JaCorey Williams has been DISMISSED

[Hawg Red]

Hogs will average at least 70 PPG. Question will be how many they give up and how consistent can they be.

[PolishPigPower]

If you're a three-point shooting fool with dreams of walking on and being a Hog... now's your chance, kids!

[UNCLE BACK]

I am of the belief that Whitt will be the first guard ever to play for Mike Anderson that will be a great NBA player... That alone excites me enough to think we will be just fine on offense.

[TomBigBeeHog]

I am of the belief that Whitt will be the first guard ever to play for Mike Anderson that will be a great NBA player... That alone excites me enough to think we will be just fine on offense.

hope you are right

[The_Iceman]

If you're a three-point shooting fool with dreams of walking on and being a Hog... now's your chance, kids!

My HPER playin' days are long passed. I traded in the basketball shoes for FootJoys. I'm quite certain I would have been laughed off the court anyways. 

[Danny J]

With him....without him....doesn't matter in the grand or even smallest scheme of things. He was going to be a senior. His scholarship was going to need to be filled regardless and we are going to have a season like CMA's first season here.

As has been mentioned above the 2016 class is what CMA is going to need to focus on. He needs to spend every waking moment trying to figure out a way to fill that class with mostly highly regarded players that not only fit what we want to do but most importantly won't need 3 years to develop.

If any fat needs to be trimmed it needs to come off the coaching staff. Go out and hire some guys who have experience recruiting and connections to AAU/summer league handlers and coaches. That is what is going to make or break CMA going forward. People aren't going to sit idly by and give him a bad season this year, fill it with a ho hum recruiting effort and then another mediocre 2016 season. That is the reality of the matter.

I hope CMA can pull it off. I like him both as a coach and a person.

[azhog10]

Jacorey was the easiest to let go, with hopes of keeping Beard. If Beard doesn't get hit hard, you can make a stance that one incident won't ruin you but two will. Be curious to see also if the U of A got information back that Jacorey had the money and Beard was just stupid enough to try and cash out the fake money for real money.

[Mick Hogger]

I would have to think this is more related to the nightclub incident or they'd just go ahead and dismiss them all at the same time.

[Hawg Red]

I would have to think this is more related to the nightclub incident or they'd just go ahead and dismiss them all at the same time.

100% due to whatever Mike found out about the assault accusations.

[Jonteviosk]

Ok here is what I am thinking. Everyone keeps preaching defense for this years team and I agree. Everyone with the exception of Dusty Hannahs on our roster though at one place or another has been listed as an elite defensive player. You put that many good defensive players together with a quality head coach and you tend to be pretty good defensively. As for overall I don't doubt Jenkins may see a little time at the 4 but remember Andersons style required 10 players just to stay fresh so the rotation your most likely looking at is:

F-Kouassi/Miles
F-Whitt/Jenkins
C-Kingsley/Thompson
G-Bell/Hannahs
G-Durham/Watkins
give or take We will see both Whitt and Watkins playing som pg this year. Another thing Miles gives Arkansas the ability to play some Point Forward this year. Averaged one year at WV either 1.asst per game in 13.1 min. Looking at potential possible reults scoring wise.

F-Willie Kouassi 3.5 pts 5.5 reb 1.6 bl
G-Jimmy Whitt 13.2 pts
C-Moses Kingsley 12.0pts 8.0 reb 2.5 blo
G-Anthlon Bell 12.5 pts
G-Jabril Durham 7.2 pts 4.2 asst.

F-Keaton Miles 3.0pts 2.2 reb
F-Lorenzo Jenkins 6.5 pts 4.5 reb
C-Trey Thompson 6.0 pts 4.2 reb 1.3 bl
G-Dusty Hannahs 10.6 pts 40.0% 3pt
G-Manny Watkins 4.0 pts 2.0 asst. 1.5 st

Which would put us at 78.5 ppg. Might be wishful thinking but I remember Delvon Johnson who played 3 previous years with minimal production like 2.7 ppg and 2.3 reb all of the sudden as a senior 9.6 ppg 7.8 reb 2.7bl and shot 55.6% from the field. Dramatic improvement. We all watched that and it came out of nowhere. So none of us has any idea what to expect. Remember should have good shotblocking this year with Kingsley and Kouassi not to mention as a senior Thompson average 18ppg 11.0 reb and 4.0 bl. That should make it easier to force turnovers each game. Also Durham was a JUCO all amer and put up monster number prior to Arkansas so the potential is there.

