It looked like NC was fresher than Arkansas. Arkansas got into foul trouble in the 1st half and never recovered. It also looked like Arkansas was a little intimidated by them for some reason. They played a tough defense, and Arkansas never adjusted. Mike is awesome, and in no way should he be canned, but he was beat by superior coaching and better defense today. Arkansas has a long way to go to become a contender, maybe the experts were right about them being the 9th best team in the SEC. They don’t play together as a team, too many times a player would pick up his dribble, or get trapped on the baseline, and no one would go help them… And these kids do not run without the ball, rarely set adequate screens, and they don’t have any go to inside plays to get them out of a drought… Disappointed in today’s outcome, Arkansas has enough talent to compete against those teams, and we really got hammered in all phases…
Actually jcerzb1, the Hogs do not have enough talent to compete or win with the majority of the blue bloods of college basketball.
We have exactly 1 player that any reputable scout would say is a certain NBA draftable talent and he is a a freshman. I’m not saying that Macon and Barford aren’t good players, but neither will probably get drafted by an NBA team and most likely will play internationally at least to start their pro careers.
Today’s outcome was exactly why I warned folks to pump the brakes a bit in thinking this team was a squad that could make a deep run in the NCAA Tourney.
We have a few more tough games before we start conference play in a much improved SEC, so let’s see what adjustments Coach A makes over the next couple of weeks.
Other than Gafford we really don’t have a true post type of presence that can get his on points down on the block.
Trey is what he is, good passer and can hit a couple of mid range jumpers, but not a post player.
Thomas is simple a filler guy that is usually not as good as the opponents player he is matched up with, especially a really good team.
So, having said all that I believe Coach A needs to start and play his best athletes and push tempo so that we are caught up in a half court type of game.
I would go with Gafford, Bailey, Hall, Barford and Macon to start games and try and force the tempo with guys that can push the ball and get into passing lanes which Bailey and Hall can both do.
They do have some good talent, but not to the level of the better programs so they need to be harassing on defense and make the games uncomfortable for their opponents.
Trey, Thomas, Anton and C.J. can come in and still some minutes each half to give these guys a breather most games depending on the matchup and flow of the game.
I think they will finish either 5th or 6th in conference which should be good enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament as long as they don’t lose at Houston and at home to both Oklahoma State and Minnesota. If they were to lose all 3 of those or perhaps 2 of those 3 games then their tournament resume could end up hurting their chances of making the Big Dance.
Not necessarily true. Our boys simply got outplayed IN THIS GAME and had a horrible shooting night. We’ve got the talent to compete. And who may or may not be considered NBA talent is irrelevant.
The lineup is just fine the way it is. Gafford still needs to come off the bench because he’s gotten into foul trouble in all but one game. And Beard and Jones are more than fillers.
If I was to score the conference RIGHT now, I’d put Arkansas at 3rd or worse 4th. Kentucky is not what they used to be, but will get there. Texas A&M and Florida are the clear leaders in the conference right now. You can mark it down, Arkansas will beat OSU and Houston. The only non-con games I see us possibly losing is to Conneticut(their guards are very good) and Minnesota. It also depends on how hurt Macon is.
Ok General, your opinion is noted.
You say that the Hogs will finish 3rd in the SEC.
You say that NBA type talent is irrelevant to success.
You say that the 1 certain future NBA talent on the roster needs to come off the bench because he has had foul trouble.
I agree that we were outplayed yesterday, but we were also out coached, out prepared for the matchup as well. North Carolina took advantage and created mismatches throughout the game while making in game adjustments to their benefit because they have more elite players and overall size to do so.
Like I’ve said we have a pretty good team, but in no way elite and I will say that my prediction of no better than 5th in the final SEC standings is way more realistic than yours at 3rd.
We’ll be able to revisit our thoughts at seasons end.
No, I said as of RIGHT NOW, we’re 3rd or at worst 4th.
NBA talent doesn’t equate that you can’t compete with other teams that have more. I can refer to the 94’ title team for that.
Yes, Gafford needs to learn to control his aggression on defense(don’t get me wrong, I love his aggression). He’s a freshman still learning the game and NC showed everyone that if you go after him hard enough, he’ll commit fouls. It’s a learning process for Gafford so coming off the bench RIGHT NOW is the best option.
Out coached is debatable. For the first half, Maye was NC only bright spot and he was knocking everything down no matter what our men did defensively. That’s not coaching, that’s a player being on fire. In the second half, one guard(I forgot his name) got hot as well and NC wratched up the defense as well, but again, that was all driven by two players playing out of their mind.
Again, I didn’t say we would finish 3rd, I said RIGHT NOW. We very well could finish 5th, though I think we’ll finish higher than that.
Lost in what I’ve read from these post the free throw difference. Just like the other times we have played any blue blood program. The hogs needed Macon to score at least 20 and not get hurt. You also need the walk called aginst the Tar Heels. You sure don’t turn the ball over on back to back possessions under the goal i bounding the ball. Just face it our hogs are good enough to win period but we have to have production from everybody and bashing any of our players won’t help. It’s one game! I’m proud of the team and next year they will get better. Hall, Bailey, Thomas, Cook and Trey will have to play well. Gafford just needs to stay out of foul trouble where he can stay on the floor.
Macon, Bardford and Beard have to score and take care of the ball.
After watching every SEC team play I’d put the hogs 3rd behind Texas A&M and Florida. This is the year we are better than Kentucky.
By the way when you can knock a team around without getting called for a foul and when you can freely walk around the basket and then make a shot I’d say the refs helped in a big way.
Don’t talk trash about our players. This is a team game and they are good.
ArmyHog,
I’m not trashing anybody, just giving my opinion about what I’ve seen play out since Coach A has been back.
He well knows what it takes to get an Arkansas team to the pinnacle of college basketball and I believe he has started to take us in that direction, but unlike many I don’t believe we are there yet.
We have a nice basketball team that can compete most days with many programs all around the country, but not the blue bloods just yet.
We are missing a couple of glass eaters inside to go along with Gafford, for instance what Lee Wilson and Truck Robinson did along side of Corliss.
We have a player in Trey Thompson that is very similar to the role Dwight Stewart fulfilled for those teams. We need C.J. Jones to become the consistent 3 point shooter that Al Dillard was for that team. Beard has to be more of a Cory beck that runs the offense and looks for our best offensive options and look to score only when he has the type of shot he can consistently make.
Macon and Barford have to play at a high level on both ends of the court and provide the bul of the scoring along with Gafford much like Scottie And Corliss did for those teams.
Hall, Bailey and Thomas have to be glue players that do all the dirty work while scoring when their opportunities arise.
We don’t know if, when or ever we will get anything from Cook this season and we can’t depend on it.
The glaring thing we are missing on this roster is a couple of Lee Wilson and Truck Robinson types and perhaps next year with the addition of Ethan Henderson and Reggie Chaney we will be much closer as long as we can replace the point production of Macon and Barford.
Go Hogs!