Arkansas Expats: All Posts by Robert Boyd

I Saw Marc Gasol Play in High School

2013-05-14T13:10:11Z

I've seen some comments on articles and pictures posted about how funny it is to see the Marc Gasol playing at Lausanne Collegiate School compared to Marc Gasol now.

via cdn.bleacherreport.net

I remember seeing him play in High School. I was also in High School, and my girlfriend went to Lausanne (originally called Lausanne School for Girls). The coolest part about that game to me was seeing Pau watching from the upper deck. I was obviously a huge Pau fan, and I remember watching the game and thinking "Marc's not that good. I can't believe there's hype around this private school kid just because he's Pau's brother".

I am VERY glad to admit that I was WRONG WRONG WRONG! He's one of my favorite players to watch, and I don't watch a Grizzlies game now without my Marc Gasol shirt on (unless it's in the washing machine, because hygiene is important).

Thanks for proving the 15-year-old me wrong. I know that he would be as proud as 27 year old me to see you in a Grizzlies uniform.

I've seen some comments on articles and pictures posted about how funny it is to see the Marc Gasol playing at Lausanne Collegiate School compared to Marc Gasol now.

via cdn.bleacherreport.net

Thanks for proving the 15-year-old me wrong. I know that he would be as proud as 27 year old me to see you in a Grizzlies uniform.

Remember This Guy? Patrick Beverley, Houston Rockets

2013-05-03T02:57:29Z

Patrick Beverly is a name most Oklahoma City fans didn't know a week ago, but now is cursed just as strongly as Arkansas fans curse John L. Smith and Houston Nutt.

In game 2 of the Houston Rockets playoff series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Patrick Beverly reached in for a steal on Russell Westbrook as he was turning to the sideline to try and call timeout. The resulting collision left Westbrook's knee requiring surgery, and has been cause for Beverly to need a police escort around his hotel in OKC. Right now, he's being viewed mostly as "the guard that kept OKC from winning a title in 2013", but his game is starting to speak for itself.

Given the start in Game 5 due to Jeremy Lin's ailing chest, Beverly didn't put up all NBA numbers, but he's scoring enough and playing great defense.

It's encouraging to see him having a career after Arkansas. I think most Arkansas fans were not happy when he left and will have a hard time cheering for his success, but he was always fun to watch and he's on the underdog. The 8 seed isn't supposed to beat the 1 seed, and playoff teams down 0-3 have never won a series. I'm hoping the Rockets pull off the upset. I think it would be fun to watch Houston clash with my favorite NBA team, the Memphis Grizzlies in the next round.

Poll

Are you rooting for Patrick Beverly and the Houston Rockets?

No, I'm an OKC Fan.

27 votes

Yes, I love an underdog

36 votes

Yes, I always root for former Hogs

78 votes

No, I can never forgive Beverly for leaving us.

11 votes

152 votes | Poll has closed

Cobi Hamilton Drafted By The Cincinnati Bengals!

2013-04-27T21:12:23Z

Here is the draft profile we wrote of Cobi earlier this week.

Strengths

At 6' 2" Hamilton is a big target on the outside. He spent his first three years at Arkansas buried in the depth chart behind a trio of excellent wide outs, but in his senior season, he become the focal point of the passing offense. Even before when he was lower on the depth chart he still managed some breakout moments. See below at the 1:15 mark:

You can see one of his strengths. YAC. While one of his legendary moments at Arkansas featured a colossal mistake by an LSU safety, you can see his speed as he breaks down the field, finds his blockers, and avoids the would be tacklers.

Hamilton had his best season as a senior and gouged defenses with big yardage on his crossing routes. For his height you don't expect him to burst out of his cuts on the Wes Welker type underneath routes, but Tyler Wilson was able to build a lot of confidence that he'd be open on those routes over the course of the season as they connected 90 times. Hamilton can position himself to make the play even if it's not the best pass over the middle and then earn some extra yards with a strong stiff arm and a quick burst after the catch.

