Basketball has not been a huge deal in the Ozarks for quite some time.  If ever.  But when Coach Nolan Richardson took the job of Head Coach a few years back he decided to make Arkansas Razorback basketball more than just a way to bide your time between the latest bowl game and the start of spring drills.  He has put together a program that not only has exceeded what the footballers are doing in Little Rock but has got the fans completely rabid as well. The infamous holler of Sooooeeeey is not just reserved for touchdowns anymore.  How did he do it?  And more importantly will what he is doing with his infamous ’40 Minutes of Hell’ translate to the much more athletic SEC and will they be able to compete with the Kentucky’s and LSU’s of the world? 

First of all the Razorback have always had a dang good basketball team.  They just need to take it to the next level to gain national recognition and playing in the SEC you will get that attention.  But that doesn’t mean you will get that attention on the basketball court as though every football game is broadcast nationally for this league, they do not have the same coverage in hoops.  Well, unless you are Kentucky which is the standard Richardson and company are shooting for.  Adolf Rupp did set a pretty good template for future programs to emulate.  The way that you do this is recruit great players.  The way that you recruit great players is win games and/play a style of basketball that is exciting and kids want to be a part of.  Richardson has done this.  Richardson’s ‘40 minutes of hell’ featuring a full court press that leads to fun and exciting basketball keep the kids motivated and the fans coming to games.  Richardson is a master at bringing in great kids as well especially 6’4 wings even if he has to wait a year to get these kids.  Richardson is willing to take a chance on some kids who have fallen between the cracks usually due to the biased entrance requirements for incoming athletes.  He has made it a point to go after these one year players either from other schools or who are playing a year in Juco.  You see Richardson has a nice connection to the JC ranks as not too long ago he led Western Texas junior college to an undefeated national title.  He has a few of those kids coming into Fayetteville this year.  He also has huge connections in Tulsa where he coached for a minute and led the Golden Hurricanes to an NIT title.  Richardson played for Don Haskins in UTEP so he understands recruiting in this part of the country well and though he emphasizes keeping all of the Arkansas kids at home, he can also get some kids from around the entire region when needed.  This usually means getting some post players as this is the area the state and this program lacks the most of.  If Richardson can coach this program to a national title he would be the first coach to ever lead teams to national titles in the JC. NIT and Big Dance.  This might seem far-fetched right now but with the kids he has coming in and the style of play Arkansas plays and with all of them super athletes on the wings, it is not just pipe dream in Fayetteville. 

Richardson did take over some mighty talented players when he got here.  Seniors George Kok and John Adams (he is used to being second in order) have been stellar since arriving here three years ago.  They led this team to their first SWC title and a trip to the elite eight.  Kok was a dominant big man who at 6’11 towered above most of his opponents.  That was then and this is now.  Kok is skinny as a rail and got dominated in his two showdowns with Houston’s Nigerian nightmare, Hakeem Olojowon.  Richardson realizes he needs to get some more beef up front and has recruited a ton (almost literally) of it.  Adams was the first of the great wings in Fayetteville and at 6’3 was a high scoring stud.  He is nowhere near the athlete of some of the new kids that Richardson and his predecessor Eddie Sutton brought to town.  Sutton, who has went back to his alma mater to help his mentor Hank Iba rebuild that prestigious program before he takes over next year, should get some credit for moving this program on up.  He started the trend of going after 6’4 studs on the wings.  Dubbed the triplets, Sutton’s recruits are the group that got Arkansas basketball moving forward.  Juniors Sidney Moncrieff, Ron Brewer, and Marvin Delph came in to this University together and will leave together after one more year.  Not only have they excelled for the Razorback but they have also set the tone for the style of basketball this University will play.  But all was not so clear back then as the first black basketball player here was fellow junior Almer Lee.  Lee barely played for the coach before Sutton and even redshirted a year.  He had to convince these new guys that Sutton was different and would play them.  He did and the rest is Arkansas history.  BTW Lee is still on the team but with all of the talent coming to town in the back court he has slid down the bench pretty far. 

Moncrief is the quintessential Razorback player.  He has become the template for what a player should be and what Richardson wants representing his program.  First and foremost Moncrieff is a defensive monster.  He can guard anyone and with his quickness and agility and is great at pressuring the ball one on one or in a full court press which this team is almost always in.  Moncrief may be as good as they get at matching up with another player in the back court and shutting them down as there gets.  Moncrief is a great athlete who can also score.  He relies on his great leaping ability to get of his shot and finishes plays.  He does not take bad shots and his shooting percentage is ridiculous for a guard at almost 60 percent.  He is also arguably the best rebounding guard in the country.  Put all of this together and you have one heckuva player who carries a huge burden for this program but never seems to get the recognition he deserves.  Boy he should.  Maybe it is because he does not bring attention to himself and just plays the game like it should be played.   Brewer is just the opposite of Moncrief.  He is a scorer first and foremost.  Brewer has great range and loves the moment.  Especially at the end of games.  He loves the attention and is a natural showboat.    Delph is the step brother of the triplets never getting his due.  A solid player who is unselfish and plays solid defense but can also finish a break.  He, like Brewer, lost some minutes to the new recruits that Richardson brought in last year but they took it in stride and when they were called upon did their job with the same enthusiasm they have always had.  This trio have become what this University is all about and their willingness to not only succeed but to lead and become the standard for those who follow cannot be understated to the success of this program. 

