Great Day for the program

[mbgrulz]

This will undoubtedly hurt W's and L's next season, but it will be great for recruiting (provided BP really does go high in the draft). 

Izzo was on Cowherd during the tourney talking about how getting a player drafted in the lottery was even better than a final 4 in terms of recruiting.

In the big picture, this is a good day for the program.

[Pignominious]

This will undoubtedly hurt W's and L's next season, but it will be great for recruiting (provided BP really does go high in the draft). 

Izzo was on Cowherd during the tourney talking about how getting a player drafted in the lottery was even better than a final 4 in terms of recruiting.

In the big picture, this is a good day for the program.

Great point. I would have loved to see us keep Babb, however. Not terribly pleased with how his development was handled.

I wonder what Qualls will do? I thought when the season ended that Qualls would come back and BP would go. Still in play.

[Hawg Red]

Maybe this will raise our visibility with graduate transfer bigs.

[Hawg4life33]

Maybe this will raise our visibility with graduate transfer bigs.

I think that is the route to go. Best case scenario we go that way as a one year bridge to the monster 2016 class and development of Kapita/Kingsley.

[Adam Stokes]

Qualls could now easily average 20+ ppg if he comes back.  I truly believe his stock would jump if he continues to create and take more shots.

[Marshfieldhog]

Color me not excited, maybe it does help long term. However, winning is the biggest thing to get you on the radar. If we don't make the tourney next year...going 1/5 years isn't too impressive.

[Atlhogfan1]

It adds to the positives to sell: rebuild isn't finished but the painful part should be over, NCAAT trip and win, practice facility and now a first round pick in June. 

[hawginbigd1]

It adds to the positives to sell: rebuild isn't finished but the painful part should be over, NCAAT trip and win, practice facility and now a first round pick in June.

I hear you but I am skeptical, a sub par season going into one of the most important recruiting years in the last few has me feeling jittery. I think part of our long stint in the doldrums is from the Beverly, Young, Powell, fortson, and so on early defections without being able to establish a solid footing.

[40MINSOFHELL]

Except we're not Michigan State.

[Atlhogfan1]

I hear you but I am skeptical, a sub par season going into one of the most important recruiting years in the last few has me feeling jittery. I think part of our long stint in the doldrums is from the Beverly, Young, Powell, fortson, and so on early defections without being able to establish a solid footing.

Much of the 2016 recruiting work should be done by the start of the season for the higher rated talent.  Early signing period is Nov 11-18th this year.  We may not sign many then but the relationships will have been built.  We also have a high number of seniors next season which opens up opportunities.  Recruits like knowing they can have immediate impacts. 


A couple of those players you listed "had" to go. 

[Sharky]

This will undoubtedly hurt W's and L's next season, but it will be great for recruiting (provided BP really does go high in the draft). 

Izzo was on Cowherd during the tourney talking about how getting a player drafted in the lottery was even better than a final 4 in terms of recruiting.

In the big picture, this is a good day for the program.

Agree. We seem to forgotten that plays almost ALWAYS go to the NBA, and that recruits are looking for programs that get them to the next level, where they get paid to ball.

[Razorback_Mack]

Color me not excited, maybe it does help long term. However, winning is the biggest thing to get you on the radar. If we don't make the tourney next year...going 1/5 years isn't too impressive.

Blaming this staff for not making the tourney those first 2 years is ridiculous.

[HF#1]

Our luck, Bobby will drop to the 2nd round

[Rocky Mountain Living]

He was a great ambassador for the program.  AND will be a great ambassador for Arkansas in the NBA.

Bobby has a 3.2 GPA and is finishing this semester out.

Bobby has amazing Character and a great Work Ethic.

Bobby will be a lottery pick....just like he said in his presser today.  (citing upcoming team workouts and interviews)

Indeed, it is a Great Day for Arkansas.  WPS  :razorback:

[King]

Except we're not Michigan State.

We were better than Michigan State before its recent run of success.

Before Mateen Cleaves, Michigan was way better than State other than the Magic Johnson years.

[TrueBlue]

We were better than Michigan State before its recent run of success.

