Time Flies When You're Having...Well, Fun Isn't the Right Word

by John Expat on Feb 27, 2009 12:08 AM CST in Basketball Comment 4 comments

On January 6th of this year, the Hogs beat Texas in what I think we can all agree was one of the most glorious Razorback sports moments in recent memory. Coming on the heels of an almost-as-glorious win over Oklahoma, it was a heady time to be an Arkansas fan...suffice it to say, we were all feeling a little giddy.

Take a moment to read through some of the posts linked in that last sentence and try to recall that spirit of exuberant optimism we all felt back in those halcyon days. Seems like another, very distant era entirely, right?

That was a little over seven weeks ago.

Incredible, huh? One minute we were all wondering how highly the Hogs would be seeded after winning (or maybe finishing 2nd in) the SEC West, and the next minute we're staring at the possibility of a mind-blowingly bad 1-15 conference record (the cockeyed optimist in me thinks we'll probably do better than that...but it's at least a possibility).

To continue that theme, on January 6 the upsides of Fortson and Clarke were somewhere in the vicinity of Lee Mayberry and Alex Dillard...on February 26 it feels more like Kareem Reid/Cannon Whitby territory. On January 6 we were worried about losing Michael Washington to the NBA and John Pelphrey to Kentucky...on February 26, not so much. On January 6 the Razorback basketball program was back!!!...on February 26 we're wondering just how good Ryan Mallett will look in Petrino's offense.

Anyway, I say all this more out of amazement at the sudden reversal of fortune than anything else. I'm not a hater by any means: I still believe in Pelphrey (and his red jacket, which he really should wear more), and think he's too much of a winner to let this continue. And probably the important life lesson to learn here is that things are never quite as good or as bad as they seem. But wow...what a crazy seven weeks this has been.

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That’s just plain mean, John. :)

by J. Hawg 3 on Feb 27, 2009 7:02 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Giddy is the word.

You can quote Lou all you want, this is pretty bad and could get worse.

Fans take a lot of criticism too. For the raw two years of the Nutt affair it was all the fans fault, except it really was first and finally about an Old AD and an out of control coach. Anytime a university does something really stupid, and there have been tons since Solich left Nebraska, its all the fans fault.

You know Pelphry started checking on how well Kentucky was doing a little more regularly in January, wondering how long it would take before he would be in the private jet with the big contract headed to the old Kentucky home. Today he is checking the South Alabama website.

It may be one of the best things about sports. When you get between the white lines perception is not reality, only reality is reality. Skill, talent, judgement, discipline pay dividends. Yeah, you can be intimidated but, only if you lack confidence and focus. To quote old Nutty. “Its the greatest game there is.” Pick anyone you like.

We are too short and too short-handed with a coach who is still a little wet behind the ears. I fully expect 2011 to be the beginning of something good. John should be a real razorback by then, if he is going to be.

by BlindHog on Feb 27, 2009 8:34 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Things should be much better next year and the change has been simply unbelievable. I think most of us expected around a 6-10 conference season, but certainly nothing like 1-15 with blowout losses on a regular basis.

More than anything we need a full roster of players, 13 solid guys on scholarship, maybe not the best in the country, but 13 guys spread through 4 classes who can contribute. That’s a program, something we don’t have right now.

by Tab Prewett on Feb 27, 2009 9:03 AM CST reply actions 0 recs