Phil Elson & Tye Richardson hit on the Vandy win, interview Matt Zimmerman, and more!
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday
John, Tommy, and Nick Mason discuss the Nolan Court resolution, plus Richard Davenport!
Joe breaks 3-point season record as Hogs roll to easy win over Vanderbilt
On a day when Arkansas’ administration in Fayetteville released a request to finally honor Nolan Richardson, his protogé finally had a game like the good old days in a rollicking 84-48 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Earlier Wednesday, the announcement came that the request has been officially made to the UA’s Board of Trustees and will be voted on later in March. You would think the measure would pass because in that highly-political world there aren’t many resolutions submitted that don’t have to the votes to succeed.
Mike Anderson was more worried about yanking his team out of an uncharacteristic slide in February. Usually his teams have come roaring into March with a full head of steam.
Against the Commodores, the Razorbacks — at least for one night — showed flashes of the days when they were battling at this time of the year for an NCAA seed. That won’t be coming this year unless the Hogs run the table in Nashville next week that will shock the nation.
Arkansas only led Vandy by four at halftime, but out-scored the Commodores 55-23 in the second half to guarantee that Anderson’s record of never having a losing season as a head coach will continue. At 16-14 and one regular season left, the math works out.
The Hogs started the half with a 23-4 run that effectively put the game away as Anderson’s biggest key — defense — forced 23 turnovers which turned into 33 points. Those are numbers he looks at almost every game.
Daniel Gafford (20 points) and Mason Jones (16) keyed the fast start to the second half, but it was Joe, the freshman from Fort Smith Northside, that had the most buzz.
When his long-range bombs start falling, good things tend to happen for the Hogs. Hitting 4-of-6 from behind the arc, Joe broke Scotty Thurman’s record with 103 3-pointers on the year … with a game left Saturday at home against Alabama.
Wicklander, Franklin pace Hogs to 9-2 win over Charlotte on Wednesday
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas earned its fifth-straight win Wednesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium, defeating Charlotte, 9-2, on the backs of a strong start on the mound by Patrick Wicklander and a near-cycle from Christian Franklin.
Wicklander, making his second start of the year, not only had the longest outing of his young career (5.0 innings) but also notched a career-high eight strikeouts over 76 pitches and only walked three.
Wicklander’s last three outings have made him a strong asset either out of the bullpen or in a starting role for the Hogs. Over his last nine innings of work, he’s struck out 15, walked six and only allowed two runs.
On offense, Franklin turned in his third multi-hit game of the year, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. He had a single in the third inning, an RBI double in the fifth inning and followed that up with a two-RBI triple in the sixth inning, his first three-bagger of the season.
Arkansas (10-1) remains undefeated at home (8-0) with the win. It was nearly the Hogs’ first shutout of the season as they took a 9-0 lead into the ninth inning.
Charlotte (6-6) plated two runs in the final frame for the final tally, but it still marked the fifth time this year that Arkansas has won by seven or more runs.
Playing Long Ball
For the second straight game and third time this year, Arkansas hit two or more home runs as Trevor Ezell and Dominic Fletcher both added to their totals Wednesday afternoon.
Ezell hit his third of the year off the scoreboard in the sixth inning, which now ties him with Jack Kenley for the team lead. Then, Fletcher launched his second of the year in the seventh inning to pad Arkansas’ lead to 9-0.
Arkansas now has four players with two or more home runs and 12 home runs as a team through 11 games.
Small Ball
The Razorbacks played a little small ball and got a little luck in acquiring their first run in Wednesday’s game. After Fletcher and Opitz led off the second inning with walks, freshman Trey Harris put down a perfect sacrifice bunt down the first-base line to move the runners up 90 feet.
That was followed by a Kenley sacrifice fly to bring home Fletcher. Arkansas has totaled seven sacrifice hits this year and eight sacrifice flies.
Near-cycle for Franklin
Freshman outfielder Christian Franklin almost joined a very exclusive club in Arkansas history, falling just a home run short of the cycle.
Franklin had a single, a double and a triple in his first three at-bats on Wednesday and upped his batting average to .400 for the season, good for second on the team.
Kyle Harris has the only known cycle in Arkansas history, performing the feat in 1994 against Tennessee.
Razorback quotables
“I felt like Patrick Wicklander had really good stuff. He just didn’t command some of it. He walked the first batter the first three innings and they didn’t score a run. Very unusual. He had seven or eight strikeouts and those were the only three walks he had in five innings. He’s a guy who could pitch for us every Tuesday or Wednesday and if he keeps pitching well, maybe we flip him to the weekend to keep some of our older guys in the bullpen.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on Patrick Wicklander’s performance
“I thought we played a good ball game. That’s a solid team and we just got some big hits. To me the play of the early part of the game was just a great play by Casey Martin on a ground ball that looked like it was headed into center field. Instead of runners at first and third and nobody out we turned a double play. Two outs and nobody on. That was a big momentum swing. That was a big-time defensive play.” — Van Horn on Arkansas’ win over Charlotte
“Oh, that double play was huge in the game. We could have ended up with runners at first and third with one out or runners at second and third and no outs. There could have been different situations that could have changed the game. But as soon as I could see the ball in Marty’s (Casey Martin’s) glove I thought, ‘Ok, we at least got one, possibly two here.” —Patrick Wicklander on a run-saving double play in the third inning
Up Next
Arkansas continues its homestand this weekend with a three-game series against Louisiana Tech starting on Friday at 6 p.m. at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Games two and three are slated for 1 p.m. starts and all games will be televised on SEC Network+.