[rzrbackramsfan]

See Ya! Personally I never did like his game. He tired to do everything too fast IMO.

Plus his shoe incident was dumb as all get out.

Holy crap we finally agree on something.

[chiti66]

This is how I see it:

Durham /Manny
Bell/Whitt/Hannahs
Doobie/Manny/Whitt
Miles/Thompson
Moses/Willie

Not counting on Beard coming back.

[Danny J]

Might be wishful thinking but I remember Delvon Johnson who played 3 previous years with minimal production like 2.7 ppg and 2.3 reb all of the sudden as a senior 9.6 ppg 7.8 reb 2.7bl and shot 55.6% from the field. Dramatic improvement. We all watched that and it came out of nowhere. So none of us has any idea what to expect. Remember should have good shotblocking this year with Kingsley and Kouassi not to mention as a senior Thompson average 18ppg 11.0 reb and 4.0 bl. That should make it easier to force turnovers each game. Also Durham was a JUCO all amer and put up monster number prior to Arkansas so the potential is there.

Delvon played here two season as he was a JUCO and I know that he worked as hard as I have ever seen anybody work in the weight room to physically transform himself. I would say he is more the exception than the rule although nobody has a crystal ball. I would only hope that we have a guy or two that can come out and totally transform their game from the previous year.

[Hawg Red]

Ok here is what I am thinking. Everyone keeps preaching defense for this years team and I agree. Everyone with the exception of Dusty Hannahs on our roster though at one place or another has been listed as an elite defensive player. You put that many good defensive players together with a quality head coach and you tend to be pretty good defensively. As for overall I don't doubt Jenkins may see a little time at the 4 but remember Andersons style required 10 players just to stay fresh so the rotation your most likely looking at is:

Hahahahaha. WHAT??

So Jabril Durham, Anthlon Bell and Trey Thompson have been touted by someone...anyone....has elite defenders???

[-Blu]

Hahahahaha. WHAT??

So Jabril Durham, Anthlon Bell and Trey Thompson have been touted by someone...anyone....has elite defenders???

Bell, Thompson, Jenkins, and Hannahs are definitely not known for defense.  But, Durham was actually considered a good defender before coming to Arkansas, and actually showed some signs last year.

He was defensive player of the year in high school.  He also lead his NAIA team in steals. And averaged 2.5 steals per game in JUCO, while also having a game with 10 steals.

http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/roster/jabril-durham/

[Hawg Red]

Bell, Thompson, Jenkins, and Hannahs are definitely not known for defense.  But, Durham was actually considered a good defender before coming to Arkansas, and actually showed some signs last year.

He was defensive player of the year in high school.  He also lead his NAIA team in steals. And averaged 2.5 steals per game in JUCO, while also having a game with 10 steals.

http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/roster/jabril-durham/

Durham is not an elite defender. Not a bad defender but nothing special. And he's small. He did show flashes but that means he was inconsistent.

I feel like we might be headed towards arguing over semantics here. The point is that poster was saying we have a team full of elite defenders and that's just silly.

[Big Nasty 34]

This is how I see it:

Durham /Manny
Bell/Whitt/Hannahs
Doobie/Manny/Whitt
Miles/Thompson
Moses/Willie

Not counting on Beard coming back.

Doobie starting over Whitt, Hannahs, and manny??

[Three and Snout]

What does the rotation look like if Kouassi isn't available?

[-Blu]

What does the rotation look like if Kouassi isn't available?

Why wouldn't he be available?

[Three and Snout]

Right now, it's still a hypothetical question.  We should know for sure, one way or the other, by the end of next week.

[-Blu]

Right now, it's still a hypothetical question.  We should know for sure, one way or the other, by the end of next week.

We know for sure now.  He's already signed and was recently on twitter showing he graduated from Kennesaw and was getting ready to come to Arkansas.  Unless you know something different there shouldn't be any concerns with him making it to campus. 

Edit: He posted this on twitter today.

Willy Kouassi ‏@WillyOfficial50  6h6 hours ago
Be on the hill tonight; time to go to work #Fastest40

[Three and Snout]

Excellent.  I hope the situation is finally resolved.  We need his size in a bad way.

