Pittman with first update after spring practice cancellation due to concerns
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman held a teleconference with the media Friday morning and talked about how he and his staff are continuing to work (especially on recruiting) after spring cancelled.
Jones gets honorable mention on AP’s All-American team
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ Mason Jones was named 2020 Associated Press All-America honorable mention, being one of 20 players to be recognized.
Jones becomes the 31st Razorback to be named an All-American and the fourth since 2000, joining Joe Johnson (2001), Bobby Portis (2015) and Daniel Gafford (2019).
Jones and Immanuel Quickley (Kentucky), also an honorable mention selection, were the only SEC players recognized on the AP All-America team.
• One of five finalists for the Jerry West Award
• Named SEC co-Player of the Year by the league’s media along with Mississippi State’s Reggie Perry.
• Named USBWA All-District VII
• Named first team All-SEC by the coaches and media
• Four-time SEC Player of the Week, tying a league record; one of three to accomplish the feat and first since 2009
• SEC scoring leader (22.03 ppg), 8th in the NCAA
• SEC Scoring Leader (in SEC Games), 23.6 ppg (Arkansas single-season record)
• Only player in the SEC top 20 in scoring (1st), rebounding (20th), assists (10th) and steals (6th) and the only player in the SEC to lead his team in all four categories.
• One of two players in the SEC to lead his team in scoring and rebounding
• Had nine 30-point games, the most by an SEC player over the last 20 years. Also had two 40-point games, 1 of 3 SEC players over the last 30 years to have multiple 40-points games in a season. Jones is the first Razorback to score 30-plus in three consecutive games
• 683 Points Scored, 11th in the NCAA and 7th on UA season list
• 424 Points Scored (SEC Season) for an Arkansas record
Led the NCAA in free throws made (233) and free throw attempts (282). Set Arkansas record for free throws made in a season, was 5th on SEC single season list and was the most in the SEC since 1980
• Set Arkansas record for free throws made in an SEC Season with 146
• Scored his 1,000th career point with a free throw at 15:58 of the first half against Tennessee … The 44th Razorback to eclipse 1,000 career points, the 8th to do so in his first two years with the program … Was fifth-fastest Razorback to reach 1,000 career points (61 games)
2020 AP All-American team
FIRST TEAM
Obi Toppin, Dayton
Luka Garza, Iowa
Markus Howard, Marquette
Myles Powell, Seton Hall
Payton Pritchard, Oregon
SECOND TEAM
Devon Dotson, Kansas
Udoka Azubuike, Kansas
Malachi Flynn, San Diego State
Cassius Winston, Michigan State
Vernon Carey Jr., Duke
THIRD TEAM
Filip Petrusev, Gonzaga
Jordan Nwora, Louisville
Jared Butler, Baylor
Tre Jones, Duke
Jalen Smith, Maryland
HONORABLE MENTION
Saddiq Bey, Villanova
Mason Jones, Arkansas
Daniel Oturu, Minnesota
Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky
Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton
Information from Razorback Sports Communications is included in this story.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — Hog 1st/2nd round memories, plus Clay’s Nolan article
Tye & Tommy on the best first/second round Hog NCAAT memories, Clay Henry talks with Nolan, and more!
It’s okay that Musselman didn’t mention some of us ‘quiet ones’ in back
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman started the teleconference Thursday morning with apologies to some of us in the media for not being included in a video released earlier in the day.
My only question is… who actually recorded this? ???? #HELP @EricPMusselman @RazorbackMBB pic.twitter.com/P9m1gdWUb6
— Danyelle Musselman (@DanyelleSargent) March 19, 2020
Musselman started by apologizing for failing to mention some of us “quiet ones” in the back at press conferences. Really, the only way it would have been appropriate would be to mention our names followed by crickets.
Well, Leo Cruz does ask an occasional question but he also fired off a mariachi song one time in a press conference on his iPad. Oh, and he always thanks you at the end.
The rest of us, well, we are just in the back hanging out and making sure the camera doesn’t fall off the stand. We really don’t fire out questions. Mainly it’s because somebody else usually asks what we would.
Besides, sooner or later, Mike Cawood or one of his interns is going to get hurt trying to run the question microphones from one end of the media room to the other. Between the chairs and the cables, well, it could get interesting.
Side Note: Speaking of that, Mike Neighbors sat in one of the chairs in the media room a few weeks ago and because it was kinda sitting loosely on top of another one, he dropped several inches … his life flashed before his eyes as he went down. Russell Schaap put crime scene tape around the chair before his next presser … and Neighbors appropriately acknowledged it.