Richardson went out and recruited players who fit the Triplet mold.  For instance, sophomore Darrell Walker and Alvin Robertson are Moncrief clones. Both are great defenders who have complete games.  No team in the country has three back court defenders who can match up with that trio. Walker is also a good ballhandler and passer who split time at point with freshman Lee Mayberry.  Robertson believe it or not may even be better than Moncrief defensively.  Imagine the practices when those two square off.  Robertson is not quite Moncrief offensively but is getting there and is solid on the boards as well.  He can also distribute much better and some are saying he or Walker will be the point guard this year.  Can you imagine having the luxury of being able to replace one defensive juggernaut in the backcourt with a guy who is his equal and are talking maybe the two best in the country.  Oh, and you press non-stop.  And how about when Richardson puts them in together?   There is no better group of wing defenders in the world let alone the SEC but Richardson still has to figure out who is playing where.  And who is going to get the ball off the boards and get this show running because part of the 40 minutes is the non-stop offensive pressure on the break.  And the biggest question might be who is the guy running this vaunted break?  It has not been a problem yet as everyone takes their turn being the passer but the SWC is not the SEC at point guard.  Or at least Houston, the Razorbacks biggest rival, isn’t.  Texas has some guards. 

Obviously, the Razorbacks have a great backcourt but in order for them to win they would have to get something from their front line as well.  Kok will get his chance to regain some glory but Richardson is looking elsewhere and is not hiding this point.  Richardson has another set of triplets he intends to use up front. Junior Dean Tolson and sophomores Joe Kleine and Andrew Lang he will rotate at least to being the year at the post.  Tolson is 6’8 but a svelte 190 but is a smooth operator under the basket.  This kid from KC MO had a terrific year for Richardson and the tough-minded coach loves his toughness.  Still, he is a bit skinny and he wore down last year dropping off significantly the last ten games.  Kleine is another Show me state kid who was recruited heavily coming out of college and was a prep All-American.  He chose Notre Dame but got lost in the shuffle on Digger Phelps loaded front line. Richardson gladly came a calling as he does before other team’s pounce and got this kid to come down south.  Kleine is a bruiser who loves to set screens and battle in the low post but has a solid offensive game as well.  Big Joe has the size (6’11 255) to defend and bang and will play right away.  He might even start as this program is in need of size and this red-headed big man has a ton.  Fellow Sophomore Andrew Lang is a shot blocker extraordinaire who can finish with dunks but is limited offensively.  At 6’11 245 this kid from up the road in Pine Bluff (the only returning big man from Arkansas) got limited minutes in his first year even with the needs up front but produced big down the stretch in some huge matchups.  He is a good fit for the 40 minutes of hell defense as that much pressure needs a rim protecting goaltender.  Lang is by far the best one of those on the returning roster but there is one kid coming who could really challenge him and is even wider than Kleine.  Richardson has some options but needs a couple of these incoming kids to step up and we are not just talking about Kleine. If Arkansas can keep up in the paint with the elite front lines of this league in Kentucky and LSU they will compete for a title.  The back court is that good.  Junior Steve Schall who is even skinnier than Tolson and sophomore Scott Hastings, who missed much of last year with injury, are also in the mix.  Schall is heady but out of his depth at times physically and Hastings is physical and can hit a jump shot but needs to stay on the court.  Seniors Jerry Carlton, Fred Grim and Tommy Boyer are in the same boat as these front-line guys.  Way down the depth chart with more guys coming that are better.  Productive players from the past put out to pasture by the tough-minded new coach and no one bats an eye as it just feels like it is the right direction and he has big time support from the alumni and fans. Sophomore US Reed might have a chance as he is a true point but he is not the athlete of most of his peers that Richardson has brought in.   

The Arkansas Razorbacks have quickly become one of the top programs in the country. Coach Nolan Richardson has recruited great players who fit his great system of 40 minutes of hell of basketball that is not only fun to play and watch but successful.  He plays a non -stop pace and rotates in different waves of players who seem interchangeable due to their high skill sets.  Their defense breeds offense and the Razorbacks will shuv it right back in your face quicker than a greased up hog  This University has decided to jump from the Southwest Conference where they felt disrespected to the mighty SEC.  Both are football first conferences but the SEC gets attention that the SWC only dreamed of. The crazed Fans of the Razorbacks really will have something to cheer for if this team can live up to some new pretty lofty expectations of this league.  But these Hogs certainly seem to be up to the challenge.  And will only get better.