is helping the more athletic team.  Terrible coaching.

I have always said Mike is a one trick pony coach.  He only knows how to coach one way.  he is winning less than 30% of his SEC road games and only 35% of his road games in the Big 12.  Those are both terrible numbers.  Now if he would get off his butt and recruit  better players who can play his style well then he can do OK but he is still a one trick pony and is easily scouted by opposing   

[wheelspigharvey]

that the major problems are that MA is lazy (complacent) and that the coaching staff doesn't scout the opposing teams at all to prepare for games, so we're not taking advantage of things that would help us win more.  He also said he hoped that Mizzou would beat us this weekend to wake up the PTB and wake up MA and the staff.   Thoughts?  I'll hang up and listen..

If he's seriously going to call Mike lazy and call for his head I have no respect for this so guy and I hope people call him out on this when we are winning again, though he's probably not important enough for this to be remembered. 

He is taking shots in hopes of making a name for himself, unprofessional IMO

[The real Hogules]

What we've played since Mike's return certainly is not the 40 Minutes of Hell played during the Nolan Richardson era.
During Nolan's time, more often than not I've seen the ball travel the length of the court, touched by 2-3Razorbacks and never touch the floor. I've yet to see that happen a single time this year.

[ArkansasI]

When we get frustrated/mad, we accuse others of behaviors/actions that we know nothing about in order to somehow explain the condition.

I don't know if Mike is lazy. Doesn't matter if he is or not...  What matters is the condition of the program, which is imbalanced. It doesn't appear that it is where it should be based upon the investments made.

Mike got the Hogs to the second round of the tournament with last year's talent. It's hard to believe we will do much better with whatever is coming in. 

Is that good enough?

[lynbug]

The thought of complacency certainly crossed my mind too, sometimes when you finally get where you always wanted to be you lose that fire and desire to put in that extra, sometimes it's a natural tendency to want to just kick back, relax, and enjoy the scenery.

Now as far as not scouting the opposition, there is no way for him to know that so he is just throwing something out there to see if it sticks. Even the word scouting as it was once used can be thrown away in today's game with the TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE,  you can scout an opponent and never leave the office. This isn't the old days where you sent out an assistant to go actually watch the other team in action to bring back a scouting report.

It just occurred to me.....maybe Mike's computer is broken and he's been depending on TJ and company to compensate.

[Razorpigg]

Still can't believe a thread title that starts with "TJ Carpenter" made it 2 pages...Amazing

[toxichog]

I supported the hiring of CMA.........have been a supporter all along......and he is a much better "coach" than his detractors give him credit for.  I think this year proves he can "coach".......because the current roster is not only talent poor, but not even well suited for our so called "style of play".
However, since this is year five the state of the current roster fall directly on him.  I am totally baffled how our current roster has so many players so poorly suited to play in our "system".  It is not a secret the type of long, quick, mentally and physically tough, defense first athletes needed to succeed in 40 minutes of hell or whatever that we are suppose to be all about.  Even though this is the best shooting team I can ever remember at Arkansas, the majority of the roster are defensive liabilities. We are not long enough, quick enough, or tough enough to press effectively.  We score 80 points a game......but it's not enough when you can't guard anybody.
Our problems are not scouting.....or game management, or poor strategy.......it is RECRUITING.....plain and simple......for whatever reason, this staff simply has not been able to recruit the athletes it needs to win consistently.
I have not given up on CMA.........but if he and his STAFF don't start winning on the recruiting front.......we will all continue to be frustrated.

[LZH]

If he's seriously going to call Mike lazy and call for his head I have no respect for this so guy and I hope people call him out on this when we are winning again, though he's probably not important enough for this to be remembered. 

He is taking shots in hopes of making a name for himself, unprofessional IMO

When we are winning again? When was this, and what on earth did we win?

[jm]

Our problem is not scouting or game planning. We have no power players. We have no forwards. We play 4 guys under 6'4" the majority of most games. We need more than a couple of 6'8"ish guys who are strong enough to rebound and defend. The scary part is that it doesn't appear that we have any of those guys coming in.

[OperationRestoreHawgBall]

I don't care - I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think any one of these guys will be the second-coming of Bobby Portis.

Not saying I know for a fact they will have an immediate impact but you have seen these guys offer lists?  You know the class is in the top 30 or so?

[OperationRestoreHawgBall]

Actually, he is showing that he can do what Arkansas' own sports media cannot. Do you really think his current listener base in KC really cares what he thinks about Arkansas basketball?