Before Mateen Cleaves, Michigan was way better than State other than the Magic Johnson years.

Wut?? What is recent? Last 16 years?

Since 1999 Michigan State has been to seven Final Fours. Seven! That's almost half. AND they have made twelve Sweet Sixteens. I wished we could have made 12 Sweet Sixteens in the last 16 years...

[Marshfieldhog]

Blaming this staff for not making the tourney those first 2 years is ridiculous.

Not even the NIT? We shouldn't have had to wait until year 4 for a 2 game run, then have to reload in year 5. That isn't recruiting well.

[WarPig88]

Wut?? What is recent? Last 16 years?

Since 1999 Michigan State has been to seven Final Fours. Seven! That's almost half. AND they have made twelve Sweet Sixteens. I wished we could have made 12 Sweet Sixteens in the last 16 years...

Youngster, Michigan state was mediocre prior to Michigan getting buried by the NCAA. That was the point.

Until Michigan got buried, people would have laughed you out of the building for saying that State could become a dominant program.

[WPS501]

What relevance does Michigan States' program 20 years ago have to a recruit today?  So many people on this website living in the past...

[WarPig88]

What relevance does Michigan States' program 20 years ago have to a recruit today?  So many people on this website living in the past...

The past is how you learn if you are wise.

Michigan State was so/so and yet turned into a power with less tradition than we had. It isn't out of the possibility for Arkansas to begin a renaissance of the program at all.

Heck, Duke was not a great program prior to Coach K either.

Let's give it some time to see what happens. Coach A has done a great job of laying a solid foundation for the future of the program some say. Losing BP will put this assertion to the test here.

[Darren DeLoach]

The past is how you learn if you are wise.

Michigan State was so/so and yet turned into a power with less tradition than we had. It isn't out of the possibility for Arkansas to begin a renaissance of the program at all.

Heck, Duke was not a great program prior to Coach K either.

Let's give it some time to see what happens. Coach A has done a great job of laying a solid foundation for the future of the program some say. Losing BP will put this assertion to the test here.

Amen.

Knowing what we were in the past, AND knowing that Mike has brought as close to that glorious era as we have been since that era is why some of us have hope.    We know the groundwork has been laid, and the drop off will not leave the program irrelevant. Arkansas hasn't had a first round draft pick since Brewer Jr. in 2006!!! The players that were blurted out earlier were D-League at best (exception of Beverly, of course), and losing them killed the team.  We were a joke before Coach Anderson arrived. We are a rising program now. It is pivotal that we keep afloat this upcoming season, and hit a few homeruns in the next recruiting class. Do that, and we are back to being a perennial power.

[fineswine]

Great point. I would have loved to see us keep Babb, however. Not terribly pleased with how his development was handled.

I wonder what Qualls will do? I thought when the season ended that Qualls would come back and BP would go. Still in play.

There's the rub.  Fine, we had an elite player that was going to become a professional player regardless of where he went to school.  He chose to stay home and play.  The problem is with the rest of the high school kids from other states looking at the way Babb was handled.  He left home and chose Arkansas over other offers, and never saw meaningful minutes despite being a talented kid.  He left and it's a message to others that Arkansas might not be the place to go to play right away.

[hawgdavis]

Didn't M state win one with Magic Johnson and get to a couple of final 4s after. I agree they were not a power but they had a history of being pretty good. When Izzo got there he turned them into what they have become and would have no matter what Michigan was doing.

[TexArkHogFan]

There's the rub.  Fine, we had an elite player that was going to become a professional player regardless of where he went to school.  He chose to stay home and play.  The problem is with the rest of the high school kids from other states looking at the way Babb was handled.  He left home and chose Arkansas over other offers, and never saw meaningful minutes despite being a talented kid.  He left and it's a message to others that Arkansas might not be the place to go to play right away.

Almost every team goes through people transferring all the time.  It's all about playing time.  We have two on our roster right now, Hannahs and Miles and one just graduated (Harris).  It is not a reflection on the team they are leaving, it is their desire to try and get more playing time.  Of course, there are exceptions, some realize they just don't fit the style of play or disagreements with coaches and players. My biggest gripe is how the NCAA allows some transfers to play immediately and some have to wait a year. 

