Hog Blogger,

You make some very good and interesting points, while at the same time, one has to wonder where attitude and determination come into the equasion.

While Townes definately fits into the catagory of dependable, Thomas’s consistancy in that area is just a tad bit questionable, and since Steven Hill was also on that squad, he has to be mentioned in the same context.

Courtney Fortson could replace the starting PG on 95% of the other major college teams out there and make them a better team. There’s no denying that, but with this team, I think you can count on all out determination and commitment in every ball game, win or lose.

Like they say; a team is a reflection of their coach, and this team has Pelphrey written all over it.
Also, Stephan Welsh, Micheal Washington, and Marcus Britt all look to be very, very recommited.

Who cares how good the Hogs would have been last year with Fortson? (I personally think they would have been even better if they’d had Corliss Williamson and Sidney Moncrief.) The best news about THIS team is just that: TEAM. Gonzo is right: there’s an attitude and determination that hasn’t been seen in Walton for way too long. I’m beginning to think the best thing that happened to the Razorbacks was Dana Altman resigning after one day.

Obviously, I agree with the two of you, and I’m incredibly optimistic about the rest of the season, but I don’t think anyone realized just how poor last year’s team was at point guard until seeing this year’s team.

Last year’s team had way, way more talent, both outside and inside, and yet, this year’s team could end up being even better.

Patrick who?? I haven’t heard his name mentioned all year and rightly so.

HB,

Good stuff. I’m extremely jealous that you got to go to the OU game and that you will be in the building for the Texas game.

—Stephen

Losing 7 seniors and Bev from last year’s team makes this assembly of talent and effort against OU incredible. We also are without Jason Henry (three weeks), who could develop to be the best player on the roster, aside from Fortson who is indeed the one player we can not win without. Montrell McDonald also had high praise and hope for this season and he is simply GONE because he is a loner and not a team player.

All and all, the Hogs have the best chemistry and style of play for the players on our roster. Washington is on the NBA radar screen now as the style of play enables him to succeed.

If we can just get Sanchez a pair of receiver’s gloves so he can hold on to the Fortson feeds, we can add another 8-10 points to our total/game.

One thing is for sure, at least on this New Year’s Day; the Hogs have to be taken serious. They passed a big test with their responses to the OU runs. Monk provides mental toughness, along with MW, and the others have an abundance of talent and/or athleticism. Texas is bigger, so we’ll see how we play them. I believe it will be a much tougher game than OU regardless of what the polls say.

Still, I expect a close game and, of course, know we can win it! Congrats to Pelph for his best coaching victory!

Let’s get by N Texas first though . . . one at a time.

Look, Ervin may not rank at the top of anybody’s list of best guards over the past 20 years, but why take the time to run him down when there is so much else to celebrate? Gary Ervin gave his heart and soul to the Hogs while he was with us. And my guess is that he was cheering the victory against OU as loudly as anybody.

You know, it is possible to accentuate the positive without running someone into the ground unnecessarily. One of the previous comments was right on: You could take Moncrief, or Williamson, or Todd Day, or Big O, or Joe Johnson, or anybody else and play ‘what if’ with them. We’ve got the team we’ve got, and we should be darn proud Coach Pelphrey is doing what he is doing with them.