If he's seriously going to call Mike lazy and call for his head I have no respect for this so guy and I hope people call him out on this when we are winning again, though he's probably not important enough for this to be remembered. 

He is taking shots in hopes of making a name for himself, unprofessional IMO

[ShadowHawg]

Even the greatest Mike defender, Bo Mattingly, is showing doubt today on his show. He questioned: "Did Mike miss his window."

Mattingly is far from a MA defender. A CBB defender for sure, but he has never been a defender of any basketball coach that I am aware of.

[ChicoHog]

As a Hog fan, I would enjoy any style of BB if we could return to prominence as a program.  i enjoyed watching Sutton's teams even though some thought it boring.  They were fundamentally sound, always played hard, almost never got blown out & never, ever quit.

Exactly.  I prefer to watch games with few turnovers, good shooting and solid man or zone defense without all the trapping.  It can still be high scoring and you can get up and down without trying to press and give up easy baskets.  But most of all I want to win regardless if it's 60-50 or 90-80. 

[ShadowHawg]

Exactly.  I prefer to watch games with few turnovers, good shooting and solid man or zone defense without all the trapping.  It can still be high scoring and you can get up and down without trying to press and give up easy baskets.  But most of all I want to win regardless if it's 60-50 or 90-80.

I can watch the Hogs win 60-50, but me and the rest of America find that garbage hard to watch when it isn't our team.

[ChicoHog]

I can watch the Hogs win 60-50, but me and the rest of America find that garbage hard to watch when it isn't our team.

I guess it's how you define garbage.  To me garbage is a game when both teams shoot less than 40%, turnovers in the high teens or twenties, and lots of fouls and bad free throw shooting.

[wheelspigharvey]

I don't care - I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think any one of these guys will be the second-coming of Bobby Portis.

AS far as next season goes, Moses is supposed to be the next Bobby Portis.  He has a very similar stat line this year to what Bobby had last year.  We need another group of Harris/Jacorey/Qualls type bigs (or in Qualls' case a super athletic guard) who can play above the rim on D and keep people honest on offense. 

[wheelspigharvey]

Actually, he is showing that he can do what Arkansas' own sports media cannot. Do you really think his current listener base in KC really cares what he thinks about Arkansas basketball?

Taking aim at a coach from well outside the state.  So brave.  More should follow his lead.

[wheelspigharvey]

When we are winning again? When was this, and what on earth did we win?

This is the part where I list all the stuff we accomplished just one season ago and someone responds saying those things don't count, right?

[TexArkHogFan]

Nolan didn't have to light a fire under anybody.  Just give em that hard stare that makes them want to sit at the end of the bench as far away from Nolan they could get. 

[hogsanity]

AS far as next season goes, Moses is supposed to be the next Bobby Portis.  He has a very similar stat line this year to what Bobby had last year.  We need another group of Harris/Jacorey/Qualls type bigs (or in Qualls' case a super athletic guard) who can play above the rim on D and keep people honest on offense. 

Moses can not do some of the things BP could. Bp could go out and hit threes, he could handle the ball away from the basket. HE just had more offensive weaponry than Moses does.

[cosmodrum]

North Carolina was a great example last year. Any smart coach would know the last thing you want to do with that team is to try and run with them. They had way better athletes than us. But Mike would rather play his way than play to win.

Do you really want to see Mike run a half court scheme? It's not that you're wrong, but I don't think it would've mattered.

[wheelspigharvey]

Moses can not do some of the things BP could. Bp could go out and hit threes, he could handle the ball away from the basket. HE just had more offensive weaponry than Moses does.

Agreed, by the time they both finish, Portis will still probably be more polished than Moses is, and we probably won't have the option to "just get it to Moses."  Still, he's an Abdul-Jabar finalist and will be they key to next year's team.  They're totally different guys, and I don't expect Moses to be a carbon copy, but I am just saying specifically the Bobby/Carroll type role is there, we need the pieces around that to come together.  I just think the "didn't get a replacement for Bobby"--not saying you said that--talk is misled/misleading.   We have that component, there are other things we need, and badly.

[bigdaddyhawg]

This is the part where I list all the stuff we accomplished just one season ago and someone responds saying those things don't count, right?

Nobody has said that doesn't count, but your argument would have much more strength behind it if you had more than ONE YEAR of substance to talk about out of five, don't you think??

Most reasonable folks on here agree that 1 or 5 in the dance doesn't cut it.

