Has a good interview with Jeff Goodman on YouTube. I was expecting to hate it, because I don’t particularly like Goodman, but I actually agreed with everything he said. And he clarified, he doesn’t dislike Arkansas Basketball, he just doesn’t like this year’s team. He thinks this year is a one-off. Fair enough. He did say that he thinks we are gonna be scary good next year, and that he thinks Nick Smith is a potential NBA All-Star.
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It looks like this is the interview to which you refer.
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Yes, thanks, Marty. It’s a pretty good listen.
Well I might have to break down and listen to Ole Jeff. Later after a beer or 2.
My wife is from Boston, sounds like a Thanksgiving meal at my house…
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Truth hurts.
Good point regarding the transfers putting up good stats but us just not playing winning basketball. Jalen Tate is like a fine wine. The longer his memory sits in the cellar the more you realize just how good he was for us.
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Yup, I never really understood Muss’s reasoning for not bringing back Tate/Smith for their 6th year. I know, he wanted them to get on with their lives but man do they need them this year. It’s just not a good look for the program to take a nose dive after an elite 8 appearance and getting a top 5 recruiting class. To be elite you must have consistency. Recruiting the right players in basketball is so important due to the smaller roster sizes. I am not saying he missed on the players he got last year. He may have missed on one or two players that could have provided better point guard play plus on/off the court leadership. They have time to salvage the season but a loss to Missouri will end all doubt about this team making the NCAA or NIT tournament.
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Beefhog, it was my understanding those two players had no intention playing a 6th year. Maybe I was misinformed. I was told they were ready to get on with their lives. This was before the NIL deal actually passed I believe.
That is correct. Muss would’ve gladly welcomed them both back, but it was their choice to move on. Should Muss have re-recruited them harder to stay on for one more year…I’m pretty sure, at this point, he really wishes he would have. Muss is learning the lesson, the hard way this year, that there is something to be said for continuity in college basketball.
If you have warriors, which Tate and Smith most definitely were, you should fight tooth and nail to keep them as long as you can. To me, Muss should’ve spent more time re-recruiting Tate, and way less time recruiting Lykes. We would be waaaay better off if he had.
That said, Muss is still not too far into his college coaching career. He is bound to make mistakes, but our class next year is next-level (thanks to Muss). I think, as he goes forward at a Power 5 school, he will build class depth, and stop relying so much on the portal. The portal is watered down now anyway, and he knows it. JMO.
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Jeremy, I have a question. Was there NIL money available for them at the time they were deciding. Obviously it would have been about this time last year. This could be the reason he recruited the way he did.
NIL went into effect July 1. It was expected to pass, but it hadn’t been approved until well after the deadline to enter the draft. And it’s still a mishmash because different state laws allow different things.
I’m not really sure, Jerry, but I think Muss has been served a really big dose of humble pie. He thought it was plug-and-play…let these guys go, and just sign more guys. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. Tate and Smith were special, and you have to keep guys like that as long as you can, IMO.
And, BTW, I don’t think Tate or Smith are on an NBA roster as we speak. Like I said, Muss is still learning roster management on the college level. He’s a smart, passionate guy, and I have no doubt he will figure it out. I just don’t see our team this year doing anything. I sincerely hope I am wrong.
And…I also hope that Devo doesn’t quit…he shouldn’t be the sacrificial lamb for volunteering to play terribly out of position. The end of the rainbow for him and JWill is next year. Help is on the way.
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By using the portal I think the temptation is to take focus off process of player development. j Will and Devo are victims of this system this season.
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I wonder how much effort was put into convincing Tate and Smith to come back. Sure they probably were ready to move on but many are until lobbied otherwise.
Did we put on full court press like others around country to keep an extra year, or even as coach Sam did in football, or were we seduced by upgrading in portal and portal approaches ended with personnel risking no NCAA this year.
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Really? Justin Smith and Jalen Tate were not the same players as Hogs as they were at Indiana and Northern Kentucky. They were developed. Meanwhile, I think Devo has regressed, but that is on him IMO, and yesterday he showed some signs of coming out of it
Also remember that we were 1-2 in the SEC on January 8, 2021, and wound up in the Elite Eight. It’s a long season.
Best not lose to Mizzou.
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