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Wake Up Call

January 21, 2008 by HogBaller 

There are many words that could be used when trying to describe this year’s Razorback basketball team.  Right now, the one that comes to my mind the most is pathetic.

Looking back, two things really define this program and its players over the last five years: lack of wins and lack of effort.

Razorback Seniors (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)Razorback fans are used to winning both at home and on the road.  This group of seniors can count their road wins on both hands.  Step back and think about that: our Razorback basketball program is an unbelievable 10-38 (updated for Saturday’s loss to Georgia) on the road over the last four years.

To win on the road, you’ve got to play tough and smart — two things this group of seniors will apparently never really know how to do.

“We’ve got veteran guys,” Razorbacks sophomore point guard Stefan Welsh said outside the locker room. “There is no excuse for us not to win on the road.”

To that I say…talk is cheap.  This group is long on lip service and short on actions to back it up.

The biggest missing ingredient continues to be effort.  Razorback fans expect…no…DEMAND…effort from their teams.  They are forgiving of losses when their teams give maximum effort.  But give anything less and you will quickly find yourself in the doghouse.

We’ve all watched this group of players for several years now and it’s time to just be frank and tell it like it is: these seniors should go down as the biggest group of underachievers in Hog basketball history.  They have continually shown that they lack any consistency in the areas of leadership, heart, desire and pride.

Sonny Weems (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)Does anyone still think these old dogs can learn the new tricks that Coach Pelphrey is trying to teach them?  It’s obvious to even Stevie Wonder that most of them haven’t bought into and embraced Pelphrey’s style, philosophy and most importantly…passion.

If past history is any indicator, then I’d highly advise fans against making any postseason travel plans.  No…it appears this senior-laden team will be defiant to the end…to the detriment of the team and themselves.  And for that, I must say…what a shame.  They could have changed their Razorback legacy this season.  Not to mention whatever potential some of them had to make a living at the next level.

Am I being too unrealistic to expect some growth and leadership from a group that has spent the better part of their four year college experience playing basketball in a Razorback uniform?

Do we need the help of Nolan and the ‘94 National Championship team to exorcise the demons holding our once-proud program hostage?

What is it going to take to wake Razorback basketball up from a nearly decade-long slumber?

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Comments

15 Responses to “Wake Up Call”

  1. freethrow on January 21st, 2008 8:20 am

    Are we sure coach Pel has any new tricks to teach? Can it be that NONE of these players have learned anything new? Are they ALL hopeless?

  2. diamond on January 21st, 2008 8:45 am

    i am beginning to think that they are all great players — on their own. However, when you try to put them together, they just don’t mix. Also, I don’t think they have very high basketball IQs as well.

  3. GonzoHog on January 21st, 2008 10:25 am

    As I said in the last post guys, you can’t coach heart. You either have it, or you don’t. Honestly, we’ve given these kids the support they needed, and as one poster said before, we could excuse the losing if the effort was there, but when it’s obvious you aren’t putting your guts out on the floor, and showing some pride in that Razorback uniform your wearing, then the fan base that’s showing that support will dwindle also, as the loses accumilate. I’ve seen games where one guy will stand out with effort, while 2 or 3 others will pretty much just stand and watch, and then there are other games where a couple of players will give maximum effort, but it was obvious that one other guy didn’t even come to play, but I’ll garanttee you, you will find very, very few games where all of these kids showed up. That, to me, is the biggest disappointment I’ve had over the past 3 1/2 years. All of these kids aren’t on the same page, and evidently, don’t want to be.

  4. mike in magnolia on January 21st, 2008 10:26 am

    I totatly agree with you. What it will take is the graduation of these seniors. What concerns me is the fact that the players will return may have been influenced more by the lack of heart from these seniors than their coach.
    I am convinced that not only do the seniors have know heart but they are extremly selfish.
    I do feel sorry for Coach.

  5. Useless Hog on January 21st, 2008 2:45 pm

    Another example of overrated recruits under Stan Heath and overzealousness on the part of the Arkansas media to tag these guys as good players before they ever stepped onto the court. Fans get their expectations up with all the one-sided bullcrap coming from the ultra pro-Razorback media and then suffer through 4 years of unfulfilled expectations. Lack of heart may be part of it, but really now, does Gary Ervin have all-SEC talent? Has Steven Hill ever seriously been considered anything other than a shot blocker? I remember when Hill was recruited out of Missouri. Tagged as something special, Kansas recruited him, etc. But then I saw his high school stats. They were awful for a 7 foot guy playing against weak h.s. competition. I remember thinking then “If a 7 foot guy playing in the Ozarks can’t score 20 a game, he never will come close to scoring 10 points a game in the SEC.” Our hope is that Pelphrey knows talent better than Heath and all the Arkansas media guys who write homer recruiting articles. I think he does and look forward to when real talent arrives on campus.

  6. BlindHog on January 21st, 2008 3:29 pm

    At this point some of it has to go on Coach Pelphry as well. With the turnovers and poor shot selection we have had for the last month a lot more of the starters should be spending time on the bench. He is playing it like Heath to let these kids keep playing with this kind of effort.

