Off the Schneid - At Last

There is a definite pattern here. I spent the better part of the last week wondering aloud, and with not inconsiderable venom, to anyone within earshot, whether Rotnei Clarke was worth a scholarship or whether he was, ahem, another Cannon Whitby.

Today, an acquaintance stopped by the office and said, II was wrong. Rotnei had some skills, and some athleticism. He was going to come around. I said I hoped so.

So, was Rotnei listening to us? I guess so. One of the great Hog performances I can remember. Most memorable, driving to the hole. And stripping a driver and going the other way. If he can do those things, much will go right for the Hogs. Especially with his dead-eye back.

But Stephen is right. The pressure on everyone to play perfectly is huge with Brandon Moore and Marcus Monk out. We need both back to make a serious run through the murderer’s row coming up: @ LSU, Tennessee, @ Miss St., @ Auburn (suddenly a real team), Kentucky. If the Hogs win all of those, we’d still only be 6-4 in conference.

Andre Clark is really no help at this point. But hey, Michael Sanchez showed some real fire tonight, and some finesse. Fortson stayed under control. Washington excelled. Welsh was okay. Britt more then adequate. Henry coming back to form. Clarke unbelievably good, working to get loose and nailing it when he did.

Really tough road ahead/ But we did play with desperation and intensity and I will take that.

Where can I get some dreadlocks, like the students (and the ESPN announcers) were wearing?

On Monk, to me it’s just unfathomable they can’t make a ruling on his eligibility in a few hours. His transcripts have got to be easily reviewed since he wasn’t in school for the past year. Aren’t transcripts on a computer? So what’s the issue? He either has eligibility or he doesn’t. And with the entire fall semester to decide if he could play or not, from August to December, the staff at the UofA should have had this resolved long ago.

I could understand if he were a mid-term transfer or had grade problems. Neither or those problems exist here.

In an era when you can watch baseball games on your cell phone during boring summer meetings and get stock movements by the second, I am dumbfounded by this delay on Monk’s status.

Hey, a win! I think a thaw has begun. Most certainly with Clark and his three point shot. Below is a 5 AM in the morning thought that came upon me when I started thinking about the team last night and the conditions in Fayetteville right now. I thought of Robert Frost’s poem, “Tree at my Window,” and can imagine the narrator being Pelphrey, Clark, or any member of the basketball team.

Tree at my window, window tree,
My sash is lowered when night comes on;
But let there never be curtain drawn
Between you and me.

Vague dream-head lifted out of the ground,
And thing next most diffuse to cloud,
Not all your light tongues talking aloud
Could be profound.

But tree, I have seen you taken and tossed,
And if you have seen me when I slept,
You have seen me when I was taken and swept
And all but lost.

That day she put our heads together,
Fate had her imagination about her,
Your head so much concerned with outer,
Mine with inner, weather.

I hope the team, the campus, the town of Fayetteville, Northern Arkansas are all experiencing a thaw and better weather in the weeks ahead.

On Monk: my guess is U of A has asked for an advisory ruling from the NCAA and that’s the source of the delay. If it were purely an internal decision, I’d agree it should be a matter of hours rather than days (weeks?)

Nice to see Clarke back in form. I agree with J. Hawg above, the drive to the hole was best.

In a separate note, I remain concerned about our ability to defend the 3. Our size at the perimeter spots has and will continue to hurt us, especially in the zone. Nevertheless, so nice to have a win and a quality one at that.

As goes Rotnei, so goes the team. That looks like it may well be the theme for the rest of the season. We don’t need Rotnei to have 26 points and be 70% from three-point-land. But we do need to be able to count on him for 3-4 treys to help spread the defenses and let Fortson feed the ball to Washington. Balance, balance, balance; with a legitimate three point threat, the Hogs can compete with anyone. Lord, just don’t send another drought.

On another note, Rotnei must have been really gassed for Pelphrey to sit him on the bench during the game’s final minutes. I can’t think of another reason why you’d keep your best free-throw shooter out of the waning moments of a semi-tight game.

did I read this right? 28-35 on FT’s? 80%? I guess there wasn’t much to do in Fayetteville with the ice storm except sit in the gym and practice at the charity stripe. Nice shooting guys!!

@Zach: Amen. Rotnei needs to contribute. Maybe not 26. Maybe not 6 treys. But he has to produce in some fashion.

@Stephen: Either that or Rotnei still can’t really defend the three.

@HFIM: You saw right. Go figure. When it is going good it’s going good. OTOH, as someone just told me. “Awesome. We beat a team that doesn’t have a coach.”

Speaking of Alabama’s new coach, did anyone else get tired of Jimmy Dykes’ obsession with the fact that Pearson took off his sport coat during the second half?

As of this year, Arkansas is actually pretty good against teams that have lost a significant coach. Auburn lost its offensive coordinator, and the Hogs beat them. Alabama lost its head basketball coach, and the Hogs beat them as well. Georgia (0-5) lost its head coach this year, and I think chances are good that we’ll beat them at Bud Walton. So keep those coach firings a coming! The only thing worse than beating them is to lose to these decapitated teams of the SEC. I’ll take the winning.