The International House of Guards

"John Pelphrey went down to Georgia, he was looking for a guard to steal. He was in a bind, his recruitin' was behind, and he was willing to make a deal."

Ha, ha. That Weird Al Yankovic-like rewriting of Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went Down to Georgia" popped into my mind when I read that John Pelphrey has inked 6-6 shooting guard Levan Patsatsia of Georgia — the impoverished country, not the impoverished state — for this year’s basketball team. Wow – talk about recruiting "’till the last dog dies," as Bill Clinton might say. I’ve never heard of a player being inked at such a late date. Hopefully, this is an indication of how hard-working and relentless the Pelphrey-coached Razorbacks will be.

Pelphrey says the signing will provide much-needed guard depth. That’s quite a departure from the latter days of the Nolan era, when seemingly the entire roster consisted of guards, plus maybe one or two slow-footed big men generously described as "projects."