Friday Hodge Podge
by Stephen Expat on Mar 12, 2010 4:52 PM CST
in Arkansas Razorback Basketball
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PrintIt's a short hodge podge, but here goes:
• Pulling No Punches. AS360's Jim Harris seems, oh, just a wee bit frustrated with the state of the basketball program. A sample of the column that he published earlier this afternoon:
The program's slogan of "40 Minutes of Hell," which morphed into "40 Minutes of Pel" when John Pelphrey took over, is now "40 Minutes of Fail."
More of the same next year, folks. Pelphrey's not going anywhere, UA athletic director Jeff Long insists, and the coaching staff is all returning. The speculation for some time was that Rob Evans, the former Ole Miss head coach, was riding out this season and would retire. But seriously, if Evans were to be the only coach leaving this staff, that would be a disgrace - he's the only one of the group we're sure can coach.
And another:
For John Pelphrey to keep trotting out the "we're just not playing well" line to explain a six-game collapse shows just how in over his head he apparently is with this job.
Programming note: You'll get a chance to hear more of Jim's blunt opinions on our site next week when we publish a Q&A with him.
• Color Him Unimpressed. I hope John Pelphrey's family is steering clear of the Internet today. It's rough out there. Consider this tweet from noted SEC blogger and author Clay Travis, who's attending the SEC Tournament:
"Most disappointing? How apathetic the Arkansas fans are under Pelphrey. They used to be awesome at SEC Tourney. Now? Pelphrey has to go."
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I've been in Pel's corner most of the season
but the FAIL that was the last six games of the season has me thinking he is indeed in over his head. If there’s any doubt, look at the last five minutes of the last two games (Ole Miss and Georgia) – we had a decent shot of getting Ws except for the fact that there was no discipline, no control, NO game plan whatsoever. You can’t blame that on not playing well, it has to do exclusively with the lack of adequate coaching.
It’s just painful to watch. So much so, that I’d rather not.
It is sad when
your opposition is shaking their heads in pity at you through tweeter. But Clay is right. Arkansas used to be loud and proud during SWC and SEC tournament times. Not these days. Not much to be loud and proud about. Pelphrey just better thank his lucky stars that the football program is doing well enough to take some heat off of him. Imagine if we had lost the Liberty Bowl like we should have. Fans at least have a happy memory there when it comes to UofA sports and the prospect of a great 2010 campaign.
RE: Clay Travis' comments
Is this perhaps more of an indictment of the fans than anything else? I just realized that the last 4 or so major coaching changes that we’ve had have resulted in a fanbase schism. Nolan (and Mike Anderson by association), Stan, Houston Dale, and even the Chris Bucknam vs. Dick Booth fiasco in track and field (that one was messier than it should have been). It appears that a similar schism may be on the horizon with Pel. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a pattern, and not a good one.
It’s getting harder by the day to “defend” Pelphrey, but we should tread lightly. The last thing we need is for recruits to see our very visible apathy. Of course, everyone will blame Pelphrey for not getting recruit XYZ, but it will be hard to argue that the fanbase attitude isn’t hurting us.
I refuse to accept this
You cannot blame the sorry state of Hog basketball on the fans. That is absurd. We aren’t even close to the sort of crazed fans that comprise Bama football or Kentucky basketball. Opinionated and passionate fans have not seemed to be much of a problem for recruiting in those two programs.
But when the fans stop caring? That’s the issue. And it is not the fault of the fans. Give Hog fans any glimmer of hope, and Walton will fill up and the noise will return.
What is happening right now is that we have a coach who cannot handle the job. He might become a great coach, but there is no evidence he will. From here, right now, this looks like Jeff Lebo Redux. Come back and check this post in three years. I sure hope it looks foolish. But I doubt it will.
But don’t blame the fans. It is not their job to win games. It is the job of John Pelphrey. It is his program. His players. His fans to win or lose. No one else can be blamed. The fans will be there, as strong as ever, once this program starts winning. Right now, I think that will be 2015 or so, after Pelphrey is finally put out of his misery.
Arkansas Expats: Acting like the Lost Generation since at least 2007.
I didn't say it was all the fans' fault...
But to say “it’s Pelphrey’s fault the fans don’t care” is such a cop out and an excuse. “Good” fans will always care, but they don’t have to be happy. Arkansas fans’ reputation as a loyal fan base is quickly eroding, and that’s going to hurt us in recruiting, ect. As fans, we’re incredibly fickle, and it’s catching up with us.
Either way, I was just playing devil’s advocate, in a way. I certainly don’t think that if the fan attitude improves that all of our problems will be solved. I was just discouraged to see that our apathy had become so visible. The fact of the matter is, Pelphrey is here for another year; we can’t control that. But, we can control our attitude.
Ricardo Ratliffe was in attendance at the Ole Miss game. I certainly hope the fans didn’t “boo” Pel, because that’s the best way to run a recruit off. Just saying.
Sorry, but the best way to run off a recruit
Is to get your butts outscored 12 to 1 down the stretch to cough up a nine point lead with the entire season on the line.
We’ll just have to disagree. Fans care when the team plays hard and competes. The only way that happens is if the coach does his job. This one isn’t.
A Hoops Fan Lost in the Wilderness Since 1995.
Oh, we disagree
And that’s okay; nothing wrong with a little disagreement.
I’ll end with one final thing. You say fans care when the team plays hard and competes, which I take to mean “when the team wins”, because the notion that they haven’t been competive or that (most of) the team hasn’t played hard is ridiculous. Isn’t that the very definition of a “fair-weather fan”?
As a Kentucky fan
It is hard to see bad things written about Pelphrey. But, for some reason it has just not been a fit at Arkansas. I think parting would be for the best for all involved.
Some say a comet will fall from the sky. Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still. Followed by millions of dumbfounded dips**ts.
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