Next year's team is going to be very good best team Mike has had at ARK

[forrest city joe]

And the team will have the right mix of experience and talent.i love the kids that left. but 2 were walk-ons. i was a senior that never played. and Wade and Clark. sorry but we can do better with better players. THIS IS AN NCAA TEAM NEXT YEAR HOG FANS. BOOK IT. take a look.   we are not depending on freshmen to come in and save this team. we have a vet roster coming back.this could very well be the starting line-up for next year.
PF.Bobby Portis
C.Mosses Kingsley
SF.Mike Qualls
2GKyle Madden
PG A. Beard
                             BENCH
-----------------------------------------------------
A. Harris
A. Bell
K. Miles
D. Williams
Nick Babb
That is a vet roster that is not depending on true freshmen to come in and save the program. in fact, most of our main bigtime players are back.(Portis, Madden and Qualls this team is loaded for next year. it will be Mike Anderson best team at Arkansas. and we will be in the NCAAT.     

[jdlew]

We should have been in the NCAA this year.....They need to do more than make the NCAA next year....

[z1on]

We should have been in the NCAA this year.....They need to do more than make the NCAA next year....

Like what? Make the final four? I swear some of these so called "fans" won't be happy no matter what.

[HouseOfHam]

I honestly think we will at least make the sweet 16 next year and be picked to finish in the top 3 of the SEC.

[forrest city joe]

We should have been in the NCAA this year.....They need to do more than make the NCAA next year....

We wee picked 8th in the sec by the media and coaches. so we did better than we were picked. so just stop it. the goal next year is to make the Dance.(and we will do that)anything else is gravy.so don't come here with that crap that we have to do more. get over your Mike Anderson hate and move on.

[forrest city joe]

I honestly think we will at least make the sweet 16 next year and be picked to finish in the top 3 of the SEC.

I agree. i think FL, KY, ARK and Lsu in that order. we have a vet team coming back. and all three of our big time players.the freshmen do not have to be great for this team to be good.other than Beard who may start at the point. all the other freshmen are being ask to do is play a role.this is a vet team.

[JonClaudeVanHam]

We should have been in the NCAA this year.....They need to do more than make the NCAA next year....

I'm going to start treating posts such as this one as if they were written with biting sarcasm, simply for the purposes of comedy.

[HAM ELLIOT]

What does Florida lose next year?  They might not be top of the sec.

[ArkansasI]

Joe,

I love the optimism you have for Mike and this basketball team.  I look forward to sharing your enthusiasm later this year.  That stated, you have been a trumpeter for change in the past - what has kept you so positive through Mike's tenure?

I know that the basketball team desperately needs stability right now.  I don't think anyone believes Mike is on the hotseat.  However, I have not found Mike's job performance to be all that inspiring to date.  He is doing about what I expected.  The Arkansas talent in the pipeline is just what Mike and the program need to bounce us back in the spotlight.  We shall see...

I think next year's success will hinge largely upon the development of Moses Kingsley.  I believe the kid is a budding superstar.  A few hours a day in the weight room over the next 3 months may turn him into a lottery pick.  Bobby and he will be tough to defend.

I think Ky Madden has been a bit underappreciated by many of us.  The guy single handedly kept us in several games this year.  While he is a more natural 2 guard, I don't see us being able to trust the point to a true freshman.  For those reasons, I think Ky keeps the job.  If not, I think the Juco guard is more likely to play significant minutes than Beard...

I also believe that we have reason to expect good things from Keaton Miles.  I really believe this guy is an aggressive basketball player.  If Qualls somehow regains his jumpshot (not holding my breath), what would you think about this type of lineup?

F Portis
F Miles
C Kingsley
G Qualls
G Madden

These guys would be long...  The group needs a shooter, but we've played without one for Mike's 3 years on the Hill.  I think this group's ability to press with tenacity could raise some hell out on the floor and create matchup problems.

That stated, I think it unlikely that Mike will play Miles ahead of Harris.  Even if Miles gets the nod, Harris will play a bunch - and he deserves that.

I hope that Bell continues to grow into a consistent shooter.  Coming back as a junior he should be able to play like a man out there on the floor.  I'd love to see this team gel to the point that we could set Bell up for some open looks in transition.  If we forced defenses to defend the paint, I think the big guys could find ways to kick the ball out to Bell for spot-up jumpshots.  He has shown some surprising - albeit streaky - success catching and shooting in traffic.

