Missing pieces to title in hoops

[austinhogfan]

Interesting.....Ive thought though how our outside shooting will hurt us this year

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/seth_davis/12/18/hoop.thoughts/index.html

[Biggus Piggus]

Frustrating if you consider that Heath didn't even recognize the need for a shooter until last February.

[Biggus Piggus]

Arkansas is seventh in the SEC in 3-pt shooting % and 11th in 3-pointers made per game, ahead of only LSU, which has been bad from outside.  The Hogs have to be pretty selective to do even that well.  We're getting outscored from 3-pt range by a significant margin, and it's a big problem.

Chris Lofton of Tennessee is leading the SEC in 3-pointers, 4 per game.  Ronnie makes 2 per game.  Lofton hits 47%, Brewer 37%.

[hogfankb]

Arkansas is seventh in the SEC in 3-pt shooting % and 11th in 3-pointers made per game, ahead of only LSU, which has been bad from outside. The Hogs have to be pretty selective to do even that well. We're getting outscored from 3-pt range by a significant margin, and it's a big problem.

Atleast we know we can't shoot. Better than us being 11th in made and 1st in attemped.

[Niels Boar]

Didn't we pass on Lofton?

[Hogs4Ever]

The missing pieces are a killer instinct and 100% Effort every second of the game.

[Razorod]

Yes on passing on Lofton--thought to be too slow. Of course, KY passed on him too.

[hogsanity]

At least on Sat they came out in the 2nd half LOOKING to put it away, and they did.

THe missing piece is a POINT GUARD.  Without that you really do not know what else is needed, and without that even if you have all the other pieces you still cant win titles.

[Biggus Piggus]

Kentucky and Mississippi State are the teams that shoot way too many threes for their own good.  Especially MSU.

[snag]

We're missing top quality at both the PG position and the SG position. We don't have a pure shooter playing right now. We don't have a pure point guard either.

I was at the game the other night - just a few rows behind the bench. I watched the guys and how they carried themselves before, during, and after the game. I left feeling good about McCurdy. I think he will be a classic point guard for the Hogs. A true leader and a spark plug.  I left feeling worse about Cranford. I hoped, and it seemed Stan Heath hoped as well, that Cranford would fill that "pure shooter" role. But everything about his body language out there was saying "I'm bored" or "who cares?". I don't know if he is that way because he is not playing a role on the team, OR if he is not playing a role on the team because of his attitude. But I must say that this is his third year and his body looks exactly the same. So it's pretty safe to say he's not working out too hard. Also, when he has gotten in the games, he hasn't risen to the occasion. I think you have to give a guy more of a chance than Stan has given Cranford, unless you already see that he is not putting in the necessary work to excel at this level.

Having said all that, next year with Gary Ervin and McCurdy will obviously give us greatly improved guard play. Still no "pure shooter" - unless that McBride kid actually comes and turns out to be the guy.