Did Mike turn a corner last night?

[SemperHawg]

My number one gripe about him as a coach has been his stubborn refusal to get out of man to man even when we are getting killed on high ball screen switches.  Last night he inserted another lengthy defender (Gabe O) and we were able to put the game away in the second half with Gabe and Darius on the floor running mostly a 3/4 court zone press backing into a match up zone in the half court.  The results defensively speak for themselves.

I'm wondering if Mike finally has decided to embrace the fact that he has some defenders with serious wing spans (Gabe, Hall, Gafford, even CJ) and playing them in a match up zone causes real problems for other teams. 

Another fortunate side effect of running more zone is it keeps Gafford from getting left on an island 35 feet from the basket trying to guard a PG and getting stupid fouls.

Thoughts?

[The_Iceman]

No. South Carolina is just a really bad team.

[razorback1829]

My number one gripe about him as a coach has been his stubborn refusal to get out of man to man even when we are getting killed on high ball screen switches.  Last night he inserted another lengthy defender (Gabe O) and we were able to put the game away in the second half with Gabe and Darius on the floor running mostly a 3/4 court zone press backing into a match up zone in the half court.  The results defensively speak for themselves.

I'm wondering if Mike finally has decided to embrace the fact that he has some defenders with serious wing spans (Gabe, Hall, Gafford, even CJ) and playing them in a match up zone causes real problems for other teams. 

Another fortunate side effect of running more zone is it keeps Gafford from getting left on an island 35 feet from the basket trying to guard a PG and getting stupid fouls.

Thoughts?

Agree on all points. Hopefully he has decided that this is the way to go. These teams don't score on each other like they have been on us. If we can keep them around 70, we can usually score enough to win.

[cardsNhogs]

No

[bkjbearcat]

Mike's M.O is two steps forward, then two steps back. They might beat Vandy on Saturday, then they will lose two straight games with the Hogs constantly standing in the same place.

[azhog10]

Doubt it. Until Mike forces these guys to play defense nothing is going to change. Inserting Gabe was a start, but consistency has been the problem all year.

[latrops]

For this year, maybe.  He did a similar switch last year in transitioning away from our press into more halfcourt man and zone following our losses to Mizzou and Vandy.   

He will back off the press and play zone....but not until he absolutely has to in order to avoid a season completely unraveling.

[SemperHawg]

I get it, there are many on here that hate Mike and will offer no quality observations regardless of what they saw.  It is my personal opinion, the few times this year that we have backed down into a zone defense the results have always been positive.  My problem with Mike has been that up to this point he only uses a zone in a stop the bleeding capacity and then reverts right back into his man to man press mentality. 

The point that South Carolina is not very good is a fair one.  My observation from last night was he had multiple zone defense options worked into the game plan and not just a stop gap measure when we are getting gashed all over the floor.  This is really the first time I can think of that we have seen this out of Mike.

The real question is, will he continue doing this even though it doesn't necessarily fit his model of "Fastest 40 Minutes" style?

[Atlhogfan1]

South Carolina is one of the worst shooting teams in college basketball.  They are 231st in turnovers per possession. 

This was a good matchup for us at home.

[SemperHawg]

South Carolina is one of the worst shooting teams in college basketball.  They are 231st in turnovers per possession. 

This was a good matchup for us at home.

This still kind of lends to my original question... One of the worst offensive teams in our conference and Mike still decided we weren't good enough defensively to run his normal game plan. 

Are we going to shut everyone down the way we did USCe running more zone D?  Probably not, but I also don't think we are going to have stretches of the game where teams open up and run off of 22 straight on us when we play defense this way.

[Champs04]

If it doesn't happen more often, No.

[hogsanity]

LEts assume for a minute it is a permanent change, why did it take almost 7 full seasons? Why did it take loses like last Sat? Why did it take a season in which at one point the team was a predicted 5 seed, and now a predicted 10 seed for him to change? Why, just like last season, did it take until his back was against the wall to make changes that a jr high coach could see were needed?

The answer, of course, is it is not permanent, it is desperation. It also has to do with the fact that there is a soft spot in the schedule, that started last Sat, playing the 4 teams in the SEC almost certainly not going to the NCAAT, so it is a good place to try a few things. SC is terrible offensively. Vandy is maybe even worse.