Beard will definitely see the floor, as will Babb if he can hit the broad side of a barn with his jumpshot.  I expect Thompson will also see limited action and get called for a lot of fouls.  He'll have to move his feet if he plans to be an asset to the team.

I still think Jacorey Williams can turn himself into a player.  And my last sleeper is Watkins.  I think that he will be a better player than most of us realize.  I love that the Hogs kept him at home - big, physical guards have been assets to Razorback basketball.

I certainly don't intend to exclude any other players on the team.  I hope Dee Wagner is a player.  Regardless, my thoughts are that Mike is slowly turning this roster into a complete basketball team.  I can see good things happening.  But there remain several questions to be answered.

[-Blu]

Very excited about this team for next year.  I can't wait!  Just need that confirmation that Qualls is coming back, already got it from Portis.  There's been rumors about Qualls going overseas, I know most of rumors usually turn out to be nothing, but with all the suspensions and everything with Qualls, it does make you wonder.  And despite his flaws, Qualls is a leader on this team, and when he plays well and is engaged, we're an entirely different basketball team.

And I also want JaCorey Williams to come back as well, there's been rumors about him.  Looking at the depth chart for next year, he should be solid as 1 of those first 5 guys off the bench, and I love his length on the full court press.  Williams, Miles, and Kingsley leading the second unit, is going to make for a very lengthy and aggressive bench.  Then you add guys like Durham and Beard that can penetrate and shoot the ball, and you have yourself a pretty good second unit.

[Nipsey Mussle]

And the team will have the right mix of experience and talent.i love the kids that left. but 2 were walk-ons. i was a senior that never played. and Wade and Clark. sorry but we can do better with better players. THIS IS AN NCAA TEAM NEXT YEAR HOG FANS. BOOK IT. take a look.   we are not depending on freshmen to come in and save this team. we have a vet roster coming back.this could very well be the starting line-up for next year.
PF.Bobby Portis
C.Mosses Kingsley
SF.Mike Qualls
2GKyle Madden
PG A. Beard
                             BENCH
-----------------------------------------------------
A. Harris
A. Bell
K. Miles
D. Williams
Nick Babb
That is a vet roster that is not depending on true freshmen to come in and save the program. in fact, most of our main bigtime players are back.(Portis, Madden and Qualls this team is loaded for next year. it will be Mike Anderson best team at Arkansas. and we will be in the NCAAT.   

I completely agree with your post. Can I ask if you were distracted when you created it?
Mosses Kingsley? Kyle Madden? I assume D. Williams is Jacorey?

[oldhawgs]

A lot of you so called haters must truly know that Mike can get it done or you would not be squealing the way you are. Unless you are like five years old, you also lived through Heath and Pel and you saw they certainly couldn't get it done here, just pain and broken hearts.

The moaning and groaning is no longer about wins and losses or getting blown out at home by less-major, because we all know that is no longer going to happen on CMA's watch and we also all know that we have progressively gotten better as a TEAM every year of the last three years.

The moaning and groaning now is either about rebounds, half court offenses or recruiting which have always been a sore spot with CMA teams or even Nolan's teams. I will take the last three years, I will even take this season, over the previous decade any day of the week.

[three hog night]

Very excited about this team for next year.  I can't wait!  Just need that confirmation that Qualls is coming back, already got it from Portis.  There's been rumors about Qualls going overseas, I know most of rumors usually turn out to be nothing, but with all the suspensions and everything with Qualls, it does make you wonder.  And despite his flaws, Qualls is a leader on this team, and when he plays well and is engaged, we're an entirely different basketball team.

And I also want JaCorey Williams to come back as well, there's been rumors about him.  Looking at the depth chart for next year, he should be solid as 1 of those first 5 guys off the bench, and I love his length on the full court press.  Williams, Miles, and Kingsley leading the second unit, is going to make for a very lengthy and aggressive bench.  Then you add guys like Durham and Beard that can penetrate and shoot the ball, and you have yourself a pretty good second unit.

Qualls IS coming back?   The second set you mention will be stout.

[three hog night]

A lot of you so called haters must truly know that Mike can get it done or you would not be squealing the way you are. Unless you are like five years old, you also lived through Heath and Pel and you saw they certainly couldn't get it done here, just pain and broken hearts.

The moaning and groaning is no longer about wins and losses or getting blown out at home by less-major, because we all know that is no longer going to happen on CMA's watch and we also all know that we have progressively gotten better as a TEAM every year of the last three years.

