How good can next years basketball team be?

[Modsquad24]

I think that we have by far the most loaded roster we've had since the mid 90's coming up in this next season(2006-2007), at the guard spots you know we should have plenty of fire power with Sean McCurdy, Stefan Welsh and Patrick Beverley all being very capable of scoring points in bunches and give us better 3 point shooting than we've had in sometime and the first real point guard we've had in awhile in Gary Ervin should really help, at the forward and center spots you have veteran players that all be better in Hill, Hunter, Thomas, Townes and McGowan and then two newcomers that should really help in Washington and Weems. Also, if Ronnie Brewer comes back on top of all this  we will really be good, I am excited about the makeup of next years basketball team, we may take some bumps early because we will have some chemistry issues at first that have to get worked out mixing the new blood with the old, but I think when its all said and done this team will have a great season and probably go a ways in the upcoming NCAAT. GHG!     

[DunkIt]

Your analysis is decent but has a few flaws.  First, calling Sean McCurdy firepower, is like walking into a nuclear war with a hand grenade.  You are correct though that Ervin will be helpful, and that can not be stressed enough.
Hopefully the newcomers help a lot for depth purposes, but the front court rotation of Thomas, Hill, Townes, and Hunter, with some added security behind them, will be huge.

+1 Mod

[12under]

we should be very solid, but solid doesnt mean any national championships, imo.  we should be about like last year in my estimation, hopefully adding more offensive firepower will help us get over some humps that we had last year.  i know that he drove us all crazy during his career, but i think we will miss eric ferguson quite a bit.  i hope welsh and beverly can step in and fill the void(maybe not a huge one) left by ferg.

[Lando Calrissian]

On paper:  As good as they want to be.

On the floor:  There's absolutely no telling.

[TheMayorOfHogtown]

  i know that he drove us all crazy during his career, but i think we will miss eric ferguson quite a bit.  i hope welsh and beverly can step in and fill the void(maybe not a huge one) left by ferg.

First time I've seen anyone mention this, but you're right.  He hit some huge shots, and, most of the time, was pretty much under control.  Still, the overall talent level will be higher next year, as our front court is all upperclassmen.  The motion offense should be smoother as a result of better PG play and more experience by current players in running this system.

The bottom line however is:  Beat teams on the road, particularly the crappy ones (MSU, OLE MISS).  The end of last year showed some promise in that regard, but we have to keep it up.  It's much easier to win a couple in the NCAAT if you're a 4 seed.

[DunkIt]

Mayor, I can not agree with you enough.  That is the most intelligent thing anyone has said on this board in forever.  It is a ton easier to go far in the tournament with a good seed.  It seems obvious, but it is overlooked highly!

+1

[Lando Calrissian]

I could be totally wrong and I admit I'm drawing off the memory from seeing him play at Miss St, but I think Ervin is essentially a little bit better version of Eric Ferguson.

He could help us or hurt us.  Or both.

Obviously I want him to help, and I think he can.  It's up to Stan to really push the athleticsm of this team upon opponents.  I don't expect 40 Minutes of Hell, but with the collection of athletes Stan has, a halfcourt game pretty much renders players like Ervin useless.

[Modsquad24]

from looking over the newcomers stats, if that holds true we should be a better free throw shooting team and that's more important than people realize, its cost us a few games in the last couple years, GHG!

[DunkIt]

from looking over the newcomers stats, if that holds true we should be a better free throw shooting team and that's more important than people realize, its cost us a few games in the last couple years, GHG!

Yes, including the game that everyone thinks that not pressing cost us.

[trufanofhogs]

I agree Modsquad - This should be the best squad since the middle 90's. I have thought for some time now that next year would be the "break-out" year for Heath's program. If Brewer comes back they could be as good as anyone around. Even if he goes NBA they could still become a great team.

[TheMayorOfHogtown]

I agree Modsquad - This should be the best squad since the middle 90's. I have thought for some time now that next year would be the "break-out" year for Heath's program. If Brewer comes back they could be as good as anyone around. Even if he goes NBA they could still become a great team.

This is truely Stan's chance to get off the Hot Seat as well.  I think a sweet 16 apperance would take 75% of the heat off of him.  And honestly, he should be able to pull it off.  I have been and still am a Stan Fan, but if Ronnie leaves, it's not an excuse to lose, the time for excuses is over.

[Pig Power]

With Brewer, they can be very good especially if Townes awakes from the slumber he's been in. Interior with Thomas, Hill, Hunter, and McGowan will be much improved. Excited about newcomers Weems and Washington (if eligible) because they have no fear from the wing. Backcourt much improved with Ervin, Brewer (if stays), Sean Mc., Welsh, and Beverly. Very young there w/o Brewer, but still better than LY. It will be a different style at the guard positions with folks that like to attack. Man, I hope RB stays for his senior year, but I think he will leave and make millions. Either way, we have the chance to be much better from the perimeter and our inside game will contribute more this Fall.

[bighog1015]

guys dont get your hopes up and expect us to be any better next year. freshman dont have to much of an impact. i was on a wings team and we got a new kid who was one of the best players ive ever seen but within the next year he did nothing for us it took him 2 or 3 years to get any good. im doubting our ability, but im saying that if you get your hopes up dont be upset if we dont win 15 games and get into the NIT.

[Richard_white]

guys dont get your hopes up and expect us to be any better next year. freshman dont have to much of an impact. i was on a wings team and we got a new kid who was one of the best players ive ever seen but within the next year he did nothing for us it took him 2 or 3 years to get any good. im doubting our ability, but im saying that if you get your hopes up dont be upset if we dont win 15 games and get into the NIT.

+1 to you

We thought we had a good team in Brewer sophomore year.

Way to early to tell plus Stan's problem is DEVELOPING TALENT

[TheMayorOfHogtown]

dont be upset if we dont win 15 games and get into the NIT.

I've been a Stan defender from Day One, and my smite count will show that.  However, my main defense is we constantly improve, both season to season, and within the season.  The next piece of the puzzle is beating bad teams on the road.  We showed we can do it, heck we even beat a good team on the road.  But, we have to keep improving.  Stan has no room to go backwards.

[Cure]

If I'm not mistake Ervin got to practice with the team the whole year, and in the Red/White game didn't he have the most assists? From what I saw during practice he looked head and shoulders above the other PG's and his shooting wasn't as bad as it is being stated..Hope that he can show you guys next year

[Richard_white]

dont be upset if we dont win 15 games and get into the NIT.

I've been a Stan defender from Day One, and my smite count will show that.  However, my main defense is we constantly improve, both season to season, and within the season.  The next piece of the puzzle is beating bad teams on the road.  We showed we can do it, heck we even beat a good team on the road.  But, we have to keep improving.  Stan has no room to go backwards.

People been saying that about Nutt but he is been declining every year

[HairyHog]

To be a good team, you must win on the road, and Stan has not been able to do that. Get us 5 or 6 road wins.

[12under]

I could be totally wrong and I admit I'm drawing off the memory from seeing him play at Miss St, but I think Ervin is essentially a little bit better version of Eric Ferguson.

He could help us or hurt us.  Or both.

