With all the excitement and interest surrounding football season, it’s a little surprising to realize that the Hoop Hogs are just a couple of days away from opening their 2010-11 basketball season against Grambling State at Bud Walton Arena.
Needless to say…expectations for this year’s team are low once again. The Hogs were picked to finish 4th in the Western Division at last month’s SEC Media Day. Marshawn Powell was an All-SEC Preseason Second Team selection.
As for us here at RBN, just like we did last year before basketball season, here are our predictions for both the Razorbacks and the rest of the SEC.
| Arkansas | HogBaller | TipsterHog | Sunshine | HogBlogger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Record | 17-13 | 15-15 | 18-12 | 18-12 |
| Conference Record | 6-10 | 6-10 | 7-9 | 8-8 |
| Hogs’ Most Valuable Player | Marshawn Powell | Rotnei Clarke | Marshawn Powell | Rotnei Clarke |
| Hogs’ Newcomer of the Year | Mardracus Wade | Rickey Scott | Jeff Peterson | Mardracus Wade |
| Advance to Tournament | NIT | No | NIT | NIT |
| SEC West | HogBaller | TipsterHog | Sunshine | HogBlogger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ole Miss | Mississippi State | Mississippi State | Mississippi State |
| 2. | Mississippi State | Ole Miss | Ole Miss | Ole Miss |
| 3. | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama (tie) | Arkansas |
| 4. | Arkansas | Arkansas | Arkansas (tie) | Alabama |
| 5. | LSU | LSU | LSU | Auburn |
| 6. | Auburn | Auburn | Auburn | LSU |
| SEC East | HogBaller | TipsterHog | Sunshine | HogBlogger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Florida | Florida | Georgia | Florida |
| 2. | Kentucky | Kentucky | Florida | Kentucky |
| 3. | Tennessee | Georgia | Kentucky | Georgia |
| 4. | Vanderbilt | Tennessee | Tennessee | Tennessee |
| 5. | Georgia | Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt |
| 6. | South Carolina | South Carolina | South Carolina | South Carolina |
| SEC | HogBaller | TipsterHog | Sunshine | HogBlogger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season Champion | Florida | Florida | Georgia | Florida |
| Player of The Year | Brandon Knight | Trey Thompkins | Trey Thompkins | Renardo Sidney |
| Coach of the Year | Andy Kennedy | Billy Donovan | Mark Fox | Billy Donovan |
And finally, just like Vegas, here are a few ‘proposition bets‘ — interesting side bets that we’re making just because they’re fun to speculate about.
| Props | HogBaller | TipsterHog | Sunshine | HogBlogger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does Rotnei Clarke break the single season 3-point record (102)? He had 100 last year. | No | No | No | Yes |
| Does Pelphrey get to coach 2011 recruiting class? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Average Paid Attendence for 2010-11 (13,182 in 2009-10, 25th in NCAA) | 11,400 | 11,500 | 12,000 | 12,500 |
| Number of SEC teams that make the NCAA Tourney in 2010-11? | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Number of Hog Player Games Suspended (25 during 2009-10 Season) | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
So that’s what we think. What are your predictions for this year? Will the Hogs be better than expected or will they play another season to forget?
Hogs surprise all with 20+ wins!
Won't surprise me! I think we had some "evil doers" that are no longer around to drag the program down.
Average attendance less than what it was during last year's miserable season? Why?
If we get 6-8 conference wins and even sniff the NIT we'll know things are turning around.
Man, the East is deep!
On the average attendance…a lot of damage has been done by the last two losing seasons. Some of it is irreparable, at least in the short term.
The SEC as a whole will be the worst of all the big six (BCS) conferences. A 'middle-of-the-pack' showing, in a league this down shows you where we're at.
After watching the two exhibtion games though, T-towner is right. The 'Addition by Subtraction' principle is in full effect – and we'll be better this year because of it. How much though is the question.
Getting a good recruiting class for Pel the one year Arkansas actually has top 100 talent bought him two more years. Just like McFadden, Jones and Hillis bought Houston a couple more years. I think the end result is the same because Pelphrey can't mold his leadership to the players he has at any given time.
