What is missing on this team

Basketball Insider Board
#1

I had a feeling that this team wasn’t exactly what the 10-0 record was showing. I think what is really missing is Athletic big men pretty much everybody else has them we just simply do not. I love Connor but
he just doesn’t have the athleticism to keep up with any of these guy. I love Willians too but as hard as he tries he’s pretty much a step slow trying to stop these other big men and Jackson is the same way just not athletic enough.

I think to be a great defensive team you have to try to step into the passing Lanes and know that you have a rim protector back there to swat away shots if you don’t get it we do not have that. I think we are bringing in one in the 6-9 kid whose name I can’t remember and the Arkansas Little Rock kid.We are going to have to start bring me in some athletic big men if we’re going to be able to keep up with the rest of this conference and the country. I think the key here is the big men have to be athletic, it’s not good enough just to be big in today’s game,with as many great athletes as there are today.

I think what also stands out like a sore thumb is we hardly have anybody who can create their own shot notae basically is it .Alabama had four 4-5 that could get theirs and you watch all the other great teams in the country they all have multiple players that will blow right by you .We are going to have to start bringing in better athletes that can shoot the ball. Anyway just my two cents.

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#2

Just posted something similar. Need a 3-point defensive stopper. And, have that same player not be a black hole on offense. Similarly, need your offensive punch to not bea defensive liability.

#3

Aloha,
Accord to CEM and MM:
Buy into the coaching staff and what they are coaching/instructing.
Defend the three…but probably can’t because lack of lateral quickness.
Better point guard play.
Execute set plays.
Finish at the rim.
Play with greater intensity.

GHG!

#4

Just going thru your guys lists here so far,
what’s missing and what’s needed.
Sounds like CEM needs to start from scratch.

#5

I posted this two weeks ago:

swinesong51
1
14d
The defenders keep saying “we won’t shoot that badly again!”
The truth of the matter is, it would be hard to shoot that bad even if you tried to! So, that is a VERY low bar you’re setting.
The issue is SEC play exposing what was apparent in non-conference play but the team was able to overcome because the opponent was decidedly less talented.
This team has no inside presence, can’t score around the rim to save it’s life, has one shot creator (Notae) and can’t keep opposing guards from penetrating.
The “Vanover is an NBA player” fan club ignored all warnings about his liabilities simply because he could shoot 3s.
What’s troubling to me is Missouri isn’t really that good and they handled us easily in the second half.
Our flaws were exposed and it ain’t gonna get easier.
TN is Missouri on steroids, MS St, KY, Ole Miss, USC, FL and LSU all play physically.
Until this team toughens up and develops an inside presence, we will not be successful against these teams!

#6

Before the season started I asked the question “who is going to be our Mr. Mean?”. Justin Smith was the closet we had to a Mr. Mean before he got hurt. All our other bigs want to be Glenn Davis, and I ain’t talkin Big Baby. Nobody wants to be Doc Blanchard.

#7

We have talent, but so does everyone in the conference, so tenacity, teamwork and players playing at their talent level, especially recognizing and accepting what they are and aren’t good at. Saturday some of the mistakes were trying to hit home runs when we were twenty points down. I know they know there is no twenty point shot, so taking unnecessary risks or forcing a shot generally expands the deficit, rather than eliminating it. Guess one could say we got rattled, which is pretty easy for a team that has so many players that have not played together that much.

We knew or should have known this team would be a work in progress and that the pre conference series of less competitive games was not a true reflection of where we were as a team. We can hope that we begin the come back journey soon, after going off the rails. I still believe we can be a different and better team, hopefully my optimism is rewarded.

#8

I think what we are missing is players with great lateral quickness and strong, athletic bigs. Seems we have been missing one or the other, or both for the last 20 years. You have to build a team for SEC play. In the SEC, the officials call it tight on the outside meaning you need guards who have great lateral quickness who can keep their man in front of them without fouling. The officials let them bang in the post so you need bigs that are strong and athletic. We have talent that, in another conference, might be strong but you have to have the right type of players to compete in any league and that is based on officiating and how the other teams are built.

#9

Yep not a lot of consistency with many teams this year except Bama and couple others so far I guess. But the better ones can struggle with an off night and still squeak out a win.
When we are off, we are really off.

#10

We need another" BIG NASTY " in the worst way.

#11

Nice post, Youda. I agree with you completely.

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#12

I think there are obviously things wrong with this basketball team, some that are fixable, some that may not be.