[SemperHawg]

LEts assume for a minute it is a permanent change, why did it take almost 7 full seasons? Why did it take loses like last Sat? Why did it take a season in which at one point the team was a predicted 5 seed, and now a predicted 10 seed for him to change? Why, just like last season, did it take until his back was against the wall to make changes that a jr high coach could see were needed?

The answer, of course, is it is not permanent, it is desperation. It also has to do with the fact that there is a soft spot in the schedule, that started last Sat, playing the 4 teams in the SEC almost certainly not going to the NCAAT, so it is a good place to try a few things. SC is terrible offensively. Vandy is maybe even worse.

Pretty much my thoughts up to this point. 

[3of5-2]

LEts assume for a minute it is a permanent change, why did it take almost 7 full seasons? Why did it take loses like last Sat? Why did it take a season in which at one point the team was a predicted 5 seed, and now a predicted 10 seed for him to change? Why, just like last season, did it take until his back was against the wall to make changes that a jr high coach could see were needed?

The answer, of course, is it is not permanent, it is desperation. It also has to do with the fact that there is a soft spot in the schedule, that started last Sat, playing the 4 teams in the SEC almost certainly not going to the NCAAT, so it is a good place to try a few things. SC is terrible offensively. Vandy is maybe even worse.

Once again, telling it like it is.

[EastexHawg]

No. South Carolina is just a really bad team.

Last night was the first time I watched them play an entire game.  They are a really unskilled team.  Poor shooters, poor ball handlers, poor passers.  Their best player can't shoot and is hardly a dominant force inside, either.  In fact, their team FG% is less than 40%.

I keep hearing all the talk about how good and how deep the SEC is this year.  It's not good and the only reason it is "deep" is that there are so many poor to mediocre teams that can beat each other.  The skill level is so rudimentary that it's almost painful to watch the games.  Mike is actually blessed to have the best group of shooters in the SEC but he has somehow managed to parlay that into a sub-.500 conference record.

[Piglet]

This team's defensive weaknesses are still there.  They don't have anyone that can consistently stop a quick guard driving to the basket.  They don't have enough versatile players to play a switching man defense.  Fortunately, South Carolina did not have the players that could exploit their weaknesses.  I don't think Vanderbilt has the right players either, but their 3-point shooting does worry me.

There are several teams left that will give them fits.  I am hoping Anderson can find some defensive rotations that will keep them in the game.  Ironically, I think they will play well against Kentucky, because they do not have the 3-point shooters that can take advantage of defensive breakdowns. 

[OkieBack]

There are several teams left that will give them fits.  I am hoping Anderson can find some defensive rotations that will keep them in the game.  Ironically, I think they will play well against Kentucky, because they do not have the 3-point shooters that can take advantage of defensive breakdowns.

Don't get too high, don't get too low folks.  It was a win at home against SC.  I just hope Mike is seeing some different things happening in different players and that he is gaining some success with the zone.  Perimeter defense still needs work, especially when we play deadly PG's.  Kentucky looks human so I don't chalk that one up as a loss just yet.  In the SEC, anyone can knock off anyone if they got game.  Many tough games ahead though.  One game at a time.  We need 40 minutes boys.  Everybody is on call.

[Dropkick]

South Carolina is one of the worst shooting teams in college basketball.  They are 231st in turnovers per possession. 

This was a good matchup for us at home.

SC has beaten Kentucky and beat UF at Gainesville, so they are capable of playing well.

[OkieBack]

I keep hearing all the talk about how good and how deep the SEC is this year.  It's not good and the only reason it is "deep" is that there are so many poor to mediocre teams that can beat each other.  The skill level is so rudimentary that it's almost painful to watch the games.  Mike is actually blessed to have the best group of shooters in the SEC but he has somehow managed to parlay that into a sub-.500 conference record.

Could it be that allot of these SEC teams are like this ugly jumbalya on the stove just waiting to finish cooking to perfection?  Watch out, because if these messy teams really are just letting all their team flavors blend then we could see some hot dishes baked to perfection come the NCAAT. 

On a side note, if the SEC is just horrible then what does that say about the Big 12?  They seem to have the same problem as the SEC with teams knocking each other off on any given night.  No, I see conference diversity as a strength rather than as a weakness.  Especially if the SEC is going out and beating other conferences head to head.