[mbgrulz]

Except we're not Michigan State.

[TrueBlue]

Youngster, Michigan state was mediocre prior to Michigan getting buried by the NCAA. That was the point.

Until Michigan got buried, people would have laughed you out of the building for saying that State could become a dominant program.

[#1HeadHog]

i dont know about ya'll but i havent really give a flip about the nba in many years because there was no arkansas player to get drafted and play right away. joe johnson to the celtics in the early 2000s i remember i would watch every game i could to see him play and also followed him at phoneix and atlanta. now after all those years we will finally have someone in bobby portis to follow in the nba. WPS

[MountieDawg]

i dont know about ya'll but i havent really give a flip about the nba in many years because there was no arkansas player to get drafted and play right away. joe johnson to the celtics in the early 2000s i remember i would watch every game i could to see him play and also followed him at phoneix and atlanta. now after all those years we will finally have someone in bobby portis to follow in the nba. WPS

Have you ever heard of Ronnie Brewer?

[#1HeadHog]

Have you ever heard of Ronnie Brewer?

\

yes, ronnie was great player for us but never really got it going in the nba and got bounced around alot. Also, see where i said "I" havent gave a flip talking about me but i will keep up with portis. Also, pat beverly is doing good now but went a different path to get to the nba.

[latrops]

This will undoubtedly hurt W's and L's next season, but it will be great for recruiting (provided BP really does go high in the draft). 

Izzo was on Cowherd during the tourney talking about how getting a player drafted in the lottery was even better than a final 4 in terms of recruiting.

In the big picture, this is a good day for the program.

I disagree.  Certainly, sending players to the NBA is something that can be used as a compelling pitch to recruits.  But one player going somewhere in the middle of the first rd isn't going to mean much in itself.  Hopefully Qualls comes back and elevates his game to the point that he is able to be drafted in the first rd, then Monk, Whitt, etc. continue the trend of Hogs being drafted.  When you have multiple NBA picks to reference it is a more compelling point than when you are only talking about one guy that kids that don't follow the program may not have even heard of.

[mbgrulz]

I disagree.  Certainly, sending players to the NBA is something that can be used as a compelling pitch to recruits.  But one player going somewhere in the middle of the first rd isn't going to mean much in itself.  Hopefully Qualls comes back and elevates his game to the point that he is able to be drafted in the first rd, then Monk, Whitt, etc. continue the trend of Hogs being drafted.  When you have multiple NBA picks to reference it is a more compelling point than when you are only talking about one guy that kids that don't follow the program may not have even heard of.

So Portis getting drafted won't help, but it will help when we start a trend of players getting drafted? Doesn't the trend have to start with 1 guy?

[TomBigBeeHog]

So Portis getting drafted won't help, but it will help when we start a trend of players getting drafted? Doesn't the trend have to start with 1 guy?

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Lao-Tzu

[latrops]

So Portis getting drafted won't help, but it will help when we start a trend of players getting drafted? Doesn't the trend have to start with 1 guy?

I didn't say that it wouldn't help.  I disagree that it is a "great day for the program" on the premise that Portis being drafted alone elevates our recruiting in some significant way.  You are assuming a certain specific desired result which is quite a stretch on the basis of one player being drafted.  The trend must be established first.  Portis may or may not be the start of the trend.  I certainly hope he is.

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

Whether it helps or not it does speak to the quality of the program and what they achieved this year.  One thing I won't do if program takes a step back next year is blame Anderson.  With the scholarship limitations it's hard to plan for every possible guy leaving especially two guys of this caliber.  It would have been one thing if it had been known in November, but who knew? 

[Hogarusa]

I dont know if its a great day for the program.  Certainly a great day for Portis and Qualls.

  Its nice to have a player declare for the NBA but the top dogs in the country do this with multiple players every season after deep runs in the NCAA tourney and replace with multiple players who end up doing the same as before.  Wash. rinse. Repeat.  Hogs got to the round of 32. 

Is this the same line of thinking as the bump in recruiting the Hogs were expects to have after the Sugar Bowl trip?