Obviously I want him to help, and I think he can.  It's up to Stan to really push the athleticsm of this team upon opponents.  I don't expect 40 Minutes of Hell, but with the collection of athletes Stan has, a halfcourt game pretty much renders players like Ervin useless.

i think youre right about ervin except for his shooting.  i dont claim to be any expert on him, but i remember him being a terrible shooter except when the game was on the line against us and he hit a very lucky three.

[HogFanInBigD]

I think that we have by far the most loaded roster we've had since the mid 90's coming up in this next season(2006-2007), at the guard spots you know we should have plenty of fire power with Sean McCurdy, Stefan Welsh and Patrick Beverley all being very capable of scoring points in bunches and give us better 3 point shooting than we've had in sometime and the first real point guard we've had in awhile in Gary Ervin should really help, at the forward and center spots you have veteran players that all be better in Hill, Hunter, Thomas, Townes and McGowan and then two newcomers that should really help in Washington and Weems. Also, if Ronnie Brewer comes back on top of all this  we will really be good, I am excited about the makeup of next years basketball team, we may take some bumps early because we will have some chemistry issues at first that have to get worked out mixing the new blood with the old, but I think when its all said and done this team will have a great season and probably go a ways in the upcoming NCAAT. GHG!     

We'll be a better team next year there's no doubt, but thats where you need a head coach. We had all the talent last year.  We may not have had a true point guard that year, but we had talented post players who were inconsistent.  One of them would give us double digit points. It would be charles thomas one game and then darian townes the next game.

That's a key word in Arkansas sports; inconsistency.  From the football team, to the basketball team, and now even the baseball team. All of them are inconsistent, with the exception of track. WoW! Track!*Sarcasm

[hoggystyle78]

If Brewer comes back we should be improved, maybe even make a little noise in the NCAA tourny. Without Brewer we still have the potential to be good but there will be some growing pains. I don't care what you say, there's a big difference between jr. college or high school and the SEC. Most of these guys were studs in the past, but that guarantees nothing now. until the newcomers come in and get used to the athleticism of D1 BB it's wide open. And if Brewer does leave, I'm more than just a little concerned with having to depend on our big guys for scoring, especially until the newcomers catch on.

[dana caldwell]

sorry to interrupt the +1 fest, but to anwer the question:

as good as its coach=not very. that means another swirl of hope with an upset or two, ncaa berth and first round loss against an inferior, non-athletic team the UA should easily press into submission.

[Pignominious]

guys dont get your hopes up and expect us to be any better next year. freshman dont have to much of an impact. i was on a wings team and we got a new kid who was one of the best players ive ever seen but within the next year he did nothing for us it took him 2 or 3 years to get any good. im doubting our ability, but im saying that if you get your hopes up dont be upset if we dont win 15 games and get into the NIT.

Please don't tell me that freshman don't have much of an impact.  I read a post last year that said 'until we get knew players we won't improve very much', well we have got our new players.
If freshman don't have much of an impact what do you call Tyrus Thomas, Devan Downy, Tyler Hansborough, or for that matter Darren McCfaddon?  Not saying any of our recruits by themselves will be any of these guys but as a unit they will make a large impact. 

[Factual Fiction]

wasn't Arkansas the most talented team in the SEC last season?

[Sanctified Swine]

We will be better but so will the other teams that we are fighting at the top with. LSU will be outstanding as will Alabama, that will be a tough mountain to climb. In the east its the same thing...Kentucky will be a year older with their young talent, Florida (well we all saw what they can do), and the improvement of Tennessee will continue. We play in a killer conference, so even though we will be better, I am not sure if that equates a title.

My pics for next year

LSU                   Florida
Arkansas            Kentucky
Alabama             Tennessee
MSU                   SC
MISS                  Georgia
AUBURN               Vandy

[hogerrific]

wasn't Arkansas the most talented team in the SEC last season?

You gotta be kidding? Is this sarcasm? I think LSU and Florida would be judged by most impartial observers to be considerably more talented than we were last year. Not to say we didn't have some talent, but, really!
And whoever says freshmen can't be impact players is just wrong! You BETTER have freshmen who CAN be impact players 'cause your upperclassmen who are good will go early to the pros. That is simply the way it is nowadays.

[Swino]

Good news is that we have some pretty good talent.


Bad news is that we have Div II caliber coach.

Who knows what to expect next year.

[HogFanInBigD]

Good news is that we have some pretty good talent.


Bad news is that we have Div II caliber coach.

Who knows what to expect next year.

Yeah that's what I've been sayin. You can have all the talent in the world, but that won't go anywhere without a good coach, for instance John Brady or Bruce Pearl.

[Hollywood_HOGan]

If Ronnie happens to stay, we *can* be pretty dang good.

It would be really really nice to have Ronnie leading us next year with all the new incoming talent.

We need to get there again, get a better seed and WIN a game or two.

[DunkIt]

Good news is that we have some pretty good talent.


Bad news is that we have Div II caliber coach.

Who knows what to expect next year.

That is the dumbest thing ever said on this board.  Comon man, you are better than that.  Coach Heath, who was voted by his peers as a conference coach of the year one season, by the way, has only taken the Hog program from the gutter back to the NCAA tournament, with nothing but improvment every year.  Don't say stupid things please.

[CiriusPorker]

we'll win 26 games next year...

i was reading the quatrains of Nostradamus..

and he said

In the fifth year of mediocrity, sudden stability lengths his rule.

about 4 years ago, i thought it was talking about Nutt

[DunkIt]

The MAC voted him conference coach of the year, which is a peer vote in that conference.  Further, you are right, we did lose to Bucknell, and that is unfortunate.  However, to throw out everything he has accomplished in four years, the massive strides we as a program have made, over one game, to a team, who doesn't get enough credit either is simply ridiculous.  I am not saying we shouldn't have beaten Bucknell, but we all know in the NCAA, things happen.  Is Alford a DII coach because he lost NW St.  Is Sampson a DII coach because they lost to UWM?  I believe he actually got a step up in the coaching world.  I am not saying that we shouldn't have made it to the second round, but to say he is a DII coach?  Comon guys, don't say stupid things.  There is still no evidence to suggest that our team is going to back up next year, so until there is some evidence, maybe we should just accept that while some people may not agree with some of the decisions made, that Heath is doing his job pretty well. 
Further, most teams, after a long drought to the NCAA, usually do not win in their first trip back, reguardless of the opponent.  Give the guy a little credit.  He took a pathetic program that he inherited, shown by Dionisio Gomez being his best returning player Heath's first year, and in four short seasons, not only had us return to the NCAA, but posted a 20 win season and a 10 win conference season.  Now I don't know about you, but I wouldn't wish Gomez on John Brady, and I hate Brady!  That is what we call progress friends. 20 wins, while many programs claim to "expect" it, is not an easy task, and yet it was accomplished.  You can say that we have all this talent, which realistically, we were the 3rd or 4th (Florida, LSU, maybe argue Alabama with Steele and Davidson) best team talentwise in the league, but you have to give Heath the credit for bringing the talent on campus. 

