Is this the worst Basketball class in-state this century?

[BoynamedWooPigSooie]

Seems like it's KeVaughn Allen then a bunch of our football recruits.

I don't recall there being this little D-1 basketball talent in the state in any one given year.

According to ESPN, the schools other Arkansas kids are committed to include Charleston, Lafayette, UMASS-Lowell, Abilene Christian. 

The other recruiting sites have even less info on Arkansas kids.

[RazorPiggie]

Last year wasn't any better.

[Tusks]

Like it always has, it comes and goes in cycles.

[BoynamedWooPigSooie]

ummmm, we signed 2 in-state kids last year.  KA is the only in-stater on the level we live in.   He'd be a nice fit for Mike's system.  Hope we get a chance to open his eyes.

[Qhog]

Nolan never took Arkansas kids.

[hawkhawg]

Nolan never took Arkansas kids.

I can think of a couple that helped win championships.

[BoynamedWooPigSooie]

yea, The program was on a completely different level than it is now.  Arkansas kids that weren't to Nolan's liking typically went on to other high level programs.  Allen's the only kid getting P5 attention. 

Nolan recruited internationally, we were signing McDonalds AA fairly regularly.  We signed the California and Texas all time leading scorers.  We were consistently a top 10 type team. We pulled heavily from Memphis and other regional metros that surround us. 

We've not been near that for a long time.  Even in Stan Heath's years he was getting in-state kids that could play along with 1 high profile out of area kid a year.

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

Nolan never took Arkansas kids.

So true. Corliss was PA right? And Joe Johnson from Canada

[Qhog]

Very rarely fellas.  Sorry for not choosing my words more carefully..  It was pretty common knowledge though that he recruited instate very seldom to the point it was a constant conversation piece.

Yes, there were some great classes, All-Americans, etc., but not all of the classes were that way, particularly after 1995. 

I like recruiting in-state when the talent is there.  Love seeing homegrown kids fulfill their dreams!

[RazorPiggie]

ummmm, we signed 2 in-state kids last year.  KA is the only in-stater on the level we live in.   He'd be a nice fit for Mike's system.  Hope we get a chance to open his eyes.

Yeah both are really making an impact

[jjdlc]

Yeah both are really making an impact

One of them is coming along quite nicely, everyone knew the other was going to need time when we got him.

[popcornhog]

I can think of a couple that helped win championships.

Because Corliss Williamson and Joe Johnson (arguably the two best players Nolan ever recruited) were from Russellville and Little Rock, respectively.

[WayneHawg]

I wish we could pull a lot of Memphis players in the future

[Hawg Red]

You guys are railing that poster for his comment but MOST of Nolan's best players were not from Arkansas. Day, Mayberry, Miller, Bradley, Reid, Beck, McDaniel, Thurman, etc. Corliss and Joe were great Arkansas talents inked by Nolan, but Nolan mostly relied on out-of-staters.

[RazorPiggie]

One of them is coming along quite nicely, everyone knew the other was going to need time when we got him.

One is. Other one is going to take a few years.

[Swinesong1]

You guys are railing that poster for his comment but MOST of Nolan's best players were not from Arkansas. Day, Mayberry, Miller, Bradley, Reid, Beck, McDaniel, Thurman, etc. Corliss and Joe were great Arkansas talents inked by Nolan, but Nolan mostly relied on out-of-staters.

Does a coach of the major sports at AR have a choice?  Not exactly fertile ground here.

[Hawg Red]

Nolan let a lot of D1 caliber players leave the state.

Fact.

It just is what it is. Not sure why anyone feels the need to get defensive/protective about it.

[pigture perfect]

Nolan didnt recruit Little Rock because he and Al Flannigan got cross ways. Ole Miss was Nolans thorn in the flesh because of Arkansas kids who either didn;t want to play for Nolan or he didn't try to get them.

[WarPig88]

Very rarely fellas.  Sorry for not choosing my words more carefully..  It was pretty common knowledge though that he recruited instate very seldom to the point it was a constant conversation piece.