He's also been very reliable. Hamilton is Arkansas' career and single season receptions leader and single season receiving yardage leader, and set the SEC record for receiving yards in a game for his 303-yard performance against Rutgers.

He never suffered any serious injuries during his Razorback career and tallied at least one reception in each of his last 34 Arkansas games dating back to September of his sophomore season.

Weaknesses

The biggest complaint about Cobi Hamilton has been his hands. They are on the small side. However, if you talk to Arkansas fans, they can recall Bobby Petrino and staff raving and saying he had the best hands of all their wide receivers when he was a freshman and sophomore. With the drops that we've seen on the collegiate level, it may have been either focus or trying too hard to do too much. With a reputation for big YAC you often see the biggest problem with those wide receivers is a failure to lock the ball in before making the next move. Hamilton works best if he can be targeted directly in the chest, which may be more difficult to expect on the next level.

Cobi Hamilton also doesn't have the big leaping ability you'd like out of a 6' 2" receiver. With his speed and route running, you'd like to be able to see him take an outside post and out-jump the smaller cornerbacks, but when you combine short hops and small hands you won't see him winning the one on one battles for jump balls on the outside.

Verdict

Cobi Hamilton's production and physical measurements speak for themselves. As the main target on a bad SEC team last season, he still ranked 5th in the nation in receiving yards.

His route running and size will be a major asset in the NFL. If he can continue to churn up yards after the catch, he'll be a nightmare for NFL cornerbacks. He's been projected all over the board, but some NFL team is going to get a very reliable and consistent receiver.

Arkansas Razorbacks NFL Draft Profile: Cobi Hamilton

2013-04-26T18:35:13Z

Strengths

He never suffered any serious injuries during his Razorback career and tallied at least one reception in each of his last 34 Arkansas games dating back to September of his sophomore season.

Weaknesses

Verdict

Cobi Hamilton's production and physical measurements speak for themselves. As the main target on a bad SEC team last season, he still ranked 5th in the nation in receiving yards.

ESPN Ranks the Top 74 NCAA Champions

2013-03-09T20:16:30Z

NCAA Tournament turns 75

The 1994 Razorbacks had only one future NBA first-round pick -- forward Corliss Williamson -- but coach Nolan Richardson had a collection of tough, tenacious, blue-collar players, who were more than willing to wear down opponents with his "40 Minutes of Hell" defensive pressure. The Razorbacks were ranked No. 1 for 10 weeks during the regular season. After going 25-3, they were the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and won their first five NCAA tournament games by at least eight points. In the national semifinals, Arkansas guards Corey Beck and Clint McDaniel smothered Arizona guards Damon Stoudamire and Khalid Reeves in a 91-82 victory. Against Duke in the championship game, Scotty Thurman hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds left to lift Arkansas to a 76-72 victory and its first national championship. -- Mark Schlabach

Vote in the Poll where you think the Hogs were ranked? I'll put the answer in the comments.

Poll

Where do you think ESPN ranked Arkansas in order of Best National Championship team of the 74 that have won the NCAA tournament?

#1, Obviously!

26 votes

#60 or something, ESPN hates Arkansas

71 votes

#17, It's respectable.

89 votes

#10, We really should've won in 1995, too.

104 votes

290 votes | Poll has closed

This was nice to read. No Current Grizzlies on this list.

2013-03-09T19:48:23Z

The Worst Contracts in the NBA

Cutting to the chase...

25. Rudy Gay: three years, $53.7 million
Most fans love the idea of Rudy: 6-foot-8, defends either forward spot, good athlete, unafraid at crunch time, seems like he's good. Nobody wants to accept that he's a horrific shooter — repeat: horrific — who excels at posting up smaller defenders, and that's about it. Math doesn't lie: According to Hoopdata.com, Gay is shooting 25 percent on shots from 16 to 23 feet (the worst percentage of anyone who attempted three-plus shots per game from that range) and 23.3 percent from 3 (the worst percentage of anyone who attempted three-plus 3s per game). In other words, Gay attempts nearly 10 shots per game from more than 15 feet and makes two of them. I stand by "horrific."

