Bleacher Report - Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball

Arkansas Fans Keep the Faith: Its a Long Season Ahead For the Hogs

Blake Stansbery — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:49:17 -0500

The early outlook for the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team could be termed bleak.

Five suspensions have the Razorbacks working with six scholarship basketball players and working with no bench. The Razorbacks defied those odds and came out with a bang in their first game of the season against Alcorn State.

Reality hit in the the second game of the season, a 30 point loss to Rick Pitino and the Louisiville Cardinals.

The Razorbacks showed heart in their loss coming out to start the second half by cutting the 17 point lead down to three. The rest of the way was all Cardinals as the Razorbacks ran out of gas.

In the Hogs' defense, they started the game with half a tank of gas to begin with anyway.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino commented at halftime and after the game that Arkansas is a better team than the score indicated. He said that he simply had more bodies and was able to play his style of ball while wearing down the hapless Razorbacks who could do nothing but give it their best.

Arkansas coach John Pelphrey has talked about how the Razorbacks will have to give it their best for two weeks now and make do while they are short-handed. Fans never like to lose and certainly never like to lose blowouts, but Arkansas is a better team than the blowout loss would have you believe.

Coach Bobby Knight was the analyst for the game and he made observations about the Razorbacks that fans need to take to heart. He can see that this is a Razorback team that is working with a make shift line-up that will be a dangerous team as the season progresses and their numbers increase.

Knight also made some observations I disagree with as well.

He feels that when Welsh, Britt, Fortson, and Sanchez return from suspensions and injury the Hogs will have to start over.

I see it the opposite way. I believe those players will have to work their way back into the starting line-up and will give the Razorbacks the 10 plus man rotation coach Pelphrey needs to run his style of play.

Julysses Nobles, Jamal Farmer, and Marshawn Powell are all newcomers and they have all started along with returning starters Rotnei Clarke and Michael Washington. In the two games these three newcomers have impressed me beyond my expectations.

Yes, Nobles needs Fortson to play some so he is not always in the game and handling the ball, but he is very good for a true freshman.

Jamal Farmer can get to the basket and makes good passes to the interior as well.

Marshawn Powell is Mr. Double-Double, so far this season. He has been more effective than returning All-SEC player Washington.

On the bright side, now that two games are over the Razorbacks will be able to add one more player to their roster. Glen Bryant has finished his two game suspension and will give valuable help in the frontcourt. His defense and rebounding ability are something the Razorbacks will certainly need.

Pelphrey also commented on Stefan Welsh, who he says is close to finishing everything required of him to return to the basketball floor. Welsh has been doing everything right according to Pelphrey for weeks now so it was only a matter of time that his indefinite suspension ended.

There is still not an exact time table for his return but it could be in the next two games.

The Razorback basketball diehards understand what is going on with the team and praise Pelphrey for being firm in his discipline—playing the kids that are doing things right and sitting the kids that are not.

Many other Razorback fans are focusing on football still and using it to keep their attention away from the basketball team and the mess that they perceive it is in.

There is a long road ahead for these Hogs and every player with the exception of maybe Fortson should be back in time for the Razorbacks' next big game against Oklahoma.

At that point the Razorbacks will prove to be a much more better team than the start of this 2009-2010 season would suggest.

The Hogs schedule up until that Oklahoma game is relatively soft, so they should be 5-1 as they come into the game with the Sooners. The bench will be full again and not with the usual suspects. It will be full of returning starters and role players from a year ago working to get back into the rotation and out of Pelphrey's dog house.

This season the Razorbacks have the opportunity to make noise in the SEC West more than people think they will.

Mississippi State and Alabama just lost to mid-majors and have their fair share of issues. The Razorbacks will come out of their early season with a record no worse than 11-4 record and probably more like 12-3 or maybe even 13-2.

Hog fans, I know that sometimes it seems impossible to keep the faith, but things usually are never as bad as they seem.