Yes, there were some great classes, All-Americans, etc., but not all of the classes were that way, particularly after 1995. 

I like recruiting in-state when the talent is there.  Love seeing homegrown kids fulfill their dreams!

Phillip Mckellar, Mike Jones, Corliss, Brandon Jennings, Justin Gilbert, the kid from Elkins, Brandon Davis, Joe Johnson, Dionisio Gomez, Davor Rimac

Those are all could think of off the top of my head.

[3kgthog]

Nolan let a few AR kids go and made 3 Final Fours with a National Championship. I'd say it was the right call since only one of his stars was an Arkansan. His worst teams were when he started giving out scholarships like candy to Arkansas kids. JJ was probably the only in-state guy worthy of an offer during the lean years.

[razorbackfanatic]

Phillip Mckellar, Mike Jones, Corliss, Brandon Jennings, Justin Gilbert, the kid from Elkins, Brandon Davis, Joe Johnson, Dionisio Gomez, Davor Rimac

Those are all could think of off the top of my head.

Jason Jennings and Jason Gilbert, both were in the same conference Bald Knob and Mt View which was 2A at the time. A 7 footer like Jennings was unstoppable against most 2A teams. I played for Dover and when I was a freshman I was playing the 4 and 5 and was maybe 5'9" at the time going up against 6'2"-6'4" guys. For Jennings it was like taking candy from a baby. After he transferred from UA to ASU he had a decent career there. Gilbert was an incredible shooter. I watched Mt. View win the opening jump ball and Gilbert take two steps past half court and launch a perfect 3. That's a great way to intimidate your opponent.

[bruisemeister]

Remember the 1995 class which had guys like Quincy Lewis(All American at Minnesota), Keith Carter(All SEC at Ole Miss), Jason Smith(starter at Ole Miss), Adrian Childerest(Auburn), Corey Carr(20 plus point per game scorer at Texas Tech), Adrian Peterson(leading scorer at Oklahoma State) and Ali Thompson? Arkansas was coming off a national title in 1994 and runner up finish in 1995. They were able to recruit nationally and overlooked most of these players. They signed what was considered by some recruiting services as the top class in the nation that year. Only Thompson was signed out of Arkansas. However, only 4 of the 11 players signed by the Hogs finished their senior season at Arkansas. In fact only 5 remained after the first season. The class also led to a NCAA inquiry which was really the beginning of the end for the Hogs being among the elite in college basketball.  Those classes in Arkansas don't come around often. There was no way to predict that those players would go on to achieve so much and the class the Hogs signed had so much baggage.

[WarPig88]

Remember the 1995 class which had guys like Quincy Lewis(All American at Minnesota), Keith Carter(All SEC at Ole Miss), Jason Smith(starter at Ole Miss), Adrian Childerest(Auburn), Corey Carr(20 plus point per game scorer at Texas Tech), Adrian Peterson(leading scorer at Oklahoma State) and Ali Thompson? Arkansas was coming off a national title in 1994 and runner up finish in 1995. They were able to recruit nationally and overlooked most of these players. They signed what was considered by some recruiting services as the top class in the nation that year. Only Thompson was signed out of Arkansas. However, only 4 of the 11 players signed by the Hogs finished their senior season at Arkansas. In fact only 5 remained after the first season. The class also led to a NCAA inquiry which was really the beginning of the end for the Hogs being among the elite in college basketball.  Those classes in Arkansas don't come around often. There was no way to predict that those players would go on to achieve so much and the class the Hogs signed had so much baggage.

Carter had an offer and chose Ole Miss. No one knew about Carr. Lewis had an offer and chose Minn who cheated for his grades. Smith had bad wheels due to injury and was not a sure thing. Petersen wasn't considered a big time get either.

One of the better classes from the state for sure.