[wheelspigharvey]

Nobody has said that doesn't count, but your argument would have much more strength behind it if you had more than ONE YEAR of substance to talk about out of five, don't you think??

Most reasonable folks on here agree that 1 or 5 in the dance doesn't cut it.

I should not have invited the comment, but I figured it was coming.  We were where we should have been last season, winning by every objective measure and considering the progress made up til that point, now we need to get back there.  We should next season.

[bigdaddyhawg]

I should not have invited the comment, but I figured it was coming.  We were where we should have been last season, winning by every objective measure and considering the progress made up til that point, now we need to get back there.  We should next season.

I know the darksiders, "fire Mike today!!" guys play fast and loose with the facts sometimes, but this is simply not true.

Winning year? Yes.

High finish in conference?  Yes.

Players honored?  Yes

Played in the Dance?  Yes

Won a game in the Dance?  Yes

Won a conference championship?  No.

Won a tourney championship?  No.

Made Sweet 16?  No.

Made Elite 8?  No.

Made Final Four?  No.

So, for the record, there were quite a few "objective measures" that were not met, and any reasonable person would have to admit the truth of that.

Also, for the record, at one time those standards that were answered "No" were the standards for this program.

[hogwood]

Yvonne Richardson?

Yvonne is Mike's youngest daughter. Named after Yvonne Richardson. We were in the same grade and went to elementary school together and played basketball on the same team for a while. She ended up playing ball at Texas. Plays Euro-league ball now.

[razorsharp94]

The fact of the matter is this:  If we fired Mike today we would be the laughing stock of the whole country just like we've been many times before.  So just add another stupid move to the Arkansas resume if we fire him.  I can just hear the media now, "Arkansas won 27 games just last season and now they fire their coach." It would be another black eye to the already battered basketball program.  Yet we have some fans that just refuse to see what is right in front of their faces to begin with. 

Yes we have improved incrementally under Mike.  Yes we have well-outperformed the previous two coaches when it comes to conference wins under Mike.  Yes we did just finish 27-9 and second in the conference to the Kentucky juggernaut that was last season.  Yes 27 wins was sixth most in program history.  Yes it was the most wins since 1995   Yes we've won 49 games over the two previous seasons prior to this one.  Yes those two seasons were the best since the back to back championship game apperances.    Yes Mike's 99 wins at Arkansas in just less than 5 years are the best 5 years we've had since the 90s and early 2000s.

Yes our roster will improve next year and yes it will look like Mike wants it to.  Yes we will most likely make it back to the tournament next year.  Fire Mike! Smh.

[wheelspigharvey]

I know the darksiders, "fire Mike today!!" guys play fast and loose with the facts sometimes, but this is simply not true.

Winning year? Yes.

High finish in conference?  Yes.

Players honored?  Yes

Played in the Dance?  Yes

Won a game in the Dance?  Yes

Won a conference championship?  No.

Won a tourney championship?  No.

Made Sweet 16?  No.

Made Elite 8?  No.

Made Final Four?  No.

So, for the record, there were quite a few "objective measures" that were not met, and any reasonable person would have to admit the truth of that.

Also, for the record, at one time those standards that were answered "No" were the standards for this program.

You got me on "every," because of course we didn't win it all, at the same time there are a few hundred teams that wish they had as mediocre a season as we apparently had last year.

[hogwood]

The fact of the matter is this:  If we fired Mike today we would be the laughing stock of the whole country just like we've been many times before.  So just add another stupid move to the Arkansas resume if we fire him.  I can just hear the media now, "Arkansas won 27 games just last season and now they fire their coach." It would be another black eye to the already battered basketball program.  Yet we have some fans that just refuse to see what is right in front of their faces to begin with. 

Yes we have improved incrementally under Mike.  Yes we have well-outperformed the previous two coaches when it comes to conference wins under Mike.  Yes we did just finish 27-9 and second in the conference to the Kentucky juggernaut that was last season.  Yes 27 wins was sixth most in program history.  Yes it was the most wins since 1995   Yes we've won 49 games over the two previous seasons prior to this one.  Yes those two seasons were the best since the back to back championship game apperances.    Yes Mike's 99 wins at Arkansas in just less than 5 years are the best 5 years we've had since the 90s and early 2000s.

Yes our roster will improve next year and yes it will look like Mike wants it to.  Yes we will most likely make it back to the tournament next year.  Fire Mike! Smh.