[Richard_white]

The MAC voted him conference coach of the year, which is a peer vote in that conference.  Further, you are right, we did lose to Bucknell, and that is unfortunate.  However, to throw out everything he has accomplished in four years, the massive strides we as a program have made, over one game, to a team, who doesn't get enough credit either is simply ridiculous.  I am not saying we shouldn't have beaten Bucknell, but we all know in the NCAA, things happen.  Is Alford a DII coach because he lost NW St.  Is Sampson a DII coach because they lost to UWM?  I believe he actually got a step up in the coaching world.  I am not saying that we shouldn't have made it to the second round, but to say he is a DII coach?  Comon guys, don't say stupid things.  There is still no evidence to suggest that our team is going to back up next year, so until there is some evidence, maybe we should just accept that while some people may not agree with some of the decisions made, that Heath is doing his job pretty well. 
Further, most teams, after a long drought to the NCAA, usually do not win in their first trip back, reguardless of the opponent.  Give the guy a little credit.  He took a pathetic program that he inherited, shown by Dionisio Gomez being his best returning player Heath's first year, and in four short seasons, not only had us return to the NCAA, but posted a 20 win season and a 10 win conference season.  Now I don't know about you, but I wouldn't wish Gomez on John Brady, and I hate Brady!  That is what we call progress friends. 20 wins, while many programs claim to "expect" it, is not an easy task, and yet it was accomplished.  You can say that we have all this talent, which realistically, we were the 3rd or 4th (Florida, LSU, maybe argue Alabama with Steele and Davidson) best team talentwise in the league, but you have to give Heath the credit for bringing the talent on campus. 

Dunkit you make good points but comparing the MAC conference to the SEC isn't logic.

Spurrier was a great college coach but when he left college to the NFL he found out the hard way.

Coach Heath is NOT a SEC caliber coach

[DunkIt]

BD, I wasn't responding to a claim that he wasn't an SEC caliber coach.  The claim was made that he wasn't a DI coach, which he clearly is.  Further, what has he done to prove that he isn't?  He has improved in the SEC, and frankly put us in position to contend next season.  LSU will still be strong, as will Bama, but we will be in position to contend for the West.  That is a capable coach, if the coach can take a team, and build it up within the conference, to the point where they can win a division of the conference.  We went from 6th to a tie for 2nd in the West.  We went from the worst team to basically the 4th team.  That is improvment.  You are saying then, that more than half the coaches in a league, can't be the caliber of the league.  I know there will be no one here that will say Heath is the worst coach in the league.  Stansbury is worse.  The only reason they are any good is because they cheat, and never win once they make the tournament.  Barnes was canned, Lebo we can't judge yet.  Stallings, while being a coach for seven years, hasn't had a lot of success at Vandy.  We all know Odom is very good, but hasn't had much success at USC (1 NCAA, 2 NIT championships for what that is worth).  We all know how good Billy and Tubby are but their programs weren't exactly challenging to step into.  We can't judge Felton yet, because he is in the midst of rebuilding.  Gottfried has done alright, but lost a lot early in the tournament, except the year they lost to UCONN.  Brady had a ton of talent fall in his lap, but until this year, hadn't been nearly as good as his talent.  But if you want to say Heath is below all of those guys, you all are nuts.  He may be in the middle, but he is early in his tenure, and is a young coach.  Coaches do also have a learning curve, and that does include once they get to the highest level.  Coaches will make mistakes in recruiting, gameplanning, game management.  However, you have to evaluate Stan's tenure on the whole as pretty good thus far.  So, if you want to make the argument that 2/3 of the league coaches shouldn't be here, please say that.  However, in the scheme of things, Heath has been pretty productive, and it appears that there are many days of further success ahead.  If you tell me that you don't think that from here on out, the program will probably be around the 20 win mark, and around the 10 SEC win mark or better, you would not only be wrong.  I am not saying the goal is 20 wins or 10 sec wins.  Obviously, we all want better.  However, if I told you that over Heath's tenure, the program would average 20+ and 10+, with maybe a conference title and a birth in the tournament every year, including some deeper runs; you all would be very happy.  That is where it appears we are headed, and the fact that you all are so impatient, that you can't wait for it happen is inspiring, but it is also a difficult task which must be accomplished at a reasonable rate.  As long as improvement is being shown, which it is, and at a solid rate, not an extreme, but solid rate, you have to be optimistic.

[Richard_white]

BD, I wasn't responding to a claim that he wasn't an SEC caliber coach.  The claim was made that he wasn't a DI coach, which he clearly is.  Further, what has he done to prove that he isn't?  He has improved in the SEC, and frankly put us in position to contend next season.  LSU will still be strong, as will Bama, but we will be in position to contend for the West.  That is a capable coach, if the coach can take a team, and build it up within the conference, to the point where they can win a division of the conference.  We went from 6th to a tie for 2nd in the West.  We went from the worst team to basically the 4th team.  That is improvment.  You are saying then, that more than half the coaches in a league, can't be the caliber of the league.  I know there will be no one here that will say Heath is the worst coach in the league.  Stansbury is worse.  The only reason they are any good is because they cheat, and never win once they make the tournament.  Barnes was canned, Lebo we can't judge yet.  Stallings, while being a coach for many year, hasn't succeeded at Vandy.  We all know Odom is very good, but hasn't had much success at USC.  We all know how good Billy and Tubby are.  We can't judge Felton yet, because he is in the midst of rebuilding.  Gottfried has done alright, but lost a lot early in the tournament, except the year they lost to UCONN.  Brady had a ton of talent fall in his lap, but until this year, hadn't been nearly as good as his talent.  But if you want to say Heath is below all of those guys, you all are nuts.  He may be in the middle, but he is early in his tenure, and is a young coach.  Coaches do also have a learning curve, and that does include once they get to the highest level.  Coaches will make mistakes in recruiting, gameplanning, game management.  However, you have to evaluate Stan's tenure on the whole as pretty good thus far. 

Okay I see you point but tell me just a few schools that would settle for the length his is taking us to come back.

Duke
North Carolina

As many Hog fans know, we have been a BB school for the last 10 to 15 years. Our tradition is deep and we expect (no demand) for a coach to bring us there or keep us there.

Stan is a young coach and needs to improve on a lot of things.  Arkansas (fans) can't wait for 4 years to take us to a tournament and get beat by a team like Bucknell.  Four years just to get into 3rd place in the west.  Four years just be able to win a ame in the SEC tournament.  At this rate Stan will finally have us in the Sweet 16 in 2012. 

I am not a fan of Stan and have millions of things to gripe about him.  I know that he is a great guy and with a lot of class but what Arkansas wants (demands) is a coach that doesn't give excuses for losing and say one thing and not live up to it.  (saying Arkansas will run more this past year).

[DunkIt]

Honestly, most schools would be very happy to have that level of progress.  It is hard to do that, because you have to jump other teams.  When your team is as bad as it was that when Heath got it, and returned it to where it is now, that is good progress. Here is an example of what you are talking about.  Are you aware that when Lute Olsen took over at Zona, he lost in the first round, his first three trips to the NCAA.  His 4th was a final four trip, but he program was in a far better state than the Hogs in 02-03.  When Coach K took over at Duke in 80, it took him 3 seasons to make the tournament, and 2 more to reach success.

