Did Anderson have to say that?

[HamIAm]

"We got off to a slow start and didn't shoot well," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. "It just seemed like every time we had some momentum, somehow the whistle blew and (Cal) got to the free throw line."

Sounds like he's looking for something to blame other than our performance and game plan. The officiating was the LEAST of our problems last night.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400547505

[Kevin]

tired of excuses

[WMHawgfan]

Regardless of where the blame lies, there was some terrible basketball played last night. The whistles blew because we fouled, plain and simple. We were getting beat on cuts all night long, overplaying passing lanes and getting out of position all night long, and the results were reaches and hand checks that got called.

I can only assume he is talking about the second half. He sure can't be talking about the first 15 minutes.

I am not calling for anything but I have to tell you seeing how well we are capable of playing, makes seeing these terrible performances we have seen at the end that much more frustrating. Watching fundamentally bad basketball is really getting old. Please get it fixed coach.

[RazorPiggie]

L

O

L

[PurpleBullHog]

Fouls were our downfall this year.  Great defensive teams guard without fouling and rebound.  We struggled with both of those this year.  But, I don't really care who's fault it is.  We'll be better next year, I know that. 

[onebadrubi]

I don't see anything wrong with that statement, and it's true.  Those refs were awful last night, but anyone that watched that's not why we lost.  They did keep us from coming back but what do you expect down 30-8.  The foul when Qualls gave the guy a bloody nose was completely wrong, Harris was pushed on 2-3 rebounds, madden on a layup and so forth all among the comeback.  This I'd Not an excuse, Anderson needed to keep the game within 10-12 and we would have won last night.  He did not. 

[grayhawg]

tired of excuses

suggestions?

[Marshfieldhog]

The refs let us play, we would have all fouled out in an SEC game. Mike needs to worry about actually recruiting some guys that can shoot better than 30%. Mike needs to worry about getting rid of some dead weight on his staff.

[Cresthog]

Whatever, it's over.

Does anyone hoenstly care that much? Even if we WIN the NIT it's still a dissapointing season.

All that matters is the dance, and we will be dancing next year. Move on and watch the young guys develop.

[twistitup]

suggestions?

Win

[grayhawg]

Win

That would work, but seems like some here have forgot those 14 win seasons under Pel.

[Kevin]

suggestions?

make adjustments, & coach the team

[ArkansasI]

suggestions?

I would suggest that when desperate threes aren't falling, that we work for higher percentage shots inside.  Maybe we'll draw a foul.

Rather than playing token full court defense, we press harder or intermittently.  Either speed up the game or get back and play solid half court defense.

When in the half court defense, I would not extend the defenders as far out as we do - keep reasonable pressure on the shooters while maintaining some size beneath the basket for defend down low and rebounding.  The hope here is to allow fewer wide open looks and make the opponent beat us with jump shots - which so happens to be what our opponents are doing to us.

I would also like to see us recruit some players with basketball skills.  Dribbling, shooting... not being facetious.  I am concerned that we are trying to out athlete opponents with as good or better players than us.

Playing fast is fun.  It's great when it works.  But it is pretty wreckless when it doesn't.  I think Mike coaches the team to take advantage of opportunities as they develop in the game.  The problem is that too often our current style doesn't create and sustain the runs that we enjoyed 20+ years ago.  Part of that is players... but you gotta play with the players we've got.

Frustrating.

[snortman]

That would work, but seems like some here have forgot those 14 win seasons under Pel.

Who talking about Pel!!! Jeez. Anderson is being paid quite handsomely and so far in three years, a lowly NIT invite, Whoopee. I guess another three years of this is fine by you. Oh how mediocity has set in.

[wupigsuey]

Who talking about Pel!!! Jeez. Anderson is being paid quite handsomely and so far in three years, a lowly NIT invite, Whoopee. I guess another three years of this is fine by you. Oh how mediocity has set in.

Yep, put me down for 3 more years of improvement.

[colbs]

Who talking about Pel!!! Jeez. Anderson is being paid quite handsomely and so far in three years, a lowly NIT invite, Whoopee. I guess another three years of this is fine by you. Oh how mediocity has set in.

You mean like improving every year?  It just takes time, I know it's tough to wait but the program has been the dumps the last 10 years or so.  This wasn't going to be a 1-2 year fix, it is more likely going to take 5 years. 

[Hoggish1]

No, he didn't.  Let's just get some skill to go along with all that athleticism...

[poloprince]

It's just words man.