[EastexHawg]

SC has beaten Kentucky and beat UF at Gainesville, so they are capable of playing well.

How impressed are you with Florida and especially Kentucky?  I'm not.

[FineAsSwine]

South Carolina is one of the worst shooting teams in college basketball.  They are 231st in turnovers per possession. 

This was a good matchup for us at home.

That South Carolina team was good enough to beat the Florida Gators on their home court a few weeks ago.

[FineAsSwine]

How impressed are you with Florida and especially Kentucky?  I'm not.

SEC is much tougher this year. Kentucky crushed Louisville and West Virginia in non-conference play. SEC has 9 teams projected to be in the tourney by Joe Lunardi. Plus, we won the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

SEC is no joke this year. Florida and Kentucky are just having to adjust. KY, because they are so young and Florida because KA and injury to Ugbunu.

[hogsanity]

Last night was the first time I watched them play an entire game.  They are a really unskilled team.  Poor shooters, poor ball handlers, poor passers.  Their best player can't shoot and is hardly a dominant force inside, either.  In fact, their team FG% is less than 40%.

I keep hearing all the talk about how good and how deep the SEC is this year.  It's not good and the only reason it is "deep" is that there are so many poor to mediocre teams that can beat each other.  The skill level is so rudimentary that it's almost painful to watch the games.  Mike is actually blessed to have the best group of shooters in the SEC but he has somehow managed to parlay that into a sub-.500 conference record.

I said 3 weeks ago the SEC is a mirage built on really good ooc scheduling, and not much else. IT is the end result of a plan put in place by commissioner Slive a few years ago when the league was only getting 3 or 4 teams in the ncaat. Schedule decent rpi ooc teams so your league rpi is good then when you neat up on each other the rpi does not take a bad hit. For example AR played MN, current rpi 120ish. Not great but much better than the rpi in the 250's or worse teams that many of the sec used to play regularly in ooc games. Also played Fresno St current rpi 88. Again not a bad rpi but not a good team, currently 15-8 ( 7-5 in the mt west ). South Carolina - current rpi 64, not going anywhere near the ncaat, yet that is supposed to be a great win?

[Cotton]

Only corner Mike has turned is at the intersection of Razorback Rd and Disappointment Ave.

[Hoggish1]

No. South Carolina is just a really bad team.

Well, yes they are but time and again we tried to let them into the game.  They were bad enough to not take advantage.  OTOH, maybe Mike has turned a little bit of a corner.

[twistitup]

We turned a corner, no doubt. Hopefully we know where we are going and don't make a u-turn at Vandy

[Atlhogfan1]

SC has beaten Kentucky and beat UF at Gainesville, so they are capable of playing well.

Their only 2 wins in the last 7 games.

This thread was specifically talking about our defense.  I didn't make any statements about SC being bad as they do have some things they can effectively do. 

Vs UK, SC shot 37.7% from the field including 21.7% from 3 (5-23).  They won because UK turned it over 16 times leading to SC getting 12 more FGA's and SC got 25pts from the FT line in a game which had 59 fouls called.  Great setup for a Frank Martin team at home to win. 

Vs Fl, they did shoot well from 3 hitting 11-21 while Florida went 6-23 from 3.  Difference in them winning.  SC was a crappy 13-34 from 2.  So yes, they could have had an anomaly of a game for them against us from 3 as they did Florida. 

SC has been awful from the field their last 4 games including last night.  Seems like every team we've been playing of late has been in a stretch of their schedule where they've lost 4 of 5 or 5 of 6.  Is anyone playing well right now besides Auburn and Tenn?

[txkhog]

At least he kept Thomas on the bench and limited Beards playing time.

[OkieBack]

At least he kept Thomas on the bench and limited Beards playing time.

Need both of these guys playing better down the stretch.  Don't disagree with the benching, but hopefully it serves as motivation.

[hogsanity]

Their only 2 wins in the last 7 games.

This thread was specifically talking about our defense.  I didn't make any statements about SC being bad as they do have some things they can effectively do. 

Vs UK, SC shot 37.7% from the field including 21.7% from 3 (5-23).  They won because UK turned it over 16 times leading to SC getting 12 more FGA's and SC got 25pts from the FT line in a game which had 59 fouls called.  Great setup for a Frank Martin team at home to win. 