The point I am making is this.  The expectations you have are based off of what Nolan did.  Those days are over.  When Heath picked up the program, it was in shambles, and had to start from scratch.  The expectation of success at Duke, UNC, Indiana, Michigan St, UCONN, you name your team, is based off years and years of continued success.  All I am asking is that you allow him to build up his own continued success.  Let him make his legacy. Let him define his own career.  Don't impose old expectations, which are not consistant with where the program is really at.  It isn't 1996, and coming off two final fours.  This is 11 years later.  Heath has to make his own success, because Richardson allowed the monster that he created to die.  Heath is trying to recreate the monster, but you have to let him.  I am not trying to say Heath is Coach K, or Olsen, or anyone.  I am merely saying that those guys had to build their monster too.

The other thing which makes pleasing some people tough to please, is they do not define what success really is, or they foret their own definition.  This year, we were 7-1 at home, 3-5 on the road in the SEC.  Would success next year be 7-1, because going unbeaten at home is extremly difficult, and 5-3?  I would say if we went 11-5 or 12-4 in the league next year, that would very good.  It would be nice to go a step deeper in each tournament, but tournament play is crazy.  Tennessee lost in the first round of the SEC, and USC made it to the tournament finals.  We hear all these cries for not enough success.  Well define what success is.

Also, if we are going off past examples, it may actually take heath till 09 or 2010 to make the Sweet 16.  Does that make him a bad coach.  Going off past examples, it actually would make him consistant with what many great coaches had to go through.

What many people fail to remember is how much damage the 2000-2001 and the 2001-2002 seasons did to the Arkansas program.  It was what set the program back really, to the pre-Sutton era. 

[Swino]

Good news is that we have some pretty good talent.


Bad news is that we have Div II caliber coach.

Who knows what to expect next year.

That is the dumbest thing ever said on this board.  Comon man, you are better than that.  Coach Heath, who was voted by his peers as a conference coach of the year one season, by the way, has only taken the Hog program from the gutter back to the NCAA tournament, with nothing but improvment every year.  Don't say stupid things please.

Have you ever watched us play??  What is our record on the road in the SEC?  What identity do we have on offense?  Where is the defense??  Ever notice that many of the teams we play have one of their best shooting nights when we play?  Why can't we beat a 2-3 zone?  Our guard recruiting is laughable.

But, yeah, saying Heath is a Div II is dumb.  I should have said Gulf South calibur coach.

[DunkIt]

Good news is that we have some pretty good talent.


Bad news is that we have Div II caliber coach.

Who knows what to expect next year.

That is the dumbest thing ever said on this board.  Comon man, you are better than that.  Coach Heath, who was voted by his peers as a conference coach of the year one season, by the way, has only taken the Hog program from the gutter back to the NCAA tournament, with nothing but improvment every year.  Don't say stupid things please.

Have you ever watched us play??  What is our record on the road in the SEC?  What identity do we have on offense?  Where is the defense??  Ever notice that many of the teams we play have one of their best shooting nights when we play?  Why can't we beat a 2-3 zone?  Our guard recruiting is laughable.

But, yeah, saying Heath is a Div II is dumb.  I should have said Gulf South calibur coach.

Responses:
1. Yes, more than you.
2. Last Season, 3-5, we are talking about improvement, not overall, because we are completing the rebuilding process. Let us not forget close, and heartbreaking near misses @ Bama, @ LSU, and @ UK, with a very forgettable trip down to Oxford.  But improvement has been shown, and all indication is, that if we improve, we are probably going to get those games in the furture. If you take into account, Heath's first and second season, when we awful, and improving, of course his record will look bad.  Any time you throw a new coach's first couple seasons in when evaluating the STATE OF THE PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, you are going to do a disservice. Since we are a very forgettable 4-12, but like I said, it is getting better.
3. We run the motion offense. If you knew what the motion offense looked like, and its principles, you might see that.
4. The Defense was pretty good last season. 4th in the league in scoring defense, 4th in FG % Defense. Where did we finish in the league, tied for 2nd in the division with Alabama. Technically, if you want to take it a step further, we tied for 2nd with Florida and Alabama overall.  However, if you thought for a second, that we tied in conference with the National Champions, that might affect your argument's viability just a little bit, so I won't make you do that much thinking.
5. Happens to everyone.  You think USC fans are still wondering how did Modica go off for 37 against us?  You think that most any group of unrealistic, disgruntled (yes, you are) fans wouldn't say the same thing. Players don't just go off against us.  It happens to everyone, it is part of basketball. We go off against some teams, the same way some teams go off against us. 
5. The zone situation is far improved from the year prior.  We still aren't a good shooting team, and that is attempting to being solved, but the actual negotiation of the zone is improved.
6. Laughable:  Not counting the first season, here is Heath's Guard Recruiting: (this is in chronolgical order)

1. Olu Famutimi, didn't work out, but highly ranked, and everyone loved Heath for signing him, no one could have known he wouldn't work out.
2. Ronnie Brewer, hasn't been such a bad recruit now has he.  Only one of the top 5 guys to ever play at the UA, or at least will be after this year. 
3. Dontell Jefferson, a late find, to replace another Jefferson who didn't come, and for a late find, he wasn't bad.  Served an immediate purpose.
4. Gary Ervin, we don't know much about him, but all indications are he is a proven PG, who was extremly high on the map coming out of HS.
5. Sean McCurdy, I don't like him, but everyone else LOVES him, so I won't pass judgement.  However, if I am not mistaken, McCurdy was a high pg recruit coming out of hs.
6. Stefan Welsh, don't know much about him, but he looks like he can help.
7. Patrick Beverley, ditto
8. Sonny Weems, appears to be an instant impact player, and a top 5 juco recruit.

Now, if that is laughable, I don't know what you expect.  The reason we miss out on a lot of top recruits, is because we go after a lot of top recruits, and do get some along the way.
Here is the list that we have missed on after coming close and tell me if they are pretty good, and if they made solid choices.
1. Daniel Gibson (Texas)
2. Devean Downey (Cincy-Transfer)
3. Jovan Adams (UNLV?)
4. Willie Kemp (Memphis)
5. Thad Young (GT)
The fact is, unless you are Duke or UNC (who missed out on Young with us) you are going to lose some top recruits who we really wanted. 

The fact of the matter is, maybe you need to watch some basketball. Go practice Nutt hating, the arguments for that are much better.

[mbgrulz]

well said, we've just gotta be positive and believe. you cant help but feel like we are going in the right direction. some people dont like the way we play, or want to nag about this and that, but if we'll be patient with stan, things are going to look up for us. stan has been here for 4 years, if he doesnt get us to the sweet 16 or better in the next 2 years, then i'll question him, but as for now, i am glad to have a guy who is working his ass off to make arkansas a national powerhouse once again.

[PorkSoda]

What I'd like to see this year is the guards feeding it in to our big men more.  I think having 3 sr guards last year didn't help with that much, as they felt they were the ones who needed to take the shot.  that caused us to take too many 3's, which wasn't our strong suite.  this year our big guy's should be more dominant if they get enough touches.

[DunkIt]

What I'd like to see this year is the guards feeding it in to our big men more.  I think having 3 sr guards last year didn't help with that much, as they felt they were the ones who needed to take the shot.  that caused us to take too many 3's, which wasn't our strong suite.  this year our big guy's should be more dominant if they get enough touches.

well said, we've just gotta be positive and believe. you cant help but feel like we are going in the right direction. some people dont like the way we play, or want to nag about this and that, but if we'll be patient with stan, things are going to look up for us. stan has been here for 4 years, if he doesnt get us to the sweet 16 or better in the next 2 years, then i'll question him, but as for now, i am glad to have a guy who is working his ass off to make arkansas a national powerhouse once again.

You know what, I may agree with both of you on that.  I am just merely stating what you guys have agreed with me on.  It is clear that the program is headed in the proper direction, and there is no indication that Heath will not continue to progress our program.  We can whine about little parts of his gameplans that we don't see or agree with, but in the end, the record does matter, and as long as it gets to a level where we are successful consistantly, that is all we can ask.

[Swino]

Good news is that we have some pretty good talent.


Bad news is that we have Div II caliber coach.

Who knows what to expect next year.

That is the dumbest thing ever said on this board.  Comon man, you are better than that.  Coach Heath, who was voted by his peers as a conference coach of the year one season, by the way, has only taken the Hog program from the gutter back to the NCAA tournament, with nothing but improvment every year.  Don't say stupid things please.

Have you ever watched us play??  What is our record on the road in the SEC?  What identity do we have on offense?  Where is the defense??  Ever notice that many of the teams we play have one of their best shooting nights when we play?  Why can't we beat a 2-3 zone?  Our guard recruiting is laughable.

But, yeah, saying Heath is a Div II is dumb.  I should have said Gulf South calibur coach.

Responses:
1. Yes, more than you.
2. Last Season, 3-5, we are talking about improvement, not overall, because we are completing the rebuilding process. Let us not forget close, and heartbreaking near misses @ Bama, @ LSU, and @ UK, with a very forgettable trip down to Oxford.  But improvement has been shown, and all indication is, that if we improve, we are probably going to get those games in the furture. If you take into account, Heath's first and second season, when we awful, and improving, of course his record will look bad.  Any time you throw a new coach's first couple seasons in when evaluating the STATE OF THE PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, you are going to do a disservice. Since we are a very forgettable 4-12, but like I said, it is getting better.
3. We run the motion offense. If you knew what the motion offense looked like, and its principles, you might see that.
4. The Defense was pretty good last season. 4th in the league in scoring defense, 4th in FG % Defense. Where did we finish in the league, tied for 2nd in the division with Alabama. Technically, if you want to take it a step further, we tied for 2nd with Florida and Alabama overall.  However, if you thought for a second, that we tied in conference with the National Champions, that might affect your argument's viability just a little bit, so I won't make you do that much thinking.
5. Happens to everyone.  You think USC fans are still wondering how did Modica go off for 37 against us?  You think that most any group of unrealistic, disgruntled (yes, you are) fans wouldn't say the same thing. Players don't just go off against us.  It happens to everyone, it is part of basketball. We go off against some teams, the same way some teams go off against us. 
5. The zone situation is far improved from the year prior.  We still aren't a good shooting team, and that is attempting to being solved, but the actual negotiation of the zone is improved.
6. Laughable:  Not counting the first season, here is Heath's Guard Recruiting: (this is in chronolgical order)

1. Olu Famutimi, didn't work out, but highly ranked, and everyone loved Heath for signing him, no one could have known he wouldn't work out.
2. Ronnie Brewer, hasn't been such a bad recruit now has he.  Only one of the top 5 guys to ever play at the UA, or at least will be after this year. 
3. Dontell Jefferson, a late find, to replace another Jefferson who didn't come, and for a late find, he wasn't bad.  Served an immediate purpose.
4. Gary Ervin, we don't know much about him, but all indications are he is a proven PG, who was extremly high on the map coming out of HS.
5. Sean McCurdy, I don't like him, but everyone else LOVES him, so I won't pass judgement.  However, if I am not mistaken, McCurdy was a high pg recruit coming out of hs.
6. Stefan Welsh, don't know much about him, but he looks like he can help.
7. Patrick Beverley, ditto
8. Sonny Weems, appears to be an instant impact player, and a top 5 juco recruit.

Now, if that is laughable, I don't know what you expect.  The reason we miss out on a lot of top recruits, is because we go after a lot of top recruits, and do get some along the way.
Here is the list that we have missed on after coming close and tell me if they are pretty good, and if they made solid choices.
1. Daniel Gibson (Texas)
2. Devean Downey (Cincy-Transfer)
3. Jovan Adams (UNLV?)
4. Willie Kemp (Memphis)
5. Thad Young (GT)
The fact is, unless you are Duke or UNC (who missed out on Young with us) you are going to lose some top recruits who we really wanted. 

The fact of the matter is, maybe you need to watch some basketball. Go practice Nutt hating, the arguments for that are much better.

Good Lord, do you actually believe the bolony you spew??

1.  You are a complete idiot.  I should rest here since you have no idea about anything about me.  Seriously, you are a fool trying to hide the truth about your fantasy world.
2. Last season, blah, blah blah.   The FACT is, you don't get to pick the year in order to make your argument.  How about you share Stan's SEC complete road record with the rest of the board.... without the crappy spin you put on it.  (Funny how Bruce Pearl didn't need 4 years, yuh?)
3.  Doesn't the motion offense require motion?  Are you Stan or one of his cronies because the whole facade of a "motion offense" was laughable this year.  Seriously, if you are going to argue this, go ahead and check into brigdeway.
4.  Spin, spin, spin.  Our defense lacked anything close to ferocity or competence.
5. Funny how teams went off on our defence a heck of a lot more than we did on theirs.  A pattern that you gloss over.
5 (again, since you can't count.  That might be part of the problem..  The zone offense might have improved, but when you start out at the bottom and climb your way up to sorry... wow, I can't imagine why there isn't more bragging.
6.  Hmmm
Olu .... Dud
brewer....  Good, but with U of A ties... Hard land there.
3.. .. uh, bust
4.. didn't recruit.. transfer
5.(only 1 this time!) No telling since he played all of 3 minutes this season.. But clearly you can see the future??
6.  Again, no evidence on this, just you grabbing crap out of thin air.
7.  Same crap, different verse.
8.  No evidence yet again. Try harder.... oops, you don't have any evidence.

Keep on making excuses.  It is puds like you that never, ever have standards (nor hold coaches to standards), the razorbacks will forever be "next years team".  Thanks for posting, but get a clue.

[wrightobe]

Good news is that we have some pretty good talent.


Bad news is that we have Div II caliber coach.

Who knows what to expect next year.

That is the dumbest thing ever said on this board.  Comon man, you are better than that.  Coach Heath, who was voted by his peers as a conference coach of the year one season, by the way, has only taken the Hog program from the gutter back to the NCAA tournament, with nothing but improvment every year.  Don't say stupid things please.

Have you ever watched us play??  What is our record on the road in the SEC?  What identity do we have on offense?  Where is the defense??  Ever notice that many of the teams we play have one of their best shooting nights when we play?  Why can't we beat a 2-3 zone?  Our guard recruiting is laughable.

But, yeah, saying Heath is a Div II is dumb.  I should have said Gulf South calibur coach.

Responses:
1. Yes, more than you.
2. Last Season, 3-5, we are talking about improvement, not overall, because we are completing the rebuilding process. Let us not forget close, and heartbreaking near misses @ Bama, @ LSU, and @ UK, with a very forgettable trip down to Oxford.  But improvement has been shown, and all indication is, that if we improve, we are probably going to get those games in the furture. If you take into account, Heath's first and second season, when we awful, and improving, of course his record will look bad.  Any time you throw a new coach's first couple seasons in when evaluating the STATE OF THE PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, you are going to do a disservice. Since we are a very forgettable 4-12, but like I said, it is getting better.
3. We run the motion offense. If you knew what the motion offense looked like, and its principles, you might see that.
4. The Defense was pretty good last season. 4th in the league in scoring defense, 4th in FG % Defense. Where did we finish in the league, tied for 2nd in the division with Alabama. Technically, if you want to take it a step further, we tied for 2nd with Florida and Alabama overall.  However, if you thought for a second, that we tied in conference with the National Champions, that might affect your argument's viability just a little bit, so I won't make you do that much thinking.
5. Happens to everyone.  You think USC fans are still wondering how did Modica go off for 37 against us?  You think that most any group of unrealistic, disgruntled (yes, you are) fans wouldn't say the same thing. Players don't just go off against us.  It happens to everyone, it is part of basketball. We go off against some teams, the same way some teams go off against us. 
5. The zone situation is far improved from the year prior.  We still aren't a good shooting team, and that is attempting to being solved, but the actual negotiation of the zone is improved.
6. Laughable:  Not counting the first season, here is Heath's Guard Recruiting: (this is in chronolgical order)

1. Olu Famutimi, didn't work out, but highly ranked, and everyone loved Heath for signing him, no one could have known he wouldn't work out.
2. Ronnie Brewer, hasn't been such a bad recruit now has he.  Only one of the top 5 guys to ever play at the UA, or at least will be after this year. 
3. Dontell Jefferson, a late find, to replace another Jefferson who didn't come, and for a late find, he wasn't bad.  Served an immediate purpose.
4. Gary Ervin, we don't know much about him, but all indications are he is a proven PG, who was extremly high on the map coming out of HS.
5. Sean McCurdy, I don't like him, but everyone else LOVES him, so I won't pass judgement.  However, if I am not mistaken, McCurdy was a high pg recruit coming out of hs.
6. Stefan Welsh, don't know much about him, but he looks like he can help.
7. Patrick Beverley, ditto
8. Sonny Weems, appears to be an instant impact player, and a top 5 juco recruit.

Now, if that is laughable, I don't know what you expect.  The reason we miss out on a lot of top recruits, is because we go after a lot of top recruits, and do get some along the way.
Here is the list that we have missed on after coming close and tell me if they are pretty good, and if they made solid choices.
1. Daniel Gibson (Texas)
2. Devean Downey (Cincy-Transfer)
3. Jovan Adams (UNLV?)
4. Willie Kemp (Memphis)
5. Thad Young (GT)
The fact is, unless you are Duke or UNC (who missed out on Young with us) you are going to lose some top recruits who we really wanted. 

The fact of the matter is, maybe you need to watch some basketball. Go practice Nutt hating, the arguments for that are much better.

Good Lord, do you actually believe the bolony you spew??

1.  You are a complete idiot.  I should rest here since you have no idea about anything about me.  Seriously, you are a fool trying to hide the truth about your fantasy world.
2. Last season, blah, blah blah.   The FACT is, you don't get to pick the year in order to make your argument.  How about you share Stan's SEC complete road record with the rest of the board.... without the crappy spin you put on it.  (Funny how Bruce Pearl didn't need 4 years, yuh?)
3.  Doesn't the motion offense require motion?  Are you Stan or one of his cronies because the whole facade of a "motion offense" was laughable this year.  Seriously, if you are going to argue this, go ahead and check into brigdeway.
4.  Spin, spin, spin.  Our defense lacked anything close to ferocity or competence.
5. Funny how teams went off on our defence a heck of a lot more than we did on theirs.  A pattern that you gloss over.
5 (again, since you can't count.  That might be part of the problem..  The zone offense might have improved, but when you start out at the bottom and climb your way up to sorry... wow, I can't imagine why there isn't more bragging.
6.  Hmmm
Olu .... Dud
brewer....  Good, but with U of A ties... Hard land there.
3.. .. uh, bust
4.. didn't recruit.. transfer
5.(only 1 this time!) No telling since he played all of 3 minutes this season.. But clearly you can see the future??
6.  Again, no evidence on this, just you grabbing crap out of thin air.
7.  Same crap, different verse.
8.  No evidence yet again. Try harder.... oops, you don't have any evidence.

Keep on making excuses.  It is puds like you that never, ever have standards (nor hold coaches to standards), the razorbacks will forever be "next years team".  Thanks for posting, but get a clue.

Concerning the recruiting of Ronnie Brewer and the U of A ties, with Nolan Richardson as head coach, Brewer was heading to Oklahoma where his sister was enrolled and playing.

Nolan Richardson seemed to have the attitude, I do not need Ronnie Brewer, and would not go scout him, personally, at his high school games in Fayetteville.

And, if my memory is correct, after Richardson was fired, and Heath was trying hard to get Brewer, Richardson wrote Brewer a letter, advising him he should go to Oklahoma for his best interest.

[Pignominious]

Good news is that we have some pretty good talent.


Bad news is that we have Div II caliber coach.

Who knows what to expect next year.

That is the dumbest thing ever said on this board.  Comon man, you are better than that.  Coach Heath, who was voted by his peers as a conference coach of the year one season, by the way, has only taken the Hog program from the gutter back to the NCAA tournament, with nothing but improvment every year.  Don't say stupid things please.

Have you ever watched us play??  What is our record on the road in the SEC?  What identity do we have on offense?  Where is the defense??  Ever notice that many of the teams we play have one of their best shooting nights when we play?  Why can't we beat a 2-3 zone?  Our guard recruiting is laughable.

But, yeah, saying Heath is a Div II is dumb.  I should have said Gulf South calibur coach.

Responses:
1. Yes, more than you.
2. Last Season, 3-5, we are talking about improvement, not overall, because we are completing the rebuilding process. Let us not forget close, and heartbreaking near misses @ Bama, @ LSU, and @ UK, with a very forgettable trip down to Oxford.  But improvement has been shown, and all indication is, that if we improve, we are probably going to get those games in the furture. If you take into account, Heath's first and second season, when we awful, and improving, of course his record will look bad.  Any time you throw a new coach's first couple seasons in when evaluating the STATE OF THE PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, you are going to do a disservice. Since we are a very forgettable 4-12, but like I said, it is getting better.
3. We run the motion offense. If you knew what the motion offense looked like, and its principles, you might see that.
4. The Defense was pretty good last season. 4th in the league in scoring defense, 4th in FG % Defense. Where did we finish in the league, tied for 2nd in the division with Alabama. Technically, if you want to take it a step further, we tied for 2nd with Florida and Alabama overall.  However, if you thought for a second, that we tied in conference with the National Champions, that might affect your argument's viability just a little bit, so I won't make you do that much thinking.
5. Happens to everyone.  You think USC fans are still wondering how did Modica go off for 37 against us?  You think that most any group of unrealistic, disgruntled (yes, you are) fans wouldn't say the same thing. Players don't just go off against us.  It happens to everyone, it is part of basketball. We go off against some teams, the same way some teams go off against us. 
5. The zone situation is far improved from the year prior.  We still aren't a good shooting team, and that is attempting to being solved, but the actual negotiation of the zone is improved.
6. Laughable:  Not counting the first season, here is Heath's Guard Recruiting: (this is in chronolgical order)

1. Olu Famutimi, didn't work out, but highly ranked, and everyone loved Heath for signing him, no one could have known he wouldn't work out.
2. Ronnie Brewer, hasn't been such a bad recruit now has he.  Only one of the top 5 guys to ever play at the UA, or at least will be after this year. 
3. Dontell Jefferson, a late find, to replace another Jefferson who didn't come, and for a late find, he wasn't bad.  Served an immediate purpose.
4. Gary Ervin, we don't know much about him, but all indications are he is a proven PG, who was extremly high on the map coming out of HS.
5. Sean McCurdy, I don't like him, but everyone else LOVES him, so I won't pass judgement.  However, if I am not mistaken, McCurdy was a high pg recruit coming out of hs.
6. Stefan Welsh, don't know much about him, but he looks like he can help.
7. Patrick Beverley, ditto
8. Sonny Weems, appears to be an instant impact player, and a top 5 juco recruit.

Now, if that is laughable, I don't know what you expect.  The reason we miss out on a lot of top recruits, is because we go after a lot of top recruits, and do get some along the way.
Here is the list that we have missed on after coming close and tell me if they are pretty good, and if they made solid choices.
1. Daniel Gibson (Texas)
2. Devean Downey (Cincy-Transfer)
3. Jovan Adams (UNLV?)
4. Willie Kemp (Memphis)
5. Thad Young (GT)
The fact is, unless you are Duke or UNC (who missed out on Young with us) you are going to lose some top recruits who we really wanted. 

The fact of the matter is, maybe you need to watch some basketball. Go practice Nutt hating, the arguments for that are much better.

Good Lord, do you actually believe the bolony you spew??

1.  You are a complete idiot.  I should rest here since you have no idea about anything about me.  Seriously, you are a fool trying to hide the truth about your fantasy world.
2. Last season, blah, blah blah.   The FACT is, you don't get to pick the year in order to make your argument.  How about you share Stan's SEC complete road record with the rest of the board.... without the crappy spin you put on it.  (Funny how Bruce Pearl didn't need 4 years, yuh?)
3.  Doesn't the motion offense require motion?  Are you Stan or one of his cronies because the whole facade of a "motion offense" was laughable this year.  Seriously, if you are going to argue this, go ahead and check into brigdeway.
4.  Spin, spin, spin.  Our defense lacked anything close to ferocity or competence.
5. Funny how teams went off on our defence a heck of a lot more than we did on theirs.  A pattern that you gloss over.
5 (again, since you can't count.  That might be part of the problem..  The zone offense might have improved, but when you start out at the bottom and climb your way up to sorry... wow, I can't imagine why there isn't more bragging.
6.  Hmmm
Olu .... Dud
brewer....  Good, but with U of A ties... Hard land there.
3.. .. uh, bust
4.. didn't recruit.. transfer
5.(only 1 this time!) No telling since he played all of 3 minutes this season.. But clearly you can see the future??
6.  Again, no evidence on this, just you grabbing crap out of thin air.
7.  Same crap, different verse.
8.  No evidence yet again. Try harder.... oops, you don't have any evidence.

Keep on making excuses.  It is puds like you that never, ever have standards (nor hold coaches to standards), the razorbacks will forever be "next years team".  Thanks for posting, but get a clue.

Whether you like Heath or not I'm on the 'Stanwagon', and I've been there since the UT game.  I like the talent that he has gotten in place for next season.  Don't harbor so much animosity towards the guy just cause he likes Heath, remember 'sunshiners' are Hog fans to.

[Richard_white]

Stan did great job developing Modica, Ferguson and Jefferson.  I even like the progression of Townes and Hill.  McCurdy and McGowan played to many minutes and I am happy that he didn't redshirt the two.  Love the fact that there was no true PG and no outside shooters.  But what I still think about was that great game with Bucknell.  Stan was right, he shouldn't have pressed a POOR ball handling team.

Developing players is a grade F for Stan and next year will be the same.  If Stan has a brain in his head he will find an assistant to help develop these kids.

[mbgrulz]

about brewer going to OU, i can say with all the confidence i have that he was basically sold on UCONN until heath got to him.

[wrightobe]

Stan did great job developing Modica, Ferguson and Jefferson.  I even like the progression of Townes and Hill.  McCurdy and McGowan played to many minutes and I am happy that he didn't redshirt the two.  Love the fact that there was no true PG and no outside shooters.  But what I still think about was that great game with Bucknell.  Stan was right, he shouldn't have pressed a POOR ball handling team.

Developing players is a grade F for Stan and next year will be the same.  If Stan has a brain in his head he will find an assistant to help develop these kids.

Based on reading your posts, and other darksiders, concerning the basketball game with Bucknell, it seems that Bucknell should not have even been in the NCAA tournament?

How did they get in?  Did they win there conference?  Did they lose any conference games?

It seems to me the NCAA heirarchy needs to be fired, for letting teams like Bucknell get in, based on the darksiders observations of how bad Bucknell was.

[Richard_white]

Stan did great job developing Modica, Ferguson and Jefferson.  I even like the progression of Townes and Hill.  McCurdy and McGowan played to many minutes and I am happy that he didn't redshirt the two.  Love the fact that there was no true PG and no outside shooters.  But what I still think about was that great game with Bucknell.  Stan was right, he shouldn't have pressed a POOR ball handling team.

Developing players is a grade F for Stan and next year will be the same.  If Stan has a brain in his head he will find an assistant to help develop these kids.

Based on reading your posts, and other darksiders, concerning the basketball game with Bucknell, it seems that Bucknell should not have even been in the NCAA tournament?

How did they get in?  Did they win there conference?  Did they lose any conference games?

It seems to me the NCAA heirarchy needs to be fired, for letting teams like Bucknell get in, based on the darksiders observations of how bad Bucknell was.

I didn't know I directing your quote but if I did I am truly sorry.

But with knowing any basketball logic you would know that Bucknell was a POOR ball handling team.  What do you do with a poor ball handling team?  let them shoot right over us?

The game was over when the ball was tipped in the air to begin the game.  Stan played into Bucknell game and if people can not see that than there is a book called basketball 101.

[Sonofahog]

Good news is that we have some pretty good talent.


Bad news is that we have Div II caliber coach.

Who knows what to expect next year.

We will be a pretty talented Div II team.   

[DunkIt]

Good news is that we have some pretty good talent.


Bad news is that we have Div II caliber coach.

Who knows what to expect next year.

That is the dumbest thing ever said on this board.  Comon man, you are better than that.  Coach Heath, who was voted by his peers as a conference coach of the year one season, by the way, has only taken the Hog program from the gutter back to the NCAA tournament, with nothing but improvment every year.  Don't say stupid things please.

Have you ever watched us play??  What is our record on the road in the SEC?  What identity do we have on offense?  Where is the defense??  Ever notice that many of the teams we play have one of their best shooting nights when we play?  Why can't we beat a 2-3 zone?  Our guard recruiting is laughable.

But, yeah, saying Heath is a Div II is dumb.  I should have said Gulf South calibur coach.