[hogman99]

I would suggest that when desperate threes aren't falling, that we work for higher percentage shots inside.  Maybe we'll draw a foul.

Rather than playing token full court defense, we press harder or intermittently.  Either speed up the game or get back and play solid half court defense.

When in the half court defense, I would not extend the defenders as far out as we do - keep reasonable pressure on the shooters while maintaining some size beneath the basket for defend down low and rebounding.  The hope here is to allow fewer wide open looks and make the opponent beat us with jump shots - which so happens to be what our opponents are doing to us.

I would also like to see us recruit some players with basketball skills.  Dribbling, shooting... not being facetious.  I am concerned that we are trying to out athlete opponents with as good or better players than us.

Playing fast is fun.  It's great when it works.  But it is pretty wreckless when it doesn't.  I think Mike coaches the team to take advantage of opportunities as they develop in the game.  The problem is that too often our current style doesn't create and sustain the runs that we enjoyed 20+ years ago.  Part of that is players... but you gotta play with the players we've got.

Frustrating.

I agree with everything you stated above. Post of the year!!

[Chic-Hog-Oh]

Who talking about Pel!!! Jeez. Anderson is being paid quite handsomely and so far in three years, a lowly NIT invite, Whoopee. I guess another three years of this is fine by you. Oh how mediocity has set in.

It wasn't a three-year fix. People need to get over that.

I'll take his trajectory of improvement from year-to-year:

18-14, 6-10  9th in SEC
19-13  10-8  7th in SEC
22-12  10-8  5th in SEC (NIT invite)

BWA attendance increases every year: 13,116 -> 14,047 -> 14,300

That's not mediocrity; it's called building a program back from near-zero.

[hamARchy in the USA]

I think the foundation is set.

This after finishing 5th in the SEC race followed by an early exit from the NIT.

The HDN of basketball.

http://arkansas.scout.com/2/1387568.html

[RazorPiggie]

The refs let us play, we would have all fouled out in an SEC game. Mike needs to worry about actually recruiting some guys that can shoot better than 30%. Mike needs to worry about getting rid of some dead weight on his staff.

+1

[Westcoasthog]

    Why wasn't Kikko Haydar played more last night against Cal?

[mmhogs17]

He's right, but we shot ourselves out of the game in the first 15 minutes or so.

[Hogman2]

Here is ONE way to keep the opponents OFF THE FREE THROW LINE:  STOP FOULING and play REAL defense!

[JayBell]

Anderson (and the players) have to adjust to the way referees are calling overall and in each game.  The game is called tighter than it was 20 years ago, but you can still play high pressure defense without fouling.

Instead, Arkansas players are too often caught fouling 60 feet from the basket or 15 feet behind the 3-point line in half court defense .  Most of the time it is due to not trapping efficiently and slapping at the ball.  It doesn't matter if you actually hit the ball these days, that foul is going to be called more times than not.

Hopefully the NCAA and the SEC address this new refereeing because a lot of people hate watching the free throw contests that many games become.  That doesn't mean Anderson shouldn't direct his players to defend differently.

[Danny J]

The refs let us play, we would have all fouled out in an SEC game. Mike needs to worry about actually recruiting some guys that can shoot better than 30%. Mike needs to worry about getting rid of some dead weight on his staff.

I agree and we get help in that regard next year.

The refs were not a problem last night. I will also say that I would KILL to have those refs or similar refs that allow us to play like that during SEC play.

[Temprees]

This after finishing 5th in the SEC race followed by an early exit from the NIT.

The HDN of basketball.

http://arkansas.scout.com/2/1387568.html

Houston Nutt's teams did not show continuous improvements. And that's all I got to say about that.

[mmhogs17]

I agree and we get help in that regard next year.

The refs were not a problem last night. I will also say that I would KILL to have those refs or similar refs that allow us to play like that during SEC play.

I was getting frustrated with how many times they let the kid with the fro travel. He wouldn't dribble from the 3pt line to the bucket several times.

[mmhogs17]

Houston Nutt's teams did not show continuous improvements. And that's all I got to say about that.

Can't fix stupid brother. How quickly people forget we were picked to finish 9th this year.