[-Blu]

Excellent.  I hope the situation is finally resolved.  We need his size in a bad way.

I'm confused, what's the situation, what are you talking about?  Are you getting him confused with Kapita?

[poloprince]

Good luck JW

[code red]

Current Roster Now:

Whitt / Durham / Beard (Suspended, not dismissed yet)
Bell / Hannahs
Watkins / Jenkins
Kingsley / Miles
Kouassi / Thompson

Yikes. Gonna have to play one of the 3 Centers at PF to make the lineup work. If Beard comes back, you can move Whitt down to that 3 position and maybe move Jenkins into the rotation at 4 and go small.

Basically.....going to be a long year.

[mountainhog]

Minutes leaving means more minutes for other players. We may not be a good team, but we will not average under 60 ppg. It is really silly to suggest. I won't question anyone about their W/L prediction, but to suggest this team may not score 60ppg is either dumb, or over-dramatic.

I agree 100% with you man.

[Three and Snout]

I'm confused, what's the situation, what are you talking about?  Are you getting him confused with Kapita?

Up until two days ago, Kapita and Kouassi were in similar situations other than both being Razorback basketball commits from Africa whose last names start with "K".  This was the reason Willy got "on the hill" just last night and, I assume, why he was thanking the man upstairs on Twitter.  I was worried he would run out of time with fall classes starting Monday.  Luckily, the situation is indeed resolved, and the team will have his much needed services this season.  WPS!

[JayBell]

Basically.....going to be a long year.

It is.  A lot of people broke down into "the sky is falling" paranoia after the situations with Williams, Beard and Kapita were announced.  I didn't ever feel like disaster was looming.  Anderson was able to bring in Kouassi and Jenkins to at least be able to fill a rotation and play the same system.

[JayBell]

That said, Beard and Williams were so very, very important for Anderson to be able to play the style he wants.  A true point guard allows everyone else to do their job and Williams was the only guy with experience who could fill the Coty Clarke/Alandise Harris role that Anderson loves.  That now falls on Miles and Jenkins.  As a result, we're going to see a lot more 4-guard lineups and sets with two post players.

The expectation for out-of-conference play has to be 8-5.  Win less than that, and you're looking at less than 15 wins for the season.  Go 9-4 or 10-3 and you can hope for 18-20 wins, but it'd still be a long shot.  With Beard, the chances of 18-20 wins looks so much better.  Without him, 15-18 wins is far more likely.

[jry04]

That said, Beard and Williams were so very, very important for Anderson to be able to play the style he wants.  A true point guard allows everyone else to do their job and Williams was the only guy with experience who could fill the Coty Clarke/Alandise Harris role that Anderson loves.  That now falls on Miles and Jenkins.  As a result, we're going to see a lot more 4-guard lineups and sets with two post players.

The expectation for out-of-conference play has to be 8-5.  Win less than that, and you're looking at less than 15 wins for the season.  Go 9-4 or 10-3 and you can hope for 18-20 wins, but it'd still be a long shot.  With Beard, the chances of 18-20 wins looks so much better.  Without him, 15-18 wins is far more likely.

If we go 9-4 in the non-conference, I do not see there being in way we win 20 games. We aren't winning double digit SEC games this season, in my opinion.

[GuvHog]

That said, Beard and Williams were so very, very important for Anderson to be able to play the style he wants.  A true point guard allows everyone else to do their job and Williams was the only guy with experience who could fill the Coty Clarke/Alandise Harris role that Anderson loves.  That now falls on Miles and Jenkins.  As a result, we're going to see a lot more 4-guard lineups and sets with two post players.

The expectation for out-of-conference play has to be 8-5.  Win less than that, and you're looking at less than 15 wins for the season.  Go 9-4 or 10-3 and you can hope for 18-20 wins, but it'd still be a long shot.  With Beard, the chances of 18-20 wins looks so much better.  Without him, 15-18 wins is far more likely.

If I counted correctly there are only 12 non conference games. I might have missed one though.

[JayBell]

If I counted correctly there are only 12 non conference games. I might have missed one though.

It's 13.  Texas Tech is at the end of January.

[PonderinHog]

It's 13.  Texas Tech is at the end of January of the world.