Now, there's an excellent chance that (a) Gay needed a change of scenery, (b) Z-Bo and Marc Gasol clogged the paint and made it more difficult for him to drive to the hoop (there's some truth to that), (c) he's better off playing the 4 and exploiting quickness mismatches there (à la Carmelo) and (d) this trade could still work out for Toronto if Gay ever stops throwing up bricks. But reading Marc Spears's report that Toronto wants to lock up Gay TO AN EXTENSION this summer … I mean … what???? Why not use these last six weeks to make sure he's still competent offensively before broaching that strategy publicly? What's wrong with these teams?

This kinda reminds me of my fantasy league this summer, where I had two guys join and pick up from where the other teams left off. The choices were a team with Cam Newton and a team without Cam Newton. I thought the obvious choice was Cam Newton. One guy disagreed purposefully picked the team without him and won the league.

The Worst Contracts in the NBA

Cutting to the chase...

25. Rudy Gay: three years, $53.7 million
Most fans love the idea of Rudy: 6-foot-8, defends either forward spot, good athlete, unafraid at crunch time, seems like he's good. Nobody wants to accept that he's a horrific shooter — repeat: horrific — who excels at posting up smaller defenders, and that's about it. Math doesn't lie: According to Hoopdata.com, Gay is shooting 25 percent on shots from 16 to 23 feet (the worst percentage of anyone who attempted three-plus shots per game from that range) and 23.3 percent from 3 (the worst percentage of anyone who attempted three-plus 3s per game). In other words, Gay attempts nearly 10 shots per game from more than 15 feet and makes two of them. I stand by "horrific."

Now, there's an excellent chance that (a) Gay needed a change of scenery, (b) Z-Bo and Marc Gasol clogged the paint and made it more difficult for him to drive to the hoop (there's some truth to that), (c) he's better off playing the 4 and exploiting quickness mismatches there (à la Carmelo) and (d) this trade could still work out for Toronto if Gay ever stops throwing up bricks. But reading Marc Spears's report that Toronto wants to lock up Gay TO AN EXTENSION this summer … I mean … what???? Why not use these last six weeks to make sure he's still competent offensively before broaching that strategy publicly? What's wrong with these teams?

Florida Game Preview: Razorbacks Knocking on the Door

2013-02-23T17:00:07Z

Arkansas is riding high after going 5-1 over the last 6 SEC games, including home wins over Florida and Missouri and the first road win of the season. While struggling mightily in a road blowout loss to Vanderbilt and a too-close home win over Georgia, the Hogs are in the conversation as an NCAA tournament bubble team.

Florida had gone 8-0 in conference play until falling on the road in Fayetteville. The Gators bounced back and won 3 in a row before collapsing in Columbia and allowing the Tigers to erase a 13 point deficit. With a guaranteed spot in the tournament locked up, the Gators can't gain a whole lot from SEC wins, but stand to lose quite a bit with SEC losses, and may not even regain a #1 seed if they win out.

Keys to the Game

Arkansas - Road Woes. Get over them. Simple. Enough has been written about this. If Arkansas wants to be an NCAA team they need to play basketball regardless of the venue. If they can only win at home, then they're going to have to play in the NIT.

Florida - 3 pointers. Florida's been averaging about 27 ppg off of three pointers. Florida averages 1.17 points per possession, but that only happens when they make the three ball. Florida lives and dies by the three.

Arkansas - Make it a ball game. The Gators have only played 3 games this season decided by 10 points or less and have lost all of them. If the Hogs can hang around until the end of the game, they have a very good chance of winning a close one. A close game will also require Donovan to keep his 7 guys out on the court the entire game. With Will Yequete out, the Gators have 7 players that average 10 minutes or more. Arkansas has 11. In a physical close game that's close at the end, Arkansas depth could win out.