There is a long road ahead for the Razorbacks, but expect to see them provide as many exciting moments as there is devastating losses, the glass is half full .

Check in daily for new up to date Razorback basketball news and stories.

Image Courtesy of ArkansasRazorbacks.com

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Arkansas Versus Louisville: Rick Pitino and John Pelphrey Face Adversity

Blake Stansbery — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:43:52 -0500

Arkansas and Louisville are set to square off Tuesday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis in the opening game of the Hall of Fame Showcase, which will be aired nationally on ESPN2.

Louisville is ranked 16th in the nation and lead by Coach Rick Pitino, while Arkansas is unranked and coached by John Pelphrey. Louisville is the favored team against the short-handed Hogs, but the mainstream storyline for this game has little to do with the game of basketball.

The ideal storyline would be the mentor vs. student. Pelphrey played for Pitino at the University of Kentucky, and was one of four players dubbed the "Unforgettables." Now as the head coach for Arkansas he brings in his young team to take on his former coach.

There are rich details from their time together that one could focus on and hype up all the way until the game. Unfortunately, that is not the storyline. The storyline is far more than the typical tale of two teams.

Scandal and suspensions are the headlines instead leading up to this game. Both programs were surrounded with offseason turmoil that has both teams relieved to be finally playing basketball. The media has had their hands full covering the details of both programs off-the-court dramas.

Rick Pitino's offseason focused on his affair and extortion case with a women who claimed he paid her to keep things quiet. The women, Karen Sypher is being tried in a federal court case for trying to extort millions from him.

Pitino has blasted the media for their continued focus on his personal life, and has had an offseason that appears to be one of the worst of any head coach in all of college basketball.

John Pelphrey probably feels the offseason he has had could rival that of his mentor. He has had to deal with a rape investigation, academic struggles, personal issues, and a DUI case with his student athletes.

In total, five players are currently serving suspensions . Coupled with the pressures to turn the Arkansas basketball program around Pelphrey has had more than his fair share of adversity to deal with this offseason.

On the court these teams have faced off six times in the past and stand all square at 3-3 all time. The Cardinals have a deep bench and return a large amount of players from last years squad that made it to the Elite Eight.

Arkansas on the other hand is left with six scholarship players and a borrowed football player and a golfer due to all the suspensions. Pelphrey has had to have a special walk-ons tryout just to fill out the bench.The Razorbacks are coming off of a disappointing season where they only won two SEC games after starting the season 12-1.

When these teams take the court many expect to see a good game, but these non-basketball related factors will make it a great game. Confused about that? Let me explain why it will make it a great game.

Both Pitino and Pelphrey understand the game of basketball as good as anyone in the nation. When dealing with what seems to be a continuous bombardment of negative issues what do coaches do?

They bury themselves even harder into their work and preparation. The same goes for the players on these teams who simply want to play basketball.

Arkansas put on an early preview of this in their season opener against Alcorn State when they shattered numerous records , and displayed more heart and determination than people anticipated. Everyone expected Arkansas to come out short-handed and struggle with a weak opponent, but they did just the opposite.

Louisville on the other hand is opening their season against the Razorbacks and everyone should expect to see a similar emotionally charged opener from the Cardinals. Pitino will have his troops ready to play his vintage style of hard nosed basketball.

They will press the Razorbacks after every made basket, and will show relentless emotion in the huge relief of finally being back on the basketball court.

Both teams will try to continue to win and make positives to drown out the negatives that have been surrounding their teams. Rotnei Clarke coming off of his record setting night in the Arkansas opener talked about the adversity and the focus to win to try and move on past the negative issues surrounding the team.

He seemed uninterested in the records he had broken and more relief that the Hogs had given their fans something good to talk about.

In this match-up the outcome of the game very well may be determined by the deeper bench of Louisville or their higher level of talent and experience than Arkansas. However, what will make this a great game is the high level of emotion that each team plays with from the extra work the teams put in during the offseason.