The moaning and groaning now is either about rebounds, half court offenses or recruiting which have always been a sore spot with CMA teams or even Nolan's teams. I will take the last three years, I will even take this season, over the previous decade any day of the week.

Agree on all points.

[YouCrawl_IQuall]

Very excited about this team for next year.  I can't wait!  Just need that confirmation that Qualls is coming back, already got it from Portis.  There's been rumors about Qualls going overseas, I know most of rumors usually turn out to be nothing, but with all the suspensions and everything with Qualls, it does make you wonder.  And despite his flaws, Qualls is a leader on this team, and when he plays well and is engaged, we're an entirely different basketball team.

And I also want JaCorey Williams to come back as well, there's been rumors about him.  Looking at the depth chart for next year, he should be solid as 1 of those first 5 guys off the bench, and I love his length on the full court press.  Williams, Miles, and Kingsley leading the second unit, is going to make for a very lengthy and aggressive bench.  Then you add guys like Durham and Beard that can penetrate and shoot the ball, and you have yourself a pretty good second unit.

It depends on which Jacorey comes back. If it's the blue collar Jacorey that just battles for rebounds and plays stout defense then sure. If it's the Jacorey that thinks he's a jump shooter and takes a mid range shot off the first pass on offense then no thanks. That jacorey provides nothing to the team and that's the one we saw the majority of the year.

[The_Iceman]

The roster will look something like this (of course the lineup can vary, just laying out the positions):

PG: 6'0" Beard OR 6'1" Durham / 5'9" Wagner
SG: 6'5" Madden / 6'3" Bell / 6'4" Babb
SF: 6'5" Qualls / 6'7" Miles / 6'8" Williams
PF: 6'10" Portis / 6'6" Harris
C: 6'10" Kingsley / 6'10" Thompson

If that isn't an NCAA team, then Mike won't ever get it done here.

[East TN HAWG]

We should have been in the NCAA this year.....They need to do more than make the NCAA next year....

I may be the only one that agrees with you.  When Mike was hired, I expected a tournament run this year.  Generally, a coach can make a run in Year 3.  Mike is the right coach for us.  I love him, but the program is slightly behind where I thought it would be.

Next year is a critical year for us.  We need to turn the corner so we can show Allen, McClure and Monk that we have turned the corner.  If we don't lose any unexpected players, we should make a run.

[Wildhog]

It SHOULD be. 

[Kevin]

next year will look a lot like this year.

around 22 wins, either a ncaa or nit bid, first or second round loss.

my question once coach anderson get his full program established, facility is built, then what are your expectations year in & year out of his program?

[mbgrulz]

Based on the talent we have at guard, it will be hard to keep Beard off the floor. I'm seeing a lot of lineups without him in them, and he will be the most talented guard on the roster next year. I don't know how long it'll take him to adjust to the D1 game, but he is the real deal.

[Hogsmo Kramer]

Don't tell me show me.

I'm optimistic about next year since we showed improvement this year making the NIT and barely missing the "real" tourney.

In order to continue improvement next year in my eyes it's NCAA or bust.

We make the tourney next year, which I expect we will, then I'm good.

[tophawg19]

if he can't improve shooting , it will be more of the same . everyone camping out in a zone . I didn't see much in the last 5 games to say this team gets all that much better . hopefully some help from freshmen and year 2 for the big guys but a bad end to the season doesn't show NCAA promise . 1 run off the floor by bama [ not a good team] 2 lost to USCe [bad team] 3 destroyed by CAL . [NIT 3 SEED]  4 team was really bad on the road right to the end . 5 this team doesn't have the really good shooters to beat the zone

[The Hogfather]

next year will look a lot like this year.

around 22 wins, either a ncaa or nit bid, first or second round loss.

my question once coach anderson get his full program established, facility is built, then what are your expectations year in & year out of his program?

NCAAT every year, Round of 32 at least 6 out of 10 years, Sweet 16 at least 2 out of 10 years, Elite 8/Final Four/Championship-type run at least 1 out of 10 years.

Those are rough expectations.  Basically, I want to have a NC-caliber team/run at least once every decade.  With that in mind, the years building up to that year should be marked by several Sweet 16/Elite 8/Final Four type runs.  The rest of the time, we need to be in the NCAAT and win a few games here and there.