My biggest criticism would be of team pride in defense.

Obviously I was a manager for Coach Sutton and Coach Richardson, two great basketball coaches who did things differently, but defense was always the lead component.

In now way should LSU and Alabama have been able to continue to drive to the hoop with no fear of being hit…and hit hard.

Even with my broken down 57-year-old arthritic-riddled body and replacement knee, I still would have hammered someone coming down the lane.

Even if I got tossed, which happened a lot in my high school football days and some in basketball when someone would make the mistake of trying to rough up Charles Balentine.

That is not just a physical mindset, it is a mental one. Mostly a pride thing.

They have played as a group of individuals in three of the last four games, not as a team.

That is their number one problem. That’s one on both the coaches and players.

EM, in my opinion, is a very good coach. He also stresses defense and I think that side of the ball is killing his soul more than anything else.

As for Arkansas’ recruiting class not being worthy of number 5 in the country, that’s not a number that locals put on them. It was a view of national folks.

I strongly disagree that the freshmen are not a talented group of kids - be it 5, 10 or 15th in the country.

My guess is that we will see an improvement in their play in this next six-game stretch.

Every Arkansas team - including the ones in the 70s, 80s and early to mid 90s - have hit slumps, not played well at times and had to overcome on court and off the court issues.

I’ll refrain from using hyperbole to overstate what happened last week as some have done.

There are clearly issues, but it is also not as bad as it might seem right now in the moment.

#13

I see a team that isn’t connected, lacks consistent playmakers offensively and one that, for whatever reason, is not bringing what is being taught defensively in practice to games.

Eric Musselman mentioned Saturday that this team is much better operating in halfcourt sets than out of the flow of the game. JD Notae can create, but he is also erratic. Jalen Tate has turned the ball over a lot in recent games. Moses Moody can create, too, but we saw his efficiency falter late as he recognized there was little firepower alongside him. He was 7 of 13 shooting at one point at Alabama then finished 10 of 25. He is the least of the worries, though.

I don’t know that this group has an identity right now. That’s less than ideal 14 games into a season. Alabama’s is clear. It’s defend, and shoot 3s and layups. All but two of its shots Saturday were either beyond the arc or in the lane. The Razorbacks have been easy to defend lately and don’t appear committed on the other end. I just see a disjointed bunch and too much individual play.

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#14

Like Scotty said seems the team is disconnected and by Moodys remarks this week and Williams remarks week before about buying in. 2 freshmen recruited together.
Maybe a rift between some transfers and recruits? Smith is by far the best transfer to make an impact and meshing with the team.

Just look at Muss’s demeanor on the bench last 2 games. He is frustrated.

No team / floor leader(s) to keep all in line.

#15

Mason Jones is what is missing…in a way that is magnified every time we get punked on the court.

#16

I agree we need to be much tougher. One of my favorite teams was the early 80’s team that featured Walker and Robertson at the guards and Big Joe Kline. I don’t know how many steals the guards had, but a lot of teams either had the ball stripped or never made it to mid court before 10 seconds. Talk about two tough players. Nolan had some really tough kids also. Beck was as tough as anyone that played ball for the Hogs. Corliss was a tough man with skills. The Tulsa guards, Mayberry and McDaniels were tough. Mason was tough last year.

We need to find someone to get tough and not get pushed around and never allow an opposing player to come waltzing down the lane and dunked while three Hogs just watched. SEC anything is a big boy league regardless of the sport. Nolan told me that we have to get some big tough kids to win in the SEC and he has been proven right.

#17

My two cents worth.

  1. The last two games it seemed apparent that the
    Opponents were much more athletic.
  2. Team camaraderie is non-existent. This is one of the side effects of the transfer portal when adversity hits.
  3. Being criticized by name in public doesn’t help. I don’t care how tough these guys are supposed to be or should be mentally, I think CEM overreacted after the Mizzou loss and things got worse. Instead of letting it go as a bad game publicly, he compounded it with his statements of gloom and negative critique in public.
  4. As a result of the weak pre conference schedule, I don’t believe even the coaching staff really realized where the deficiencies were. Now we are in middle of conference season trying to fix things that would have been apparent earlier.
  5. This team can still compete when they shoot well. But whereas some teams can win ugly, I’m not sure we are good enough defensively to win an ugly game.
  6. As mentioned in several other posts, there is no inside presence defensively.
  7. Even if this team shoots well and wins, how consistently can they do this game in game out?
#18

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