Razorback Basketball in Week 1 of Practice

Feb 6, 2016; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Anthlon Bell (5) pats Razorback guard Jimmy Whitt (24) on the back after a foul in the second half of play with the Tennessee Volunteers at Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks won 85-67. Mandatory Credit: Gunnar Rathbun-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 6, 2016; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Anthlon Bell (5) pats Razorback guard Jimmy Whitt (24) on the back after a foul in the second half of play with the Tennessee Volunteers at Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks won 85-67. Mandatory Credit: Gunnar Rathbun-USA TODAY Sports

The best time of the year is so close I can taste it. It’s that time when Razorback football and Razorback basketball season overlap and Mike Anderson feels good about the first week of practice.

With the Arkansas basketball season a little less than a month away, the Hogs have begun official practice this week. The Razorback basketball team had their first practice at 6am on Monday.

After a rebuilding year this past season, Mike Anderson feels like the Razorbacks fastest 40 is ready to get back to a high level of play. Last year the hogs went 16-16 for the season and did not qualify for the NCAA tournament but this team is already built for success.

For the last five weeks, the team has been conditioning and Anderson feels it’s been working. He has built his team based on his former boss Nolan Richardson’s philosophy, the infamous “40 minutes of hell”. Anderson’s “Fastest 40” has been lacking in the fast part the past year but he feels this past five weeks of training has paid off.

Must Read: ESPN FPI Has Hogs Losing Remaining Games

Yesterday, Mike Anderson held a press conference and had a lot of positives to say about the state of the Hogs. One thing he was happy to say was the improvement of his seniors. Moses Kingsley, Manuale Watkins and the three-point sniper, Dusty Hannahs have played in a combined 256 games. The three are looking to use that experience to lead some of these younger, highly skilled players, to the promise land of the NCAA tournament this year.