Van Horn after Razorbacks get 9-2 win over Charlotte on Wednesday
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn liked how his team got key hits when they needed them and pitcher Patrick Wicklander worked out of inning-opening walks; previews Louisiana Tech this weekend.
Franklin, Campbell, Wicklander after Arkansas downs Charlotte
Razorbacks Christian Franklin on his three-hit day and over-swinging trying to hit for cycle, Isaiah Campbell on weekend series and pitcher Patrick Wicklander on his one-hit, no runs, outing despite three walks.
University submits resolution for naming of Nolan Richardson Court
It’s one of the biggest Razorback debates of them all. Should Nolan Richardson have the floor at Bud Walton Arena be named after him?
Many of the fans have sounded off voicing their opinion that it should be named Nolan Richardson Court. Their outcry may have been answered.
According to the University of Arkansas:
“University of Arkansas Chancellor Joe Steinmetz has submitted a resolution for consideration by the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees to name the court at Bud Walton Arena in honor of Nolan Richardson.”
They will vote on this resolution at the next board of trustees meeting which occurs on March 27-28.
Here’s Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek on the choice awaiting the board of trustees:
“We wanted all of his players, assistant coaches, staff members and Razorback fans to have an opportunity to join us next season as we formally dedicate Nolan Richardson Court.”
What do you think should happen?
?? SOUND OFF!!!
After the celebration for the 1994 National Championship team over the weekend, we want to know:
Do you think it’s time to name the court at Bud Walton Arena after Nolan Richardson?
VOTE: https://t.co/Le41nEIOC1@THV11 #WPS pic.twitter.com/XxuBryhkSU
— Dorian Craft (@doriancraft) March 4, 2019
See the full story here
???? Wednesday Halftime Pod — featuring former Arkansas QB Clint Stoerner
Phil Elson & Tye Richardson hit on Chad Morris updates, interview former Arkansas QB Clint Stoerner, and Change My Mind!
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Wednesday
John & Tommy discuss the new QB’s with Tyler Wilson, plus Tye eats 8 chili dogs during the show
Hicks a key piece to start of ‘culture’ Morris trying to build with Hogs
Legendary track coach John McDonnell was asked one time what were the keys to building a program from scratch when he was hired in the mid-1970’s to winning 43 national championships during his time in Fayetteville.
One of the biggest was having leadership from within. In other words, it was the older players who basically took care of teaching the younger ones what was expected in terms of training and paying the price.
Newcomers not interested in that didn’t seem to last long.
That’s exactly what Chad Morris is trying to build on the football field … and off the field. For a program that has won a combined six games over two years, there’s only one direction to go.
You got the idea from Chad and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock that lack of leadership last year is exactly why they brought in graduate transfer Ben Hicks from SMU.
Through the first couple of months, it seems the plan is coming along like they hoped.
“What’s impressive is when you watch him coach up the other quarterbacks,” Morris said after Tuesday’s practice. “He’s got a great rapport. They respect him. He’s bringing a lot of energy to (the quarterback) room and the entire team.”
On Tuesday, redshirt freshman Connor Noland was at practice, but not in shoulder pads because he’s got to meet the minimum number of practices without them first.
“He’s battling his tail off,” Morris said. “I love that.”
Which is exactly why he’s out there, despite some tunnel-visioned observers questioning that move. Hey, it works at other places, exactly why can’t it work with the Hogs? And, just in case you missed it, a dual-sport quarterback-baseball player won the Heisman Trophy last year.
The coaches have put a lot of the responsibility on Noland’s shoulders.
“It’s on him to get caught up in the meeting rooms and doing his own film study to make sure he stays on schedule,” Morris said.
Don’t worry about the arm. Baseball has been using footballs in practices for years. There’s even a crate of them in the workout facilities … and they were there while Noland was still playing at Greenwood.
Texas Rangers pitching coach Tom House was the first I saw use the technique of having pitchers throw a football. Nolan Ryan became a big-time fan of House.
Baseball coach Dave Van Horn has repeatedly said he isn’t worried about it. Morris sort of shrugs it off like it’s not really a big deal.
“We never over-throw our guys,” he said.
The interaction between Hicks and Noland in the early drills is clearly teacher-student. There’s lots of smiling and conversaton between reps, at least in the periods the media is allowed to see. There’s no reason to think anything changes when we’re gone.
The other area of the team that looks completely different is the wide receivers’ group, which was getting a lot of Morris’ attention Tuesday.
Trey Knox, an early signee, is 6-foot-5, 218 pounds and is starting to stand out a little for more than just being big, which is something Morris said they’ve been trying to do at the receiver position.
“Trey Knox has been consistent and is making an impact,” Morris said. “Very pleased to watch him catch on.”
Morris moves around at different practices with different position groups on both sides of the ball, