Pivotal time in Razorback basketball

[Biggus Piggus]

Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith, this week talking about the Arkansas game, said over and over, "They were bigger than we were at every position."  But he told his players at halftime that Arkansas gives up big leads.  Why do you think he could count on that?

Tubby made it clear that Arkansas outmanned Kentucky and the only differences were strategy and tactics.  Essentially, in Tubby's view the Hogs were unable or unwilling to take the game that easily was in reach.

Kentucky did not rally because the Razorback players had no heart.  Kentucky won because the Hogs ran out of plan.  They always do.  They get deep into a game, Coach Stan Heath is forced by events into employing an unfamiliar five, and the wheels come off.  He tries to recapture the momentum but always seems to end up with the wrong players taking the shots with the game on the line.  Why Ronnie Brewer never takes control at the end is beyond me.

Is this team truly that unprepared, or is it mentally fragile?  I strongly believe that if Heath were making the right moves and had the team ready for what comes, the Hogs would not fold up after racing to huge leads.

After the point where Arkansas led by 18, Kentucky made 68% from 2-pt range, 46% from 3-pt range, and beat the Razorbacks badly on the boards.  All that and they won by only a bucket.  This Razorback team is nicely talented but poorly directed.  Just a modest improvement would have produced a win, but it's a yawning distance to go from brainless to aware.

This team is handicapped by Heath's own selection bias.  The only player Heath has signed who had a rebounding mentality is Cyrus McGowan, who's very much a project in his total game.  Look at the rest of the roster.  McGowan is the only player Heath has who really wants the boards and also who has a taste for physical defense.

The Michigan State formula was pound 'em, rebound and run.  We have one of the three.  If he's going to build a team without any special aptitute for rebounding and defense, it's a crusher not to have any pure shooters either.  A finesse team without good outside shooting is one misshapen beast.

This guy does not know how to put together a team that fits his style.  Look at what he's adding next year--a power forward who wants to be the next Joe Johnson, a lithe swingman and a deferential combo guard.

Heath had in his hands everything this team lacks.  Kendrick Davis and Wen Mukubu have gone on to show they are real players under different coaches.  Davis is a real scoring two guard with decent all-around skills.  Mukubu makes explosive offensive and rebounding plays, and also is a physical defender.  Plus, brutish Rashard Sullivan surely would have come in handy when the rest of the front line is cowering.

By the end of this season, we're going to find that nobody in the SEC is especially strong or well rounded.  Arkansas's close losses to Mississippi State, Alabama and Kentucky are not going to look very impressive.

The way the schedule lays out, the Hogs could win 20 without beating anybody else in the RPI top 50.  That likely would bring a game against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament (West 2 against East 3/West 6 winner).  Which team do you think would come out on top?  Feels like NIT.

[GorillaJMonsoon]

Feels like NIT.

We will be WAY too tired to play in the NIT.

[Biggus Piggus]

That made me laugh, Gorilla Monsoon.

What I really miss is one of those games where the Razorbacks rise up and SMASH a good opponent.  Very first one I remember was Houston (the Coogs not the Nutt) back in the mid-Seventies. 

Nolan had bunches of those.  Even when everybody knew Razorback basketball was declining, in 1999 we beat No.6 Kentucky and No.2 Auburn back to back, really hammered the Tigers when they looked invincible.

People talk about Nolan's "style" like it was just a fashion.  He had a complete, defined way of playing the game, and it enabled his teams at times to demoralize opponents.  That "style" enabled the team to play better than its aggregate talent level, something we don't come close to doing now.

We certainly don't need Nolan to be the coach anymore, but we do need a coach who can

teach the game exceptionally well
get his players to put supreme effort into defense
build a well-rounded roster that makes sense
maximize what talent he has from year to year
stoke the homecourt advantage Arkansas should have.

This young guy does not have a solid, core set of concepts that he recruits to, knows inside out and believes in.  That's the unfortunate thing we've discovered.  Our administration got fooled by one lucky season's confluence of Gary Waters' guards and juco journeyman Antonio Gates (who BTW never would have gotten into Arkansas academically).

[The_Bionic_Pig]

With the current roster + incoming 06' roster how effective would "40 minutes of Hell" (Not the coach, but the philosophy)  be in say next season???

[pfrg999]

With the Right Coach I believe that this team would be 19-2 or 18-3 and ranked in the top 15.... It is NOT the Players ..sadly it is the Coach

[JIHawg]

Agree.  Pivotal time has passed.

[silvertip]

The way the schedule lays out, the Hogs could win 20 without beating anybody in the RPI top 50.  That likely would bring a game against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament (West 2 against East 3/West 6 winner).  Which team do you think would come out on top?  Feels like NIT.

We've already beaten 2 in the RPI top-50. And I think you should be aware of that before saying it 2 days in a row.

You've got plenty of good points. Why exaggerate?

[Biggus Piggus]

I was talking about the rest of the season, tip.  Did not write that very clearly.  We could beat solely teams outside the RPI top 50 the rest of the way and still win 20 games, but I think we need wins against tournament teams to make our resume look better.

[three]

Excellent, precise, and elloquent point BP.  I have a question for you, I wasn't quite clear on something.  Is it your belief that this team is simply unprepared for the ENTIRE game, or that they get beat in the second half because Stan doesn't make the proper adjustments, while the opposing coach does?  Basically, I'm asking is it that Stan hasn't prepared them for 40 minutes, or is it that he cannot adjust when he needs to DURING the game?

I personally believe that Stan has been beaten fairly consistantly in his career at Arkansas in the 2nd half.  He seems to do a great job of teaching his team what the opposition does well, and how to offset that.  But once a good coach gets into the locker room, he makes adjustments, and it doesn't seem to me Stan makes any adjustments at halftime.  Case in point, losing a 16 point lead at halftime to Kentucky.  What are your thoughts on this Biggus?

[pignatious]

I agree with BP's post, except I believe that this team has no heart. It is a reflection of Stan. He has no heart. He also has no clue. That is a bad combination.