Feeling Bullish About the Hogs
by John Expat on Dec 30, 2008 12:21 PM CST
in Arkansas Razorback Basketball
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Yesterday my esteemed Razorback Expats colleague J. Hawg 3 wrote an impassioned post about why this year's Arkansas basketball team simply isn't that good. They haven't done anything yet, he argued, so don't get excited.
It's quite possible that he's right, but I'll be the first to admit that I don't feel the same way. In fact, although I agree they haven't done much yet I feel like there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the state of the hoops team. So, in the spirit of a lively and vigorous debate, here are my observations from the game against Northwestern State:
* First, the obvious: Courtney Fortson is the real deal. More than that, actually. As John Pelphrey himself said, he's special. He's on a path to be one of the Razorback all-timers, and I don't think I'm premature in saying that. Savor every game, because you'll miss him when he's gone.
* Another note about Fortson: the kid is a born leader. He has presence. You can tell from the way he commands both the action and his teammates on the court. He probably popped out of his mom's womb and started barking out plays to the hospital staff. We haven't had a floor general like this on the team since Corey Beck (sorry Kareem).
* Even though Rotnei Clarke's shot was off against Northwestern State, I liked his style. To be honest, I was sort of expecting a generically stiff white guy 3-point ace, but he has some flair to his game....he had a nice Iversonesque pass off the high dribble in the first half, and his (thwarted) alley-oop to Forston was impressively audacious.
* J. Hawg accused Stefan Welsh of being a ball hog, but the guy (Stefan, not J. Hawg) hit 6 of 8 threes. He was obviously feeling it, so I don't see much room for complaint there. (And yes, I realize that 75% 3-point shooting probably won't be the norm for Welsh, but let's at least savor the moment.)
* I actually kind of agree with J. Hawg about Michael Washington...it was embarrassing how many times he got his shot blocked in the first half. But, he's had plenty of big games already this season so I'll be charitable and chalk it up to holiday rust. Still, he'll need to get meaner for the Hogs to succeed in SEC play.
* More than any one player or single play, though, I was impressed with the Razorbacks' energy. Yeah, they were playing a crappy team but that doesn't matter...they brought it. They brought it from opening tip through the end of a blowout and that's not something to take lightly. How many times did a player from the previous era say something like "I guess they just wanted it more than we did" after yet another frustrating conference loss? Even when this team loses I doubt you'll be hearing that quote again. (Give credit to Pelphrey and, perhaps even more so, Fortson for that.)
* Bottom line for me is that this team is fun. They're scrappy and spunky. They're too young to know they're not actually that great. They're not going to win every game, and they may even lose a lot of games, but they'll always play hard and they'll always try for the ballsy alley-oops. No matter what their final record is (and I suspect it will be better than the preseason prognostications), this is a team I'll enjoy rooting for.
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Despite my fervent desire that Welsh would learn to be a team player and become more consistent, I much more agree with John than J. Hawg about this team.
Courtney Fortson is definitely something special, and as I told Stephen, he is already threatening to dislodge Lee Mayberry in my panthenon of Hog point guards. To echo Abe Lemons on Sidney Moncrief: “You can’t have a bad team with Fortson on it.” But without him on the court, the Hogs look lost. We are going to need him for 35 minutes every game.
On Washington, he showed up this year so much more muscular than last year that I think people forget how skinny he was. I think his conditioning is still a year away. He is long and stronger, but he is not KG yet. But next year he should be a force.
As the missus and I keep telling people, look out for Marcus Britt. Northwestern State was his best game yet. With him and Fortson playing ball-hawking defense, we will give some teams a problem and he is finding his offensive rhythm.
But as John says, the biggest difference from the Heath teams is this team’s hustle and desire. We went from seemingly never getting the loose ball to corraling a large majority of them. Rebounding is a function of desire and we are doing much better at that than with the much taller Heath teams.
So I definitely like this team. I think the games with Oklahoma and Texas will be a good marker on how well we will do in the SEC and in post-season, but to be truthful, I have no feel for how good the SEC is this year. We could finish anywhere, but I don’t thin we will be last or even next to last in the West.
by Whit E. Knight on Dec 30, 2008 3:24 PM CST reply actions
At the 7:43 mark of the first half, I gladly eat all my words. Gladly.
On the other hand, they are doing everything I asked them to do in my post. Great D, strong inside. Hope we keep it up.
Go Hogs. Oh please. Go.
by J. Hawg 3 on Dec 30, 2008 7:43 PM CST reply actions
An 11-0 OU run…J-Hawg, maybe you should say more bad stuff about the Hogs.
-John
by Razorback Expats on Dec 30, 2008 7:55 PM CST reply actions
Yeah, that was my original strategy. Talk bad to ’em. But they got it back to 15 at the half and they are really playing great. They took the OU counterpunch, and punched back. Nice job.
By the way, where in my earlier post diid I say I didn’t like this team? I just wanted to warn them as to what was coming. I guess they figured that out.
Fortson is a fantastic player. As the announcer just said, “Even the most critical fan would have a hard time criticizing this performance.” Indeed. Fortson has made some all world passes in this first half, and Washington and Sanchez have been men in the middle.
Twenty minutes to go, and OU didn’t get this ranking for nothing. But these guys are showing me some things they haven’t before.
by J. Hawg 3 on Dec 30, 2008 8:21 PM CST reply actions
Reality. Checked.
The real deal. My dog heard the full blooded Hog Call for the first time in her life from both me and my wife. It was scary. But a good scary.
Love these guys.
by J. Hawg 3 on Dec 30, 2008 9:40 PM CST reply actions
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