TRUTH. It took 20 years for our program to completely die. Will take a long time to fix it. Mike may not be the final answer, but he is key to rebuilding it. Firing him now would be horrendous. Next year we will have a pretty good team, at least as good as the 14-15 team. The years after that look bright too. We'll undoubtedly be a better program letting Mike be HC for the next 4-5 years than we would if we hired some up-and-comer now and had him build from ground zero after this season.

[Sivad]

This is the part where I list all the stuff we accomplished just one season ago and someone responds saying those things don't count, right?

A slim win over Wofford and then out only accomplishes so much.

[MikePiazza]

A slim win over Wofford and then out only accomplishes so much.

Wisconsin narrowly beat Wofford in the 2010 NCAA. Think their fans were mad at Bo Ryan because of it?

Stan Heath lost to Bucknell in his fourth year when he made the tourney. So Mike is an improvement over Heath, and Pel only made the tourney with Heath's players.

You can denigrate the Wofford win all you want, but it's survive and advance for everyone but the 1 seeds in the round of 64.

[Captain Morgan]

Wisconsin narrowly beat Wofford in the 2010 NCAA. Think their fans were mad?
You can denigrate the Wofford win all you want, but it's survive and advance for everyone but the 1 seeds in the round of 64.

Wofford had zero NBA players. They won some garbage conference where every team on their schedule were cupcakes. That was a good draw for Anderson to get a non high major school from an awful conference.

[Sooie71923]

More than one way to coach.

Spending 100% of your time making your team better at what you do

Spending your time watching what your opponent does and trying to figure out what to do.

It's just basketball. You play most teams twice a season. You pretty much know what they're gonna do. 

It's no way like football where scouting weeks in advance and developing huge scouting reports are crucial.

It's just basketball.

Jimmies & Joes > x's & o's

[Sivad]

You can denigrate the Wofford win all you want, but...

As the High Water Mark of Anderson's 5 seasons - it ain't much.

[bigdaddyhawg]

You got me on "every," because of course we didn't win it all, at the same time there are a few hundred teams that wish they had as mediocre a season as we apparently had last year.

Hey, DUDE, I wasn't diminishing last year's successes, just putting them in perspective.

And who gives a flying frick what the hundred teams BELOW us think about our season last year?  That's irrelevant.

But it's the battle cry you guys march by this year -- "don't look at this year's failures, look at last year's successes"!

That's a loser's perspective, always justifying poor results.

[choppedporkextrasauce]

Another retard thread.

[wheelspigharvey]

Hey, DUDE, I wasn't diminishing last year's successes, just putting them in perspective.

And who gives a flying frick what the hundred teams BELOW us think about our season last year?  That's irrelevant.

But it's the battle cry you guys march by this year -- "don't look at this year's failures, look at last year's successes"!

That's a loser's perspective, always justifying poor results.

Not saying you are doing it but you don't have to, there are plenty who are.

You asked what did I mean by back to winning, I said back to what we did last season, then you said "not enough," and I don't agree.  First time in the tourney in awhile, we got a win.  Only 31 other teams did the same, but somehow ours isn't worth a dang.

Edit:  Yes, I want us to go further next time, who doesn't?  The dance itself is a bit of a crapshoot and the important thing is to get our ticket punched and be ready to play.  The win signifies that we were. 

[DeltaBoy]

Mike could not keep a major player from leaving early to the NBA and that killed him.  He needs to shake up his staff and get a solid recruiter.   

[Captain Morgan]

Not saying you are doing it but you don't have to, there are plenty who are.

You asked what did I mean by back to winning, I said back to what we did last season, then you said "not enough," and I don't agree.  First time in the tourney in awhile, we got a win.  Only 31 other teams did the same, but somehow ours isn't worth a dang.

Edit:  Yes, I want us to go further next time, who doesn't?  The dance itself is a bit of a crapshoot and the important thing is to get our ticket punched and be ready to play.  The win signifies that we were.

Go Team! We are number 32! Same could have been said for many other teams. Only thing you can EVER brag about in college basketball is being in the top 16. That Anderson did the same as Pel and lost to North Carolina, AGAIN

[HoopS]

A tournament win is a tournament win whether some want to give us credit or not. Funny that it isn't rival fans who want to minimize it but Hog fans. I remember surviving a far worse TSU team with one of our best teams ever. Any tournament win is a good win. Period.

[wheelspigharvey]

Only thing you can EVER brag about in college basketball is being in the top 16.

Cripes bro