[YouCrawl_IQuall]

Based on the talent we have at guard, it will be hard to keep Beard off the floor. I'm seeing a lot of lineups without him in them, and he will be the most talented guard on the roster next year. I don't know how long it'll take him to adjust to the D1 game, but he is the real deal.

It's a stretch to say he's going to come in and be more talented then Qualls or Madden right away

[Kevin]

so my expectations of having a program on the same level of billy donovan's gators is too high?

[Atlhogfan1]

Madden should be the best guard on the team next season.  Beard may be the best on ball defender and he may set the offense and provide some outside shooting but Madden needs to be the most complete guard on the team.  It is a little premature to make declarations about next year until we find out what Mike and Ali Thompson Jr. are going to do. 

[The Hogfather]

It's a stretch to say he's going to come in and be more talented then Qualls or Madden right away

Madden will still be our best overall guard next season, in my opinion, based on talent/experience.

At least for the 1st half of the year.  I think Durham, Beard, and Babb are all going to be very good for us.  Usually, JUCOs like Durham need a year to "adjust" to the level of play and same for "non-elite" freshmen (aka non-one-and-doners).  Some freshmen/JUCOs, even if they are not considered elite, can make that adjustment quicker than that.  I'm hoping this is the case for ours.  I really do think Beard's game looks like he should be able to adjust fairly quickly.  He plays under control, can shoot, is "thick" for a guard, and scores through contact well.  Those are all things that should serve him well at the next level, assuming he can carry those traits forward.

[The_Iceman]

NCAAT every year, Round of 32 at least 6 out of 10 years, Sweet 16 at least 2 out of 10 years, Elite 8/Final Four/Championship-type run at least 1 out of 10 years.

Those are rough expectations.  Basically, I want to have a NC-caliber team/run at least once every decade.  With that in mind, the years building up to that year should be marked by several Sweet 16/Elite 8/Final Four type runs.  The rest of the time, we need to be in the NCAAT and win a few games here and there.

Basically, we need to be what Wisconsin is. 13 straight years in the tournament, 1 Elite 8, 5 sweet 16's.

Another standard might be Baylor. In the last 7 years, they have 4 NCAA appearances and 2 NIT appearances. That resulted in an NIT Championship, an NIT Runner-up, 2 Elite 8's, and a Sweet 16.

[Hogsmo Kramer]

so my expectations of having a program on the same level of billy donovan's gators is too high?

First I just want to be able to put down Arkansas on my NCAA bracket consistently again.

Been way too long since we could all do that.

Once that's accomplished I think everything else will fall into place.

[The Hogfather]

so my expectations of having a program on the same level of billy donovan's gators is too high?

No.  That would basically be on par with my expectations.

Sometimes you just get that special group that makes a huge run and then decides to come back and do it again the next year.

[The Hogfather]

Basically, we need to be what Wisconsin is. 13 straight years in the tournament, 1 Elite 8, 5 sweet 16's.

Wisconsin is one that I thought of as well.

[Atlhogfan1]

Durham is going to have a huge adjustment.  Mid Major Harris had one.  Durham's is going to be much bigger than his.  He has played NAIA competition and then at a JC whose schedule was filled with small schools JV squads.  He is a big reach which shows the desperation in recruiting guards right now.  Just listing names of the players on the roster doesn't mean anything.  It is like our football discussions when we start listing LB's and DB's.  Good we have some bodies there.  Doesn't mean many of them are ready to be competitive in the SEC. 

[Temprees]

It's a stretch to say he's going to come in and be more talented then Qualls or Madden right away

He is a better Basketball player than both of those two, right now. That includes offensively, defensively, play making, shooting, and consistency. 

[Wildhog]

The posters that bitch about Anderson are the same ones that bitch about Bielema and Long.

B*tches bitch.  It's what they do.

[fineswine]

Well I would certainly hope that year FOUR would be an improvement.  This isn't football where you need several players to make a difference.  When we get to the Nutt 10 year level and we're still 22-10, maybe people will wake up and look at Coach Anderson's entire record.

[Atlhogfan1]

Basically, we need to be what Wisconsin is. 13 straight years in the tournament, 1 Elite 8, 5 sweet 16's.

Another standard might be Baylor. In the last 7 years, they have 4 NCAA appearances and 2 NIT appearances. That resulted in an NIT Championship, an NIT Runner-up, 2 Elite 8's, and a Sweet 16.

