So What’s the Deal with Arkansas Basketball?

The Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team just upset the #5 team in the country. The win over a top ranked opponent snaps a 3 game losing streak for the Hogs that includes a loss to Georgia. I thought we had moved past this after last year’s 27-9 season? What’s the deal with Arkansas Basketball?

I’m not trying to take anything away from last nights big win over TAMU. It could very well end up being the biggest win of the season for the Arkansas basketball team. The Hogs absolutely out-hustled the Aggies all night, forcing turnovers and converting opportunities into scores.

It was exactly the type of basketball that Mike Anderson wants to play. Up tempo, lots of shots, and a full court defense. I love to see these flashes of the 40 minutes of Hell that we had hoped would return when Mike came back. We saw it a lot last season, particularly in the second half of the season.

But now that we’re in year 5 of Anderson’s reign as Head Hog, I would be remiss if I didn’t ask; Why are we still just seeing flashes of Anderson-style basketball in year 5? I think it’s a valid question. The Hogs may have gotten a gigantic upset win last night, but all it did was move them to 10-10 on the season. Back to .500, with a slim outside chance at the NIT if we finish strong.

So what’s the deal with Arkansas Basketball?

First off, is this team good or not? Clearly, they aren’t terrible. As Coach Anderson has pointed out in interviews and press conferences, this team is so very close to being ranked right now. 8 of the Hogs 10 losses are by 10 points or less. If a shot here or a foul there had gone Arkansas’ way, then who knows what this team’s record would be?

But, unfortunately, those shots and fouls didn’t go our way. The Razorbacks have a problem with winning close games, simple as that. The Razorbacks only have 2 wins of their 10 in close games. The rest were blowout victories. So, in the 10 total games that were decided by 5 shots or less, the Hogs are 2/10. Not great, honestly.

We all knew coming into this season that this year would be a rebuilding year. We have a lot of talent coming on for next year’s squad, and we’ll be returning most of the players from this year’s team. We all knew that. And yet, somehow, Anderson had this team on the verge of winning some major games. Which is what makes losing to Georgia and LSU the way we did so tough. Being almost good is, a lot of times, harder on fans than just being bad. Mike has this team good enough to win big games, but they just haven’t been able to do it.

Mike is definitely owed some credit for this team’s development, though. Look at how Moses Kingsley, Jabril Durham, Anthlon Bell, and Dusty Hannahs have developed under Anderson. The best attribute for Anderson and his staff is how they develop these guys into complete players by the time they are juniors and seniors. It’s why Anderson has had continued success in his career at every school he’s been to.

However, the fact that the Hogs have already lost more games this year, with 11 games left, then they did all last year is a problem. Rebuilding is one thing, but Arkansas just wasn’t a complete team when this season started. It’s obvious that Anderson did not think Michael Qualls would be going pro. And when Ted Kapita was unable to make it to campus, Anderson was left scrambling to sign some players, none of which were anywhere near the caliber of Kapita or what Arkansas needed to build a complete team.

And that is Anderson and his staff’s biggest detriment: Recruiting. I’m not even talking about Malek Mink or whatever his name was. Mink had been raised in Arkansas basketball, and he wouldn’t have come here no matter who was coaching. A lot of folks put the loss of him on Mike, and that’s fine. By a strictly fact-based argument, Anderson lost another 5 star in state kid to Kentucky this season. So…I get it.

But it’s not the one kid that is the issue. It’s been an issue with Anderson since he arrived in Fayetteville. Anderson has only signed 1 top 30 class at Arkansas in his 5 seasons, and that was the class that was solely comprised of Portis and Kingsley. Anderson does a great job at finding 3 and 4 star guys that can develop into talented players. But in basketball, more so than any other collegiate sport, you have to be able to recruit elite players to win titles. There is no denying it.

This inability to recruit at the same level as other conference schools is why, despite out-coaching and outplaying A&M tonight, the Hogs will be at home in March, while the Aggies are making a tournament run. Same thing with LSU and Florida as well. Until the Razorbacks are able to land 1 or 2 elite players every few years, then there will always be a ceiling on how high the Hogs can rise.

So what’s the deal with Arkansas basketball? The debate in Hog nation rages on, and last night’s win will surely add fuel to the fire for the pro-Anderson crowd. The anti-Anderson crowd will then point out that the win only gets us back to .500, and the argument circle will go back around and around again.

It’s obvious that, despite the outcry from a vocal portion of Razorback fans, Mike Anderson will definitely be the head coach of the Hogs in 2017. In my opinion, with the incoming JUCO All-Americans and the returning roster, expectations will be high for Anderson and the Hogs. If those expectations aren’t met, then Mike will certainly feel his seat get warmer.

But until that time, the only thing left to do is watch the Arkansas basketball team, and try to figure out if they’re good, average, terrible, or something else all together. 6 of the Hogs last 11 games are at home. If they can win out at home, and steal some road wins, then this season will end on a much higher note than it began.

More razorbacks: Hogs vs TAMU: Final Score, Highlights, Stats, and More

But that kind of consistency might be asking too much from this group of Razorbacks. Hopefully not.

Woo Pig.