Vs Fl, they did shoot well from 3 hitting 11-21 while Florida went 6-23 from 3.  Difference in them winning.  SC was a crappy 13-34 from 2.  So yes, they could have had an anomaly of a game for them against us from 3 as they did Florida. 

SC has been awful from the field their last 4 games including last night.  Seems like every team we've been playing of late has been in a stretch of their schedule where they've lost 4 of 5 or 5 of 6.  Is anyone playing well right now besides Auburn and Tenn?

It could be that this league is just as bad as it has been, except the top teams are not even that dominant. When you watch games in the sec it just looks like bad basketball most of the time.

[WillsWorld]

My number one gripe about him as a coach has been his stubborn refusal to get out of man to man even when we are getting killed on high ball screen switches.  Last night he inserted another lengthy defender (Gabe O) and we were able to put the game away in the second half with Gabe and Darius on the floor running mostly a 3/4 court zone press backing into a match up zone in the half court.  The results defensively speak for themselves.

I'm wondering if Mike finally has decided to embrace the fact that he has some defenders with serious wing spans (Gabe, Hall, Gafford, even CJ) and playing them in a match up zone causes real problems for other teams. 

Another fortunate side effect of running more zone is it keeps Gafford from getting left on an island 35 feet from the basket trying to guard a PG and getting stupid fouls.

Thoughts?

It was one game against a mediocre South Carolina team. But we played better last night than we have since conference play began. The jury is still out on Mike as far as I'm concerned. Now if we can do that on the road vs Ole Miss or against A&M, Kentucky, and Auburn at home then I'll say he's turned the corner.

[SemperHawg]

It could be that this league is just as bad as it has been, except the top teams are not even that dominant. When you watch games in the sec all of college basketball it just looks like bad basketball most of the time.

FIFY

[Hawg Red]

This was an "easy" home game to win. Satuday's should be easier. Let's see what happens the next time we play a road game or a home game vs a team with real talent. We just did what we were supposed to last night. I'll take it but I'm not drawing any conclusions based off of it.

[hogsanity]

FIFY

I was going to say that, but then all the college bball gurus would come tell me how wrong I was and that it is a beautiful game being played at a wonderful level.

[OkieBack]

This was an "easy" home game to win. Satuday's should be easier. Let's see what happens the next time we play a road game or a home game vs a team with real talent. We just did what we were supposed to last night. I'll take it but I'm not drawing any conclusions based off of it.

Ditto.

[SemperHawg]

I was going to say that, but then all the college bball gurus would come tell me how wrong I was and that it is a beautiful game being played at a wonderful level.

yeah LOL... I could rant for an hour on how the Warriors have ruined the game at all of the lower levels.

[Razorpigg]

Here we go again. A lot of y'all were hoping we would lose last night so you could continue your tirade against our basketball coach. Don't start the "we were not hoping for a loss" crap cause we can read right through it. Bottom line is Coach Anderson is our coach and will be for the forseeable future. Time to stand behind our team and our coach, and support them like fans do. Our true fans are showing up and rooting on our team. Not acting like 12 yr olds that don't get their way on the Internet.

[hogsanity]

Here we go again. A lot of y'all were hoping we would lose last night so you could continue your tirade against our basketball coach. Don't start the "we were not hoping for a loss" crap cause we can read right through it. Bottom line is Coach Anderson is our coach and will be for the forseeable future. Time to stand behind our team and our coach, and support them like fans do. Our true fans are showing up and rooting on our team. Not acting like 12 yr olds that don't get their way on the Internet.

Here we go, some drama queen reading everything as a swipe at Mike ( not the team mind you but Mike ). Last night was simple, the team with better players and at home won a game they should have won. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Kevin]

South Carolina is one of the worst shooting teams in college basketball.  They are 231st in turnovers per possession. 

This was a good matchup for us at home.

this

[Atlhogfan1]

It could be that this league is just as bad as it has been, except the top teams are not even that dominant. When you watch games in the sec it just looks like bad basketball most of the time.

I don't want to be one of those who says because UK is down and UF is struggling some it means the conference isn't better than it has been.  I think it is better.  But that is relative to how awful it has been with so many bad teams in the bottom.  We don't have that this season.  It's a better class of mediocrity without an elite team or two at the top.  Not as many gimmes.  And the conference is now doing a great job of manipulating the RPI. 

