Just a modest goal

We will never draw large crowds as a second-tier school in a state that does not care about basketball. It just is not going to happen. That does not bother me. I do not expect it nor demand it.

However, I really do wish that we drew the lion’s share of basketball fans in central Arkansas – and we do not even do that.  We ought to be able to pull in true UALR fans plus those people in the most populous region of the state who love basketball but who cannot regularly travel to Fayetteville. That is an attainable goal. I wish someone at UALR would step up and make it happen.

Partisan booster

What we need at Little Rock is a big, highly-partisan booster with lots of money who is a Little Rock fan and ONLY a Little Rock fan.

Stetson rebounding

Last year the Stetson Hatters had six players with at least 4.1 and no more than 5.5 rebounds per game. Pretty good team rebounding.

Robert Morris

Keep an eye on Robert Morris to make some noise in post season this year. They return all five starters from a 26-win team last year.

Play-in games

It does not matter what they do: they will never make the  NCAA play-in games feel like real games. And that is a shame for the teams participating in them.

USA sleeper

South Alabama could be the sleeper in the SBC this year. They are undersized in the post, but routinely out-rebound their opponents. And they return all five starters.

Pitt in the ACC

The ACC had better get ready for when Pitt hits the door in that conference, because when they play as they like to play, Pitt plays blue collar basketball with a capital B.

May be faulty logic, but . . .

We have coming in the #76, 114, 140, and 195 ranked players at their positions. We were the #189 ranked team according to Sagarin. With four players who ranked higher than our team, one would think we have improved our talent pool.

ALWAYS INVESTMENTS

At our level, recruits are always investments. They do not have the talent of Big Six recruits so they are one-and-done types, but they might develop into good players in time. They should be counted on for future returns. Our problem is that under Shields turnover in the roster has been so high that we never have been able to hold them for future returns, but have to spend them currently. We are always having to throw freshmen into the fray from the get-go because we can't keep players long enough to get the return on investment.

One-and-done curiosity

There has been a steady stream of one-and-done players into the NBA for several years now. Something puzzles me about that. At some point, don't the one-and-done players who are now have several years of NBA experience and the non-one-and-done players who showed they were really good begin to choke out the room for raw freshmen coming in? Are we to assume that each freshman class is better than the one the year before?

How good Will?

One of the most intriguing speculations about this roster is just how good Will Neighbour might get to be. He will be on campus this summer, and he was not last year, but will be recovering from surgery. We may have to wait until his senior year to see just how could he can be. Nice to think about. I would imagine opposing coaches are thinking about it.

Irritating

Fayetteville fans just think it is their birthright that everyone in the state is naturally obligated to root for their team. I guess that is one of the most irritating things about that program.

Not boring

If you look at the list of scores on our schedule last year, you would see that we beat FAU 40-38. “How boring!” you might be tempted to respond. Appearances are often deceiving, however. I saw that game, and I can assure it was far from boring. The score was low, but it was not because of boring play. The intensity of the half-court defense on both ends of the court was the best I have ever seen. Both teams absolutely got after the other. It was physical, bruising defense, with non-stop effort. If the only thing that interests you is offense, then obviously you would not have enjoyed it, but I can assure you it was a great basketball game.

Best college team

The best college team of all time has to be among this group:
1. One of the Bill Russell teams at San Fransisco in the 1950's.
2. One of the Alcindor teams at UCLA.
3. The 1976 Indiana Hoosiers.

I would not argue among these, but I am sure it is from that list.

The ones I do not like

The basketball programs that I intensely dislike are not from the SBC, not even ASU, our arch-rival. They are certain of the big-money schools that clothe themselves in arrogance and sleeze.