Our questions for Musselman, though, would probably be a little different:
• Maybe the most important unanswered question is what breed is your dog, Swish? You didn’t know the first time it came up and, sadly, Bob Holt never really followed up with that bit of information.
• Speaking of Bob, with a few minutes of extra time these days, could you please do a list of all the little tiny detail stuff you could hand out? Please include everyone you’ve ever coached or seen, worked for or read their book, met or even seen … with dates, please. Times are optional, but appreciated. It might save a ton of time later when we start getting together regularly again.
• Do you really care what our opinion is after a game framed as a question? Particularly with excruciating details some of us have no idea what the question is even about.
• Has anyone ever asked a bad question? We hear you say, “good question” a lot, but you never go the other direction. When you see us in the back looking at each other with strange looks you’ll know we have no idea what the question was about, either.
• How hard is it, at times, making your answers longer than the questions asked?
That’s just a few of the ones that immediately come to mind.
Seriously, though, for even us anonymous guys Musselman has been a refreshing change of pace in press conferences.
For me, it’s the way he handles losses. At times it appears he hates losing more than he likes winning and that’s always been something I’ve noticed over decades of doing this that separates the really good coaches from the so-so ones.
Whether he knows me or not doesn’t really matter. The fans should be noticing the change in “culture” around Razorback basketball.
They are the ones that should matter, especially in this time when many feel like a huge chunk of their lives has been yanked away.
Musselman updates status of Razorbacks after activities put on hold
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman talked with the media via teleconference Thursday about the status of players, both those coming back, redshirts and new signees.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — Missing Hogs, March Madness memories, plus RD
Tye & Tommy on Hogs you’ll miss most, first/second round March Madness memories, plus Richard Davenport!
Hogs were ‘just in shock’ when season cancelled, Van Horn said
Arkansas’ baseball team had about the same reaction when the word came down from the SEC and NCAA about the jarring premature end of the season due to the national emergency over the COVID-19 virus.
“They were just in shock,” Dave Van Horn said Wednesday morning on a teleconference.
In what ended up being the last game of the 2020 season last week, there was about as much side discussion about the crisis as it was the game going on so the situation was not completely unexpected.
“You start getting wind of it after the win over Grand Canyon and next day we’re supposed to fly out to Starkville,” Van Horn said about the opening SEC series against Mississippi State. “Then we’re put on hold and we pretty much knew what was going to happen there.
“We kinda knew it was going to go away.”
But there was still a glimmer of hope until Tuesday when the NCAA and the SEC slammed the door shut on all sports for awhile.
Van Horn normally stands up to address the team and assistant coaches are scattered around. Not this time. He brought them to the front to stand with him.
“I wanted them to see what I was going to see in the players’ faces,” Van Horn said. “It was tough. It was really hard to look at the players and their reactions.”
All sports function on a routine schedule that becomes a part of both coaches and players. Baseball plays so many games at such a fast pace that routine is a necessity. The Razorbacks pretty much figured it was just a matter of time.
“Behind closed doors we were thinking we’re done,” Van Horn said. “When are they just going to tell us this is over? You have to train for a certain date. Hitters have to swing the bat nearly every day.”
All that’s over and it’s not coming back for this season.
Which means star players Heston Kjerstad, Casey Martin and Casey Opitz won’t be back for the Hogs whenever things resume.
““I haven’t discussed anything with them as far as that goes,” Van Horn said. “I just know how highly those guys are going to be sought after in the draft and the kind of money that’s going to go out there to them.”
A couple of others may leave, too, but Van Horn wasn’t naming any names with those guys.
“There are a couple that are iffy,” he said.
With just 16 games played (and the Hogs’ record will remain 11-5 for all time), this team was starting to get things straightened out and the frustration slipped through at times in Van Horn’s voice.
Especially Kjerstad and Martin.
“He was starting to heat up,” Van Horn said of Kjerstad. “He would have hit mid-20 or 30 home runs this year.”
And Martin had finally matured to the point he was handling some early-season adversity and turning things around.
“He was really starting to come out of it,” Van Horn said. “His demeanor when he wasn’t having a good day was getting so much better. I think he was getting ready to take off.”
Others were developting, too.
“Some guys having great years,” Van Horn said. “I really wanted I wanted Christian Franklin to keep developing.”
There will be changes to the roster. There is some accepted expectation that eligibility will be restored to some players, but Van Horn admitted that’s going to be a tricky area.
The not knowing may be the biggest problem of all for Van Horn.
“There’s so many unknowns right now,” Van Horn said.
Van Horn on how he addressed team; cancellation ends big year for some
Razorback coach Dave Van Horn talked with the media on a teleconference for the first time since the remainder of the college baseball season was cancelled last week.