The hard work to try to avoid paying attention to the off-the-court issues detailed. That is what will make this game more than just a simple tale of two teams, and instead will make this game an emotional kickoff to another great season of college basketball.

Image courtesy of ESPN.

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The Whole Hog Truth: The Arkansas Razorbacks Shattered Records Friday

Blake Stansbery — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:37:58 -0500

This is a huge time of year for all of you college sport fans out there. College football is in full swing and college basketball just got underway. In college football, teams are trying to finish their seasons strong and make a post season bowl game.

College basketball teams are working to merely get their feet wet and see where they are to start their seasons. In Arkansas, both of these hold true, but also it appears this is the season to break records.

Arkansas basketball has been in a constant state of turmoil and the players have been dealing with adversity as their season approached. On Friday, the players set out to open their season against Alcorn State. Many coined the team "John Plus Eight" or a similar play on words to reference the Razorbacks beginning the season with eight players; close, but not exactly.

The Razorbacks actually only have six basketball scholarship players available right now, a scholarship football player, a scholarship golfer, and a few walk-ons as well. So saying eight is actually an overstatement when you look at it more closely.

The uncertainty surrounding the suspensions and how this short-handed team would respond to all the negativity, has been the focus of many in the media. How did the depleted Razorbacks team respond? By breaking records.

Rotnei Clarke simply felt he could not miss and so his teammates continued to feed him the ball. At the end of the night, Clarke had connected on 13-17 three pointers and shattered the Arkansas and SEC single game record of three point baskets made.

The Arkansas and SEC record was previously held by Al Dillard of the Razorbacks' national championship team. This is a record that many believed would never be broken.

Clarke did not stop there breaking records. He also scored 51 points on the night, which broke Martin Terry's Arkansas single game scoring record of 47 points from way back in 1973 against SMU. Along with the record books, the SEC took notice of Clarke's performance and named him the SEC Player of the Week for his performance in the season opener.

After the game, Rotnei was asked what he knew about their records and he said he was not aware until now, but what mattered more to him, was how unselfishly the team played all night. The unselfishness showed in the Razorbacks running out to a 71-26 halftime lead, which set the record for most points scored in a single half by the Razorbacks. The Razorbacks received a standing ovation to close the first half of play from the 7,713 in attendance.

The record breaking continued as the Razorbacks totaled 130 points, breaking the Bud Walton Arena record, and the record for highest point total for a season opener. When you think back on some of the great teams that have played for Arkansas and in Bud Walton Arena, that is astonishing.

In the shadow of all the record breaking, four Razorbacks scored in double digits and three newcomers started for the Hogs. Two of the newcomers, Jamal Farmer and Marshawn Powell, recorded double-doubles as the Hogs went on to win the game 130-68.

The attendance is the one thing that marred this great evening for the Razorback Nation. I know the excuses fans keep making for not showing up to the games so far this year have been weak opponents, off-the-court troubles, the economy, and the list goes on and on.

None of those have any relevance as to the Razorbacks that were on the floor putting on a show and playing their tails off. Half of the players were playing in their first game as Razorbacks and this was not the way to show them a proper welcome.

The short-handed Razorbacks proved Coach John Pelphrey right when he stated this team will play with intensity, show pride in the uniform they are wearing, and give it everything they have got. This showed in the records being broken and the final score, but also on the stat sheet.

The Razorbacks blocked 10 shots, had 14 steals, forced 24 turnovers, and held their opponent to 29 percent shooting from the floor, not bad for a team in despair.

To all the Razorback fans that missed this game and could have been there, I think you know you missed a great game and all the history that was made. Hopefully that serves as a lesson for the future. This young depleted Razorback team has heart and talent to go with it, which they showed in shattering so many records in the season opener.

Before history passes you by again, maybe you should just show up to the games and see it all for yourself and that, my friends, is the whole hog truth.

Keep checking in for up to date stories and news on the Arkansas Razorbacks here at the Bleacher Report.

Image courtesy of ArkansasRazorbacks.com

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