BU may be an accurate comparison as far as being wildly inconsistent and sometimes underachievers.  That shouldn't be acceptable at Arkansas. 

[rude1]

if he can't improve shooting , it will be more of the same . everyone camping out in a zone . I didn't see much in the last 5 games to say this team gets all that much better . hopefully some help from freshmen and year 2 for the big guys but a bad end to the season doesn't show NCAA promise . 1 run off the floor by bama [ not a good team] 2 lost to USCe [bad team] 3 destroyed by CAL . [NIT 3 SEED]  4 team was really bad on the road right to the end . 5 this team doesn't have the really good shooters to beat the zone

Lots of truth in this^. While we thought we had turned the corner on playing on the road with the Ky win, we ended the season with 3 straight losses  when playing away from home, and each was a very bad performance, two against teams with losing seasons and the last against a NIT team.

[Atlhogfan1]

The posters that bitch about Anderson are the same ones that bitch about Bielema and Long.

B*tches bitch.  It's what they do.

Not true. 

[The_Iceman]

BU may be an accurate comparison as far as being wildly inconsistent and sometimes underachievers.  That shouldn't be acceptable at Arkansas. 

Two Elite 8's in 7 years (and an ongoing Sweet 16 run) is unacceptable?

[Atlhogfan1]

Two Elite 8's in 7 years (and an ongoing Sweet 16 run) is unacceptable?

No, the underachievement and inconsistency are. 

[The Hogfather]

BU may be an accurate comparison as far as being wildly inconsistent and sometimes underachievers.  That shouldn't be acceptable at Arkansas. 

I agree.  I do not want to be like Baylor.

[Temprees]

Madden should be the best guard on the team next season.  Beard may be the best on ball defender and he may set the offense and provide some outside shooting but Madden needs to be the most complete guard on the team.  It is a little premature to make declarations about next year until we find out what Mike and Ali Thompson Jr. are going to do. 

Madden will need to improve defensively.  The man that has guarded has killed us in several games.  Cal comes to mind.

[Atlhogfan1]

Madden will need to improve defensively.  The man that has guarded has killed us in several games.  Cal comes to mind.

I agree.  So does Ali if he is back.  Bell may be a lost cause on the defensive end.  If Mike is going to play him 25 min like he did against Cal, we better hope he finally becomes a decent college shooter. 

[The Hogfather]

Two Elite 8's in 7 years (and an ongoing Sweet 16 run) is unacceptable?

When those years are followed by NIT appearances and postseason no-shows, yes.

Baylor's postseasons go like this:

NCAA 1st Round
NIT Runner-Up
NCAA Elite 8
No Postseason Play
NCAA Elite 8
NIT Champs
NCAA Sweet 16 (ongoing)

As he said, that is too wildly inconsistent for me.  Sure, I would like to have those Elite 8 trips and Sweet 16 trips, but I don't want a roller coaster ride of deep NCAAT runs, followed by no postseason play or NIT appearances.

Just my opinion.

[Kevin]

once the practice facility is built

we should be in the top 4 of the league every year, and playing on saturday or sunday every year in the ncaa tournament.

[The Hogfather]

once the practice facility is built

we should be in the top 4 of the league every year, and playing on saturday or sunday every year in the ncaa tournament.

That sounds fair.

[Atlhogfan1]

When those years are followed by NIT appearances and postseason no-shows, yes.

Baylor's postseasons go like this:

NCAA 1st Round
NIT Runner-Up
NCAA Elite 8
No Postseason Play
NCAA Elite 8
NIT Champs
NCAA Sweet 16 (ongoing)

As he said, that is too wildly inconsistent for me.  Sure, I would like to have those Elite 8 trips and Sweet 16 trips, but I don't want a roller coaster ride of deep NCAAT runs, followed by no postseason play or NIT appearances.

Just my opinion.

Yet we have a coach whose nickname could be Rollercoaster. 

[Kevin]

great we agree: now the bar is set.

now the difference, i don't think coach anderson can do that.

i hope i am wrong.

[The Hogfather]

Yet we have a coach whose nickname could be Rollercoaster. 

Blah, blah, blah......

We're talking about our expectations for the program going forward.

[The Hogfather]

great we agree: now the bar is set.

now the difference, i don't think coach anderson can do that.

i hope i am wrong.

I'm not sure he can, either.  I lean towards him being able to do it once we are on par, facilities-wise, with the rest of college basketball (sad that I even have to type that).