Florida - Get ahead early... I know thunder stolen in the last section, but this goes even deeper for the Gators. The core 8 players for the Gators this season are very very good, and once you go further down the dept chart, there just isn't enough experience for Billy Donovan to trust them in a close game. The Gators have to get some rest for their key players and can only do that with a big lead. Foul trouble will hurt them too. If Eric Murphy or Patric Young pick up early fouls then it forces extended minutes from Casey Prather, the only viable bench option to spell either big man. Foul trouble to both would prove disastrous.

Arkansas - Turnovers. In the Arkansas win over Florida at the beginning of this magical month of February, The Hogs forced 16 Turnovers (about 5 more than Florida averages) and limited their own turnovers to 8 (10 below their normal average). Yes, play uptempo. Yes, attack the basket and draw fouls on the Florida big men, but hold onto that ball like your NCAA tournament hopes depend on it.

Florida - Defending BJ Young and/or Marshawn Powell. In the first contest, the Gators held the pair to under 24 points, but it still wasn't enough. The real key for teams this season has been to completely shut down one or the other. In the last loss for Arkansas, Powell fouled out with only 5 points and BJ could only score 7 points. Georgia almost had this recipe down, but Anthlon Bell kept the Hogs with a pulse enough to finish the close game. Florida ran up against another athletic big man and talented shooting guard in Columbia this week and let Laurence Bowers and Jabari Brown combine for 29 points.

Summary and Prediction

Arkansas has come out flat in many many games this season including spotting Mizzou 9 points, and blowout losses at Texas A&M, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt. Against a team playing for a #1 seed, Arkansas must force the Florida starters to stay on the floor the whole game and harass them with defense. They can't give up the ball and waste possessions on turnovers, and must be in the game until the very end. Arkansas has a signature win this season over Florida in Bud Walton, but that one would take a back seat to how special a win in Gainesville would be on Saturday Night.

This game will come down to the leadership from the Hogs. It's more about the Hogs and their identity than what Florida does. We know what Florida does and what they consistently put out. The Hogs on their best night can win in Gainesville, and on their worst night, they could be seeing Billy Donovan calling out reserves early in the 2nd half. Saturday night, Marshawn Powell will put this team on his back and show the NCAA tournament committee that the Hogs are ready to play on the road. The game will come down to the final minute and possibly overtime. If it goes to overtime, I firmly believe Arkansas depth will win the game for the Hogs, but if it ends in regulation, it will most likely fall on timely Florida 3 point shooting.

Final Score: Florida 68, Arkansas 64

ESPN's Bubble Watch Lists Arkansas

2013-02-20T21:07:55Z

For only having one road win and no wins on real neutral courts, it's nice to see Arkansas listed as a team on the rise by ESPN. Florida is the only lock from the SEC, no teams are listed as "Teams that should be in"

Kentucky, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Missouri are with Arkansas in the "Work left to do" category.

Here's the blurb on Arkansas:

Arkansas [16-9 (7-5), RPI: 74, SOS: 85] Every year the bubble brings a handful of teams who come from nowhere, notch a few big upsets, and make us consider the value of recent wins against the entire (ahem) body of work. Arkansas is one of these teams. Since Feb. 2, the Razorbacks are 4-1 with wins over Florida and, most recently, Missouri. They also -- in typical fashion -- lost 67-49 at Vanderbilt. On Jan. 26, they lost 75-54 at South Carolina. So, yeah, there's plenty of work to do here. But the Hogs' surge has led to a couple of quality wins, and at the very least they're on the fringes of the conversation.

ESPN College Basketball Bubble Watch

Not quite a glowing recommendation, and not a lot of talk about what the work is exactly, but the Razorbacks on the court know it starts with Georgia Thursday night.

We'll keep you updated on what ESPN is saying based on the results of the Hogs' games this week.