[avatar]

I don't see anything wrong with that statement, and it's true.  Those refs were awful last night, but anyone that watched that's not why we lost.  They did keep us from coming back but what do you expect down 30-8.  The foul when Qualls gave the guy a bloody nose was completely wrong, Harris was pushed on 2-3 rebounds, madden on a layup and so forth all among the comeback.  This I'd Not an excuse, Anderson needed to keep the game within 10-12 and we would have won last night.  He did not.

i have 2 suggestions. one watch the replay and 2 stop ingesting whatever mind altering drugs you might have access to

[JayBell]

Can't fix stupid brother. How quickly people forget we were picked to finish 9th this year.

And why does this matter?  Many people like myself expected the team to be better this season because they'd be playing more of a team-oriented system.  Media predictions are almost as random as fan predictions.

I expected 25 wins this season and an NCAA Tournament spot.  Considering the losses to Missouri, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, I'd say 25 wins was more than a reasonable goal.  Add in the games against A&M, LSU and Alabama in which Arkansas had no business performing as poorly as they did.  You can't lose that many winnable games.

It is the steady improvement that gets Anderson the "C" in my book.  Arkansas didn't simply lose games this season that they could have won this season.  They lost about 5-6 that they should have won.

[The Boar War]

Who talking about Pel!!! Jeez. Anderson is being paid quite handsomely and so far in three years, a lowly NIT invite, Whoopee. I guess another three years of this is fine by you. Oh how mediocity has set in.

It's not mediocrity that's set in.  It's realization.  I haven't heard anyone say that they're happy with where we are as a program.

However the fact remains that we are better this year than we were last year and we were better last year than we were the year before.  If I thought we'd reached as far as we could with Mike I'd be upset as well but until we start actually regressing I'll buy into the incremental progress.

[HawgAdvocate]

And why does this matter?  Many people like myself expected the team to be better this season because they'd be playing more of a team-oriented system.  Media predictions are almost as random as fan predictions.

Fair point. As I recall, going into SEC play, the majority on here felt the Hogs would finish somewhere between 3rd & 5th in the SEC.

We may have finished 5th, but at the same time we were one SEC loss away from finishing 8th. There was a bit of parity there among the SEC's 'middle class.'

[LL COOL HOG]

And why does this matter?  Many people like myself expected the team to be better this season because they'd be playing more of a team-oriented system.  Media predictions are almost as random as fan predictions.

I expected 25 wins this season and an NCAA Tournament spot.  Considering the losses to Missouri, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, I'd say 25 wins was more than a reasonable goal.  Add in the games against A&M, LSU and Alabama in which Arkansas had no business performing as poorly as they did.  You can't lose that many winnable games.

It is the steady improvement that gets Anderson the "C" in my book.  Arkansas didn't simply lose games this season that they could have won this season.  They lost about 5-6 that they should have won.

25 wins, after only two road wins the year before?  I would rather have steady improvement with a strong foundation then a quick rise to the top with a sudden drop to the mat. See the Football Hogs.

[TeedupHigh]

Fouls were our downfall this year.  Great defensive teams guard without fouling and rebound.  We struggled with both of those this year.  But, I don't really care who's fault it is.  We'll be better next year, I know that. 

How do you know that?  Please explain.  Only way we will be better if the system is changed on both defense and offense, we had none of either on a consistent basis.

[mhuff]

Sounds like he's looking for something to blame other than our performance and game plan. The officiating was the LEAST of our problems last night.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400547505

[JayBell]

25 wins, after only two road wins the year before?  I would rather have steady improvement with a strong foundation then a quick rise to the top with a sudden drop to the mat. See the Football Hogs.

You act like 25 was unachievable.  Arkansas should have won at Georgia and against South Carolina.  Expecting 25 wins may have been too high, but if they win any of the other handful of games that they could have, that's 23-24 wins in the regular season instead of just 21.

And why would you expect a sudden drop to the mat?  The mantra of all Anderson support right now is the steady improvement over the last three seasons.  Most fans are expecting that same number of about 25 wins and an NCAAT berth next season.  If Anderson is supposed to be the guy that sustains some success, then you shouldn't be scared of a sudden drop to the mat.

[JayBell]

Fair point. As I recall, going into SEC play, the majority on here felt the Hogs would finish somewhere between 3rd & 5th in the SEC.

We may have finished 5th, but at the same time we were one SEC loss away from finishing 8th. There was a bit of parity there among the SEC's 'middle class.'

True.  I think most Arkansas fans expect or hope the Hogs to be above the SEC's middle class.  If they win a couple more games that they should have, Arkansas could have ended as high up as second place in the conference.

[WashUhog6]

Fair point. As I recall, going into SEC play, the majority on here felt the Hogs would finish somewhere between 3rd & 5th in the SEC.