[yraciv]

Phillip Mckellar, Mike Jones, Corliss, Brandon Jennings, Justin Gilbert, the kid from Elkins, Brandon Davis, Joe Johnson, Dionisio Gomez, Davor Rimac

Those are all could think of off the top of my head.

It says wonders that two of those guys were International exchange students who happened to be down the street from him, and a lot of those other kids transferred out.  Joe and Corliss were no brainers who grew up Hog fans.  If he had to do it again, I'd say only Rimac, Gomez, and those 2 would get offers.

And as mentioned before the one's he missed on in state is a much larger list.  I don't fault him for it because that is what you to when your a national powerhouse, but I always remembered dreading going into the Tad Pad because you knew there Arkansas boys would bring it.

[WarPig88]

It says wonders that two of those guys were International transfers who happened to be down the street from him, and a lot of those other kids transferred out.  Joe and Corliss were no brainers who grew up Hog fans.  If he had to do it again, I'd say only Rimac, Gomez, and those 2 would get offers.

And as mentioned before the one's he missed on in state is a much larger list.  I don't fault him for it because that is what you to when your a national powerhouse, but I always remembered dreading going into the Tad Pad because you knew there Arkansas boys would bring it.

You know how many NCAA tournament wins those Ole Miss guys got?

NONE

Did we really miss? The guys that came in their place actually won tournament games.

We were just their "super bowl". The rest of the time they couldn't beat Valpo.

[Hawg Red]

You know how many NCAA tournament wins those Ole Miss guys got?

NONE

Did we really miss? The guys that came in their place actually won tournament games.

We were just their "super bowl". The rest of the time they couldn't beat Valpo.

Nolan was recruiting well enough nationally to pass on players from Arkansas in the '90s. Timing just didn't work out. We could have used those guys in the late '90s/early '00s. But in the early to mid '90s, Nolan recruited very strong nationally and it paid off. But he did pass on a lot of Arkansas kids. It was backed up by who he brought in instead. You can always use a guy like Quincy Lewis but I can't say I would have done anything else differently during that time. Anderson is in a much better position right now because he can count on getting a good in-state player or two each year and not have to rely on national recruiting so much. The state has produced two McDonald's All-Americans in the last 3 years and will soon provide a 3rd when Malik Monk is a senior. Mike can't get away with not recruiting all the good Arkansas kids, though Nolan probably wouldn't be passing on these kids either.

[yraciv]

You know how many NCAA tournament wins those Ole Miss guys got?

NONE

Did we really miss? The guys that came in their place actually won tournament games.

We were just their "super bowl". The rest of the time they couldn't beat Valpo.

Did you miss the late 90s early 2000s?  Ole Miss went to the Sweet 16 in 2001, won the West in 97 and 98, and were dancing just like us with early exits. Keith Carter was a definite miss and went on to get honorable mention All America, Jason Smith was also  very good and we probably wish we offered.

[WarPig88]

Nolan was recruiting well enough nationally to pass on players from Arkansas in the '90s. Timing just didn't work out. We could have used those guys in the late '90s/early '00s. But in the early to mid '90s, Nolan recruited very strong nationally and it paid off. But he did pass on a lot of Arkansas kids. It was backed up by who he brought in instead. You can always use a guy like Quincy Lewis but I can't say I would have done anything else differently during that time. Anderson is in a much better position right now because he can count on getting a good in-state player or two each year and not have to rely on national recruiting so much. The state has produced two McDonald's All-Americans in the last 3 years and will soon provide a 3rd when Malik Monk is a senior. Mike can't get away with not recruiting all the good Arkansas kids, though Nolan probably wouldn't be passing on these kids either.

I know for a fact that Quincy Lewis was their priority recruit that year. He passed on Arkansas not the other way around.

Nolan only passed on a few kids that played at big time programs. Jimmy Oliver, the two kids that played at Kansas, and he was about to pass on Brewer as well.

The others were all marginal players no other big time offers other than us.

MA is blessed right now with being able to land some talent near home. That is also when we tend to have our best teams because we will still add some out of state talent to go with that guy or two.