ANDY’S NOTES: Morris recruiting walk-ons for a reason, hoops momentum, Pats’ win

Wednesday is getting here fast and early this week, Chad Morris has picked up a flurry of preferred walk-ons.

The odds are long they’ll be instant contributors in game situations, but it looks like Morris is getting players for practice, which is may be as important.

According to coaches who win championships, players do the overwhelming majority of their development in practice and that can only happen when the players they go against are, well, pretty good.

Teams don’t do “good on good,” as Morris calls it, that often. You simply can’t do that in the limited practice time teams have in the world of college football these days. You need position drills to be against really good practice players, which is how nearly every walk-on starts his college career.

Players improve by developing against competition that challenges them. Morris has said this repeatedly and a lot of folks completely miss the point. He wants his starters pushed to improve every day in practice by people who are good enough in a couple of areas to make them perform … or lose their spot.

That was explained by a former Alabama coach when asked about why the emphasis on the Crimson Tide actually recruiting walk-ons.

Apparently this staff subscribes to that theory as well.

As for what’s going to happen Wednesday, the guess here is there will be a surprise or two along the way.

Whether it’s good or bad … who knows?

Anderson made feelings known about officiating

Mike Anderson made it clear Monday afternoon he got his message across to officials in Baton Rouge during Saturday’s game … and he wasn’t going to give details, no matter how many different ways he was asked.

“You don’t need to know everything,” he said with a smile after the third straight question about LSU holding a small parade to the free-throw line in the Hogs’ 90-89 win.

By comparison, Arkansas got a few cursory trips to the line.

Anderson was more interested in talking about how this team is making progress throughout the season.

Despite what some think, which is basically noise he doesn’t pay attention to.

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They have now won three straight SEC games, which is something people apparently are completely willing to ignore.

Some fans are restless because this team hasn’t progressed far enough in the NCAA Tournament to suit them, which is sorta mind-boggling. Of course we haven’t gotten close to the tournaments yet and the Lunatic Fringe of the Hogs’ fan base is angling for positions on the bridge to jump off.

In a day and time when just making the tournament is harder than it was 30 years ago, expectations may exceed realistic possibilities. Disagree if you want, but it’s not the same rules or much of anything else in the world of college basketball that it was even 20 years ago.

Let’s face it, Nolan Richardson made the Sweet 16 35 percent of the time. The problem was he piled up his six appearances there in the first 10 years.

By the way, the Hogs haven’t made it there since.

A lot of things changed. Mid-major programs like Gonzaga are getting players that schools like Arkansas used to get. The NCAA Tournament selection folks give more spots to mid-major programs and the Cinderella automatic conference tournament qualifiers muddy the waters now more than ever.

Anderson is winning games at a clip even greater than Richardson’s last seven seasons.

It’s not that bad.

And if you think it is, you need to pay closer attention.

Super Bowl really wasn’t that bad

A lot of people have whined and complained about New England’s win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday was completely boring and a total disaster.

You don’t know football if you think that.

While I actually prefer watching high-scoring games dominated by teams scoring so fast you wonder if the scoreboard can last, Sunday’s game was a classic.

It may be the best-coached Super Bowl game in a long, long time.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is drawing a ton of praise for shutting down the Rams’ high-flying offense, too many people are overlooking what Wade Phillips did with a defense that matched them almost drive for drive.

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Oh, there were big plays on almost every series … by the defense. The Rams had to keep making big plays because New England was piling up yardage, but couldn’t get into the end zone.

Poor Jared Goff was more confused than a drunk who wakes up in the wrong house for the entire game.

This game was, in many respects, more of an artistic success than some recent high-scoring games.

Especially from a coaching standpoint.