You can see it from there, anyway...

[DeltaBoy]

This Program reminds me of that Hew Haw Song Gloom Despair and Agony on me.

[sooiepig_12]

Visiting MTSU per his snapchat story.

[WorfHog]

Visiting MTSU per his snapchat story.

Jacorey doesn't seem to worried about being locked up. Makes me think Beard and Thomas will both be back.

[TomBigBeeHog]

Visiting MTSU per his snapchat story.

Guess he expects to be available. Good luck to him.

[hogsanity]

Jacorey doesn't seem to worried about being locked up. Makes me think Beard and Thomas will both be back.

The question, to me, was not that they would be locked up, but how long and drawn out the legal process might be. If the feds are still investigating ( no idea if they are or not ), or if others, yet unnamed, are involved, it may take weeks or months. I see no way Mike can reinstate Beard until the legal process plays out. The pushing back of the court appearance just puts them that much closer to the start pf practice. 

[TomBigBeeHog]

Court dates are often postponed because a deal has been reached. Could be the case here.

[hogsanity]

Court dates are often postponed because a deal has been reached. Could be the case here.

Could be, but it still puts it closer to the start of practice. Any further delays just complicate it more. I think it is likely, just my opinion, Beard is back on the team, but suspended from 5-10 games. That would give him a couple ooc games to get back on the floor before sec play starts.

[Hawg Red]

Could be, but it still puts it closer to the start of practice. Any further delays just complicate it more. I think it is likely, just my opinion, Beard is back on the team, but suspended from 5-10 games. That would give him a couple ooc games to get back on the floor before sec play starts.

I'm thinking 8 games is the number. That has him missing the preseason NIT and the Wake Forest game. That'll hurt plenty.

[TomBigBeeHog]

I'm thinking 8 games is the number. That has him missing the preseason NIT and the Wake Forest game. That'll hurt plenty.

1 or 2 games max IMO.

[PonderinHog]

1 or 2 games max IMO.

I'll go with 5.

[azhog10]

4 including exhibitions.

[-Blu]

4 including exhibitions.

I'm thinking about the same thing.  Anywhere from 3-5 games (including exhibitions) seems reasonable.  And with CMA there will be some other punishments he has to deal with that's not known to the public. 

[Hawg Red]

We've seen Madden suspended multiple games for much less than this.

[hogsanity]

4 including exhibitions.

I'm thinking about the same thing.  Anywhere from 3-5 games (including exhibitions) seems reasonable.  And with CMA there will be some other punishments he has to deal with that's not known to the public. 

If it is only 4 or 5, including the meaningless exhibitions, might as well be none. That is NOT a knock on Mike. 1st, I am not a huge fan of suspending players for games because that not only punishes the player it punishes the entire team. However, if you are going to suspend a player, it has to be for MEANINGFUL games. When coaches at power 5 schools suspend players for exhibitions, or in football for a game against a fcs school, it is a joke.

When it comes to legal issues, especially those involving non-violent offense, let the legal system hand out the punishment.

[TomBigBeeHog]

I'm thinking about the same thing.  Anywhere from 3-5 games (including exhibitions) seems reasonable.  And with CMA there will be some other punishments he has to deal with that's not known to the public.

I'm ok with MA dealing with this internally and not making Beard's punishment public, ie, missing games. I agree with Hogsanity about letting the legal system dole out the punishment. That's their job.

[Big Nasty 34]

We've seen Madden suspended multiple games for much less than this.

Yes. I will honestly lose a little respect for MA if it's just a couple games.

[azhog10]

If it is only 4 or 5, including the meaningless exhibitions, might as well be none. That is NOT a knock on Mike. 1st, I am not a huge fan of suspending players for games because that not only punishes the player it punishes the entire team. However, if you are going to suspend a player, it has to be for MEANINGFUL games. When coaches at power 5 schools suspend players for exhibitions, or in football for a game against a fcs school, it is a joke.

When it comes to legal issues, especially those involving non-violent offense, let the legal system hand out the punishment.

I agree with you for once. I'm not a fan in punishing a player due to it punishing the team. Especially when his plea deal will come with it's own punishment. I think you can run him till he pukes, run him some more, and repeat process. Do this for a few weeks and he will get the picture or quit.