Dangerous Times for Stan Heath
Saturday's home loss to Tennessee has only served to strengthen those whispers about Stan Heath's job security. Actually, those whispers can probably be classified as grumblings, as the Hogs have now lost two straight and dropped to 16-12 overall.
Hard to believe Stan Heath is at this point. Keep in mind this is a coach that has rebuilt the Arkansas program, and steadily won more games each of his 4 seasons, culminating with 22 victories and an NCAA tournament berth in 2006.
But the Hogs have been consistently inconsistent in the Heath era. Road wins in the SEC have been few and far between... and I mean FAR between. Heath has only tallied 5 road wins in almost 5 seasons... that's terrible beyond comprehension. And really, it's the way Arkansas is losing this year that has Hog fans up in arms. The Razorbacks are committing big turnovers, getting outhustled in the paint and on the boards, and despite a veteran club, seem to lack the heart and motivation to make a run towards the tournament. The frustrating part is that this team has enough talent to win the SEC Tournament and make some noise in the Big Dance. But will they? Probably not. More often than not, Arkansas has not lived up to it's potential, and that is a direct reflection on the head coach.
With two regular seasons and the SEC tournament remaining, Hog players need to realize they're playing for pride, for a postseason berth, for the fans, and quite possibly, for the job of Stan Heath.
Hard to believe Stan Heath is at this point. Keep in mind this is a coach that has rebuilt the Arkansas program, and steadily won more games each of his 4 seasons, culminating with 22 victories and an NCAA tournament berth in 2006.
But the Hogs have been consistently inconsistent in the Heath era. Road wins in the SEC have been few and far between... and I mean FAR between. Heath has only tallied 5 road wins in almost 5 seasons... that's terrible beyond comprehension. And really, it's the way Arkansas is losing this year that has Hog fans up in arms. The Razorbacks are committing big turnovers, getting outhustled in the paint and on the boards, and despite a veteran club, seem to lack the heart and motivation to make a run towards the tournament. The frustrating part is that this team has enough talent to win the SEC Tournament and make some noise in the Big Dance. But will they? Probably not. More often than not, Arkansas has not lived up to it's potential, and that is a direct reflection on the head coach.
With two regular seasons and the SEC tournament remaining, Hog players need to realize they're playing for pride, for a postseason berth, for the fans, and quite possibly, for the job of Stan Heath.
posted by Mark Lericos at 6:05 PM
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