By they way, I called and for 150 a seat you can sit on the 17th row in the corner lower deck. How crazy is that. They should let students in for free this year just to help.
Hogs will be better than last year. 19 wins 8-8 in the SEC.
At least 5 SEC teams in the tourney. Remember they had a huge expansion to 68 this year.
Boy, this is all so hard to figure out. So many questions to ponder.
The only real prediction I can muster up would be that we will improve on our perimeter defense, 3-point shooting and transition baskets. Anything more than that is mere conjecture.
With all of those improvements combined, my one hope is that we don't experience any more fallouts going down the stretch run at seasons end the way we have the past 2 seasons. I want steady improvements throughout the year with players who come to win every single night. That is all I ask.
I think the addition of Scotty Thurman will help. He is a perfect example to those kids of what it takes to be successful. That with hard work and 40 minutes of all out effort, a team can win at the highest level. He knows what kind of shape you have to be in. He knows how much practice it takes. He knows the attitude you have to have to win. College basketball is more affected by emotion and desire than football.
I think Scotty is a great move. The motivation is there. Let's give the coach and these players our support. Maybe this year can be a big surprise year – we have a cleaner house. We have guys that I believe can win. It's not a strong conference right now, so anyone can win. If we give more effort than the other guys this year, I think that can make a big difference in our W/L column.
Go Hogs Go.
Well stated Hungry Hog. Let's stay positive and let the season tell it's own tale. I'm excited to see what the hoop HOGS can do this year and I'm really excited about the new recruits coming in this year and next!
I think when we get to the SEC we are still going to miss a strong presence inside and we are going to get pushed around and forced to perimeter shots.
Sanchez, Sanchez, Sanchez, as if, are you kidding me??
Pelphry has been given two more years of bottom feeding. It reeks of the Nutty years. They must be putting all their eggs in the Petrino basket. Basketball has been de-emphasized.
This is NOTHING like the Nutty years!
It's worse. Look at attendance.
It's very similar to the Nutty years, right down to the 'must have' signing class that will save the program and the coaches job. With Pelphry at the helm I suspect similar success right down to the hiring of a new AD.
The fan base won't split on this one though. They'll just get louder.
Nutt never signed a class with elite players ranked #3 in the country. Not even close.
He signed a Parade All American QB. At least for ten wins and one year.
Ain't the same at all here.
Sanchez must be made of glass. That kid can't catch a break.
This season is not so hard to predict. I think this will be a very down year – no established big man, perimeter defense improvement (where we were killed last year) is a big question mark. On offense, the kids have to set good picks to get Clarke open and Powell needs some help on the block.
Next year will start to show how good we can be. Recruiting has been better since Pel has a committment from Long and has established some tenure. I just hope the wacko fans (not us of course) will take it easy on the kids this year and give the program a chance to rebuild.
I have stated that with the debacle that Broyles managed his last few years as AD it would take at least 5 years to recover from. If we can see some spark of teamwork and movement on offense I would be happy. I don't think incremental improvement in terms of wins and losses should even be expected this year.
Not to be a downer, just realistic in what Pel has to work with.
I would agree with almost all of that right down to Pelphry being a coach. There I have to draw the line.
How good does a team have to be for Pelphry to look like a coach? Can anyone recruit that well?
I think this is the year we find out what Pel is made of. Supposedly all of the problems and uncoachable kids are gone.
We should be able to recognize how well he is coaching – does he have a fluid offense where screens are set and guys move around, in position for rebounds, etc. Does he have defensive rotation, guard the perimeter, effective double teams in the post, etc. If we see all of that but the execution is not there (missed shots, kids outmatched, etc) then the talent needs more time to mature – it's not necessarily a coaching issue.
Not to compare Pel to Nolan (or other great coaches that do more with less), but we saw how effective Nolan's system worked once he got his players in. We should be able to see if Pel has an effective system (since all the problem kids are gone) by the end of the year.
That's all I ask.
I think we should see more about Coach P's abilities this year… at least, that's what I'm hoping.