    Put the sophomores and freshmen out there and let them learn. If the seniors want to play they need to play like seniors. Otherwise, its time to ride the pine. They are NIT bound at this rate anyway.

    Tough love baby, that’s the only thing that is going to put this train back on track.

  7. Hogwildfan on January 21st, 2008 4:53 pm

    The team I saw play Baylor a couple of weeks ago doesn’t look like the same team that lost to USC and Georgia. PB needs to shot more and the whole teams needs to work on free throws. The turnovers make me crazy, I know Coach Pel wants to pull his hair out. If they are not real careful they can lose 5 of their next 6 games.

  8. Waldron Hog on January 21st, 2008 5:23 pm

    It is interesting to read and hear all the solutions. I like some and wonder about others. I don’t know what the right answer is but I’m not getting paid to find it either. I’ve about given up on this SR. class. Sounds and looks like previous years.

    There are some things that really concern me. I don’t think any of the 3 sophmores are progressing forward. I had hoped for more from all three. As we look to next year, they need to be the core and backbone of the team. Do you like what you see from them? I don’t.

    As for the freshmen, we’ve played 3 and are red-shirting a 4th. One plays some every game while 2 haven’t seen minutes in a few games. I’d like to see all 4 playing. What is the value of them sitting?

    I don’t have any answers; just a bunch of questions. Our coach looked like he had more questions than answers when he was shown on TV Saturday night. That doesn’t give me much confidence about this year turning out good.

  9. BlindHog on January 22nd, 2008 8:50 am

    You have to have a point guard to run a team. I hope Pelphry has recruited a couple. Stan never did. Very Strange.

  10. mike in magnolia on January 22nd, 2008 10:55 am

    Although these year might turn into a total bust with our football and basketball teams, I’m still excited about the future. We have everything in place to be more than competitive.
    Phelphry has two point gaurds coming in an exeptional number 2 gaurd in Clark who can shoot lights out. We may not be as big as we have been for the last 4 years but that’s ok. Nolan never had the bigs and look at the success he had.
    Think about this: A passing football team and a pressing basketball team could this be a dream?

  11. GonzoHog on January 22nd, 2008 11:24 am

    That is so true mike. Sometimes you have to endure the bad to get to the good, and in this case you might say what were enduring is what you here a lot of oldtimers talk about these days. “You have to crawl before you can walk, and sometimes you have to crawl even after you walk, but nothing ever stay’s bad, just like nothing ever stay’s good”. “Everybody has to take the good with the bad”.

  12. Hog 'n Iowa on January 22nd, 2008 11:53 am

    I had high hopes for this year but my expectations have now been lowered. I think I got caught up in the hope that Coach Pel could come in and right the ship, however it looks like the players are not matching the passion the coach displays. I’ve now come to the realization that these players have never become a “team” and never will. No point guard play, inconsistancies in effort, continuing off-the-court problems, etc. I really won’t be sorry to see these guys leave after this year. I think the coach will have a better opportuning to mold the incoming players and young returners into a true team, although it’ll take a couple of more years of recruiting his style of players.

  13. CharlotteHog on January 22nd, 2008 12:52 pm

    New here. I really like this blog and thought I’d finally post.
    First thing that comes to mind with this team is, you can’t teach old dogs (or Hogs) new tricks. Heath’s staff sold this “prize recruiting class” as the class to turn around the program but never instilled in them the will to win, which leads to my next point. How many of the players on this team (and the teams leading back to the Brandon Dean and Teddy Gipson era) can be considered basketball players. I see alot of athletes but not very many basketball players. They don’t know how to play together or just don’t know the facets of the game that make a winner. My hope for Pelphrey is that he goes and recuits basketball players; guys who shoot well, know how to play defense, know when to shoot vs pass, kncok down crucial free throws, don’t commit stupid fouls and turnovers. We all know the athleticism is there, until we get real basketball players, the winning won’t be there.

  14. GonzoHog on January 23rd, 2008 11:19 am

    Good post CharlotteHog! You nailed that one right on the head. It has been quit a while since we had true team basketball players at this university. I’ve read about as much information about next years recruiting class as I could find, and I like Pelphrey’s chances of making true basketball players out of these guys. These kids, with this years freshmen, and 1 red-shirt fresh, seem to be what we’ve been looking for. Give Coach Pelphrey a couple of more years, and I think we’ll start the results we’ve been waiting for.

  15. Walking on Sunshine on January 23rd, 2008 9:27 pm

    Welcome CharlotteHog. Good comment…couldn’t agree more about the absence of guys who know how to play vs. having guys with pure athleticism.

    I guess I’m in the minority, but I haven’t packed it in on these guys just yet. Still 12 games to play in conference. I will say though that if you can’t win the Western Division this year, you never will.

    A victory at LSU on Saturday followed by 3 home games should cure some ills. We should be favored in all four.