As far as watching the SEC, I can't force myself to do it very often.  It still doesn't interest me much.  Quality, entertainment, energy in the buildings just isn't there.   You can see what you need to see in a few minutes of watching the offensively challenged SC, UGa or Bama without torturing yourself.  Games with 50, 60, 70 fouls called.  But I don't watch near as much college basketball as I once did either.  I have no problem admitting I'm jaded as I rarely stay on any game not involving the Hogs for more than a few minutes. 

[hogsanity]

I don't want to be one of those who says because UK is down and UF is struggling some it means the conference isn't better than it has been.  I think it is better.  But that is relative to how awful it has been with so many bad teams in the bottom.  We don't have that this season.  It's a better class of mediocrity without an elite team or two at the top.  Not as many gimmes.  And the conference is now doing a great job of manipulating the RPI. 

As far as watching the SEC, I can't force myself to do it very often.  It still doesn't interest me much.  Quality, entertainment, energy in the buildings just isn't there.   You can see what you need to see in a few minutes of watching the offensively challenged SC, UGa or Bama without torturing yourself.  Games with 50, 60, 70 fouls called.  But I don't watch near as much college basketball as I once did either.  I have no problem admitting I'm jaded as I rarely stay on any game not involving the Hogs for more than a few minutes. 

I had been watching less and less and then when I started reffing it went to just about zero except for the Hogs. Unless it is a rainy cold Sat after football is over I rarely watch a whole game. Basketball is just ugly right now.

[riccoar]

South Carolina ain't the school you gauge "turning the corner" against.  Those games are coming, so we will see.

[CiriusPorker]

last night was the first night in a while that i saw full court press more than occasionally.  But offensively, our players just stand around waiting on other people to make plays...and then we don't push the tempo, which is where other teams show they make more mistakes and give us the ball.  We don't do those things.  We are a motion team, we play better fast. 

Our problems.
Shot selection
No defensive pressure
no motion offense...
too much dependence on barford or macon...

[HognotinMemphis]

My number one gripe about him as a coach has been his stubborn refusal to get out of man to man even when we are getting killed on high ball screen switches.  Last night he inserted another lengthy defender (Gabe O) and we were able to put the game away in the second half with Gabe and Darius on the floor running mostly a 3/4 court zone press backing into a match up zone in the half court.  The results defensively speak for themselves.

I'm wondering if Mike finally has decided to embrace the fact that he has some defenders with serious wing spans (Gabe, Hall, Gafford, even CJ) and playing them in a match up zone causes real problems for other teams. 

Another fortunate side effect of running more zone is it keeps Gafford from getting left on an island 35 feet from the basket trying to guard a PG and getting stupid fouls.

Thoughts?

11 assists last night. Unbelievable.

[pigture perfect]

I doubt it.

[ifghog]

Last night was the first time I watched them play an entire game.  They are a really unskilled team.  Poor shooters, poor ball handlers, poor passers.  Their best player can't shoot and is hardly a dominant force inside, either.  In fact, their team FG% is less than 40%.

I keep hearing all the talk about how good and how deep the SEC is this year.  It's not good and the only reason it is "deep" is that there are so many poor to mediocre teams that can beat each other.  The skill level is so rudimentary that it's almost painful to watch the games.  Mike is actually blessed to have the best group of shooters in the SEC but he has somehow managed to parlay that into a sub-.500 conference record.

The SEC will get the second most teams in the dance. Its a good league. No I am no longer a MA fan but the SEC is much improved.

[jjdlc]

SC is not good, but it was the best effort, and most complete game we have seen from the Hogs since the non-con.  We even got good production from the bench for the first time in a while.  Hopefully it is a turning point, because it's going to take a lot more than 1 good game to get back on track.

[code red]

No. South Carolina is just a really bad team.

They were horrible...no doubt.

[Poker_hog]

I would say we avoided disaster last night.  A loss last night or this Saturday puts us on the wrong side of the bubble.

[USChog]

If we win it is because the other team sucks. If we lose it is because MA sucks.

Seriously though, SC isn't great, but we took care of them how we should have. I liked the adjustments and I like seeing these high energy athletic young players getting on the court. They bring what we need of the bench and as long as Gabe and Hall keep getting minutes I think Arkansas will continue to trend in the right direction at the end of the season.