Hog Hoops Legacy
Maybe one day, if Hog Basketball is competing for a national title again, fans will look back on this senior class favorably. After all, guys like Steven Hill, Darian Townes, Charles Thomas, Vincent Hunter, and Gary Ervin helped get this program back to respectability.
Much the way Stan Heath is maligned for his inability to win an NCAA Tournament game, history may show that Heath is indeed a good coach who took a horrible situation and vastly improved the product at Bud Walton. His Big-10 style of play never meshed with the Arkansas faithful. They wanted up-tempo, high flying action; Heath valued possessions and defense. Might as well have been oil and water. Yet Heath recruited well and gave life to a dead program following the Nolan fiasco.
This senior class is also maligned for it's inconsistency and inability to win on the road. Their legacy may very well be a simple record: 10-46 in SEC road games. A group that found a way to win 20 games for 3 years in a row, but rarely rose above their talent, and almost never took their spirit and tenacity out of Bud Walton Arena.
Is it fair? Sure. The criticism is deserved, and two different coaches have emptied their pockets to motivate this group to overachieve, usually to no avail. The teasing wins over upper echelon talent only reinforce the idea that Arkansas has the ability to compete with anyone. It just seems that some days they didn't really want it all that much. There is no excuse for that, and ultimately we all feel like it's a wasted opportunity to have that much seniority, talent, depth and athleticism and never make it very far.
One thing fans should not forget was their commmitment to the Razorbacks when most recruits were running the other way. The program was in shambles, and these guys took the opportunity to play in the SEC and rebuild Arkansas. It wasn't easy, the 2002 and 2003 seasons are a testament to that. Just remember where the Hogs are now compared to a few years ago. It's night and day.
The final chapter is still waiting to be written. Maybe these 6 seniors will alter their legacy by capturing some magic late. Or maybe they won't, this team has been impossible to predict for years. Maybe a new coach and some new players will take Arkansas to the next level. If so, this group shouldn't be swept under the rug and discarded from memory. Remembering what they helped rebuild in Fayetteville is just as important as remembering what they failed to accomplish.
that's my take... how about you? e-mail me at sports@4029tv.com
Much the way Stan Heath is maligned for his inability to win an NCAA Tournament game, history may show that Heath is indeed a good coach who took a horrible situation and vastly improved the product at Bud Walton. His Big-10 style of play never meshed with the Arkansas faithful. They wanted up-tempo, high flying action; Heath valued possessions and defense. Might as well have been oil and water. Yet Heath recruited well and gave life to a dead program following the Nolan fiasco.
This senior class is also maligned for it's inconsistency and inability to win on the road. Their legacy may very well be a simple record: 10-46 in SEC road games. A group that found a way to win 20 games for 3 years in a row, but rarely rose above their talent, and almost never took their spirit and tenacity out of Bud Walton Arena.
Is it fair? Sure. The criticism is deserved, and two different coaches have emptied their pockets to motivate this group to overachieve, usually to no avail. The teasing wins over upper echelon talent only reinforce the idea that Arkansas has the ability to compete with anyone. It just seems that some days they didn't really want it all that much. There is no excuse for that, and ultimately we all feel like it's a wasted opportunity to have that much seniority, talent, depth and athleticism and never make it very far.
One thing fans should not forget was their commmitment to the Razorbacks when most recruits were running the other way. The program was in shambles, and these guys took the opportunity to play in the SEC and rebuild Arkansas. It wasn't easy, the 2002 and 2003 seasons are a testament to that. Just remember where the Hogs are now compared to a few years ago. It's night and day.
The final chapter is still waiting to be written. Maybe these 6 seniors will alter their legacy by capturing some magic late. Or maybe they won't, this team has been impossible to predict for years. Maybe a new coach and some new players will take Arkansas to the next level. If so, this group shouldn't be swept under the rug and discarded from memory. Remembering what they helped rebuild in Fayetteville is just as important as remembering what they failed to accomplish.
that's my take... how about you? e-mail me at sports@4029tv.com
posted by Mark Lericos at 12:51 PM
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