Some interesting Nolan trivia

[silvertip]

In Nolan's FIRST 3 Hog seasons, he was 23-25 in SWC games.
In Nolan's  LAST 3 Hog seasons, he was 23-25 in SEC games. Interesting. Sad.

In Nolan's FIRST 4 Hog seasons, he won 1 NCAAT game:  1-2 in 2 NCAATs.
In Nolan's  LAST 4 Hog seasons, he won 1 NCAAT game:  1-3 in 3 NCAATs.

Nolan's FIRST Hog team had no postseason invite. To be expected.
Nolan's  LAST Hog team had no postseason invite. A disgraceful end to the era.

Start with an established powerful program. Take it to the top in 10 years.
Then turn around and in 7 years, ride it into a lower level than where he started. I could feel sorry for him if I was a fan of any other college. Being a Hog fan, I think it's a disgrace.

17 years. No wonder so many Nolan lovers think he "made" the program. I wonder if there are any other coaches who made it to the top, only to crash and burn?
 

[Extra Point]

Start with an established powerful program. 

Yes, Eddie put Arkansas on the national map.  But those players Eddie left (which were good players) couldn't play under Nolan.  In comparison, the players Nolan left Stan couldn't play many places period.

I still think about how sad the whole NR deal ended.  I followed him at Tulsa long before he came to Arkansas.  I did not have the challenges Nolan did growing up, but many did and they did not let a chip reside on their shoulder and be the primary driving force in their life.  Everyone has challenges, and I bet I have some NR never had.  There is still a small soft spot in me for NR, but also a lot of disappointment.

[silvertip]

Start with an established powerful program.

Yes, Eddie put Arkansas on the national map. But those players Eddie left (which were good players) couldn't play under Nolan. In comparison, the players Nolan left Stan couldn't play many places period.

I still think about how sad the whole NR deal ended. I followed him at Tulsa long before he came to Arkansas. I did not have the challenges Nolan did growing up, but many did and they did not let a chip reside on their shoulder and be the primary driving force in their life. Everyone has challenges, and I bet I have some NR never had. There is still a small soft spot in me for NR, but also a lot of disappointment.
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Good points, EP. I can remember Eddie saying, about his last recruiting class, that he got "exactly the ones he wanted." A lot of those guys were not fit for Nolan so he started off with a losing season, coming off Sutton's 9 straight NCAAT teams.

One player who could play for Nolan was Andrew Lang, who arrived as a defensive force & left for a long NBA career with no offensive skill development. An example of things to come which we didn't realize at the time.