Responses:
1. Yes, more than you.
2. Last Season, 3-5, we are talking about improvement, not overall, because we are completing the rebuilding process. Let us not forget close, and heartbreaking near misses @ Bama, @ LSU, and @ UK, with a very forgettable trip down to Oxford.  But improvement has been shown, and all indication is, that if we improve, we are probably going to get those games in the furture. If you take into account, Heath's first and second season, when we awful, and improving, of course his record will look bad.  Any time you throw a new coach's first couple seasons in when evaluating the STATE OF THE PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, you are going to do a disservice. Since we are a very forgettable 4-12, but like I said, it is getting better.
3. We run the motion offense. If you knew what the motion offense looked like, and its principles, you might see that.
4. The Defense was pretty good last season. 4th in the league in scoring defense, 4th in FG % Defense. Where did we finish in the league, tied for 2nd in the division with Alabama. Technically, if you want to take it a step further, we tied for 2nd with Florida and Alabama overall.  However, if you thought for a second, that we tied in conference with the National Champions, that might affect your argument's viability just a little bit, so I won't make you do that much thinking.
5. Happens to everyone.  You think USC fans are still wondering how did Modica go off for 37 against us?  You think that most any group of unrealistic, disgruntled (yes, you are) fans wouldn't say the same thing. Players don't just go off against us.  It happens to everyone, it is part of basketball. We go off against some teams, the same way some teams go off against us. 
5. The zone situation is far improved from the year prior.  We still aren't a good shooting team, and that is attempting to being solved, but the actual negotiation of the zone is improved.
6. Laughable:  Not counting the first season, here is Heath's Guard Recruiting: (this is in chronolgical order)

1. Olu Famutimi, didn't work out, but highly ranked, and everyone loved Heath for signing him, no one could have known he wouldn't work out.
2. Ronnie Brewer, hasn't been such a bad recruit now has he.  Only one of the top 5 guys to ever play at the UA, or at least will be after this year. 
3. Dontell Jefferson, a late find, to replace another Jefferson who didn't come, and for a late find, he wasn't bad.  Served an immediate purpose.
4. Gary Ervin, we don't know much about him, but all indications are he is a proven PG, who was extremly high on the map coming out of HS.
5. Sean McCurdy, I don't like him, but everyone else LOVES him, so I won't pass judgement.  However, if I am not mistaken, McCurdy was a high pg recruit coming out of hs.
6. Stefan Welsh, don't know much about him, but he looks like he can help.
7. Patrick Beverley, ditto
8. Sonny Weems, appears to be an instant impact player, and a top 5 juco recruit.

Now, if that is laughable, I don't know what you expect.  The reason we miss out on a lot of top recruits, is because we go after a lot of top recruits, and do get some along the way.
Here is the list that we have missed on after coming close and tell me if they are pretty good, and if they made solid choices.
1. Daniel Gibson (Texas)
2. Devean Downey (Cincy-Transfer)
3. Jovan Adams (UNLV?)
4. Willie Kemp (Memphis)
5. Thad Young (GT)
The fact is, unless you are Duke or UNC (who missed out on Young with us) you are going to lose some top recruits who we really wanted. 

The fact of the matter is, maybe you need to watch some basketball. Go practice Nutt hating, the arguments for that are much better.

Good Lord, do you actually believe the bolony you spew??

1.  You are a complete idiot.  I should rest here since you have no idea about anything about me.  Seriously, you are a fool trying to hide the truth about your fantasy world.
2. Last season, blah, blah blah.   The FACT is, you don't get to pick the year in order to make your argument.  How about you share Stan's SEC complete road record with the rest of the board.... without the crappy spin you put on it.  (Funny how Bruce Pearl didn't need 4 years, yuh?)
3.  Doesn't the motion offense require motion?  Are you Stan or one of his cronies because the whole facade of a "motion offense" was laughable this year.  Seriously, if you are going to argue this, go ahead and check into brigdeway.
4.  Spin, spin, spin.  Our defense lacked anything close to ferocity or competence.
5. Funny how teams went off on our defence a heck of a lot more than we did on theirs.  A pattern that you gloss over.
5 (again, since you can't count.  That might be part of the problem..  The zone offense might have improved, but when you start out at the bottom and climb your way up to sorry... wow, I can't imagine why there isn't more bragging.
6.  Hmmm
Olu .... Dud
brewer....  Good, but with U of A ties... Hard land there.
3.. .. uh, bust
4.. didn't recruit.. transfer
5.(only 1 this time!) No telling since he played all of 3 minutes this season.. But clearly you can see the future??
6.  Again, no evidence on this, just you grabbing crap out of thin air.
7.  Same crap, different verse.
8.  No evidence yet again. Try harder.... oops, you don't have any evidence.

Keep on making excuses.  It is puds like you that never, ever have standards (nor hold coaches to standards), the razorbacks will forever be "next years team".  Thanks for posting, but get a clue.

You have no right to judge me, because I am positive that you know nothing about basketball, its history, or basically anything reguarding a realistic expectation of the state of our program.  That should be perfectly clear to everyone.  This topic is HOW GOOD CAN NEXT YEARS TEAM BE? Not, has Heath been super successful in his tenure thus far.  The fact is, my evidence discusses, how good we can be, and strides we have taken.  You can continue to focus on the bad, or you can focus on both sides.
You can claim I am spinning the thing about the defense, but I have shown with hard statistics, that we were the 4th best defensive team in the league last year, both in ppg and fg%, the two measures of how good you are on defense.  The reason you think we get burned more than anyone else, is because you watch mostly our games.  I watch way too much basketball, and can tell you there are a great deal of college basketball games, where someone on one team scores 25 or better, which I believe would be a standard of going off.
You are right, it didn't take Pearl's team 4 years.  Why, because they had existing talent.  Buzz Peterson just didn't do anything with it. Watson was a tremendous PG, and Lofton is a tremendous SG. Further, every single player on this years Tennessee team, would have started for the 2002-2003 Razorbacks.  You might be able to make a Dane Bradshaw argument, but at least he does the little things. Need I remind you, that our best returning player was Dionisio Gomez.  You want to know why we won 9 games, that is a heck of a problem.
You also don't have any evidence that they won't be good.  Further, we are looking at how good we are going to be, not how good we have been, and my evidence is, that we have gotten better, in almost every catagory, every year.  Further, you call Olu a dud, true, he didn't live up to his potential, but that was still a recruiting victory.  Whether or not the recruit actually turns out, has little to do with the victory during recruitng, which by the way, Olu hurt himself after signing, and never recovered mentally.  Post recruiting, you can get all over him for not developing the talent.  That would be your perogative.  There is not a school in the country who wouldn't have taken OLU and you know it. 
Further, you do recruit transfers.  After they are released, you recruit them the same way you recruit any hs player.  They take official visits, in home visits, and are courted the same way.  You my friend need to get a clue.
Finally, isn't it funny that someone who hates Coach Heath, likes McCurdy? I bet you are still bitter that McCurdy got put in a position to blow a game, and he did.  You probably hate Heath for that. DJ did kill us in the Bama game, but he did win the Ole Miss game, hit the winner vs KU, and I believe hit the fts to put it away vs either Missouri or Missouri St. I forget which.  But on the Coach Heath-McCurdy connection....I rest my case.