We may have finished 5th, but at the same time we were one SEC loss away from finishing 8th. There was a bit of parity there among the SEC's 'middle class.'

We were also only two games from finishing in second. Sure, if we dropped a game we would have finished lower than fans expected. We also would have finished higher than expectations if we would have won two games that we had in hand, like any combination of Florida, Missouri, and the first Georgia game. That type of thinking works both ways.

[majp51]

Sounds like he's looking for something to blame other than our performance and game plan. The officiating was the LEAST of our problems last night.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400547505

Come on now, isn't this just a bit of nitpicking? He wasn't blaming the refs , just saying that it seemed like a PF always seemed to interrupt UoA's momentum. That should be seen as a recurring theme this season, sometimes on bad calls, sometimes of good calls.

I didn't see this as an excuse so much as an acknowledgement.

[HawgAdvocate]

We were also only two games from finishing in second. Sure, if we dropped a game we would have finished lower than fans expected. We also would have finished higher than expectations if we would have won two games that we had in hand, like any combination of Florida, Missouri, and the first Georgia game. That type of thinking works both ways.

That 'type of thinking' tends to make more sense when it's 'apples to apples,' meaning a one game difference instead of two (or three, or four, ....)

[Justifiable Hogicide]

tired of excuses

Fastest 40 Excuses in Basketball.

[chuggs33]

We lost because we couldn't hit a shot.  Pretty simple. 

[hoginla]

THIS

It drives me bonkers that we continue to jack up three's that don't fall in most games instead of feeding the ball inside to at least draw a foul.  Granted Cal did a good job cutting off lanes but there were missed opportunities a many.

I would suggest that when desperate threes aren't falling, that we work for higher percentage shots inside.  Maybe we'll draw a foul.

Rather than playing token full court defense, we press harder or intermittently.  Either speed up the game or get back and play solid half court defense.

When in the half court defense, I would not extend the defenders as far out as we do - keep reasonable pressure on the shooters while maintaining some size beneath the basket for defend down low and rebounding.  The hope here is to allow fewer wide open looks and make the opponent beat us with jump shots - which so happens to be what our opponents are doing to us.

I would also like to see us recruit some players with basketball skills.  Dribbling, shooting... not being facetious.  I am concerned that we are trying to out athlete opponents with as good or better players than us.

Playing fast is fun.  It's great when it works.  But it is pretty wreckless when it doesn't.  I think Mike coaches the team to take advantage of opportunities as they develop in the game.  The problem is that too often our current style doesn't create and sustain the runs that we enjoyed 20+ years ago.  Part of that is players... but you gotta play with the players we've got.

Frustrating.

[WashUhog6]

That 'type of thinking' tends to make more sense when it's 'apples to apples,' meaning a one game difference instead of two (or three, or four, ....)

It certainly makes sense in that we were awfully close in swinging either direction--it's not like I'm trying to compare one to five, we were literally a made free throw and shot at the buzzer from second. Almost, however, doesn't matter. What matters is that we landed squarely within reasonable expectations.

Not much separated us from the teams that finished right behind us, but we earned the separation with the Kentucky sweep--something that LSU did not do--and created, by our actions, the divide between us and the teams that finished 9-9. There is no "we finished 5th but," there is only "we finished 5th."

[Cresthog]

hindsight really solves lots of stuff.

It's year 3 and we barely missed the tourney. It happens. We will be in there next year. It was a lot of young guys that aren't all everything. They're not going to close games until they're seasoned veterans. We aren't UK.

Anderson is 8th among active coaches in wins. 8th!

I'd love for you guys to name those in front of him and act like we can get someone better.

Ridiculous.

[jjdlc]

I'd say starting the game scoring only 6 points in the first 15 minutes had more to do with us losing than any fouling we did.

[Atlhogfan1]

hindsight really solves lots of stuff.

It's year 3 and we barely missed the tourney. It happens. We will be in there next year. It was a lot of young guys that aren't all everything. They're not going to close games until they're seasoned veterans. We aren't UK.

Anderson is 8th among active coaches in wins. 8th!

I'd love for you guys to name those in front of him and act like we can get someone better.

Ridiculous.

He isn't even close to that high in wins.  Some ahead of him:

Coach K
Boeheim
Huggins
Ryan
Montgomery
Ellis
Hunter
Byrd
Pitino
Beilein
Morrill
Barnes
Donovan
Calipari
Williams
Self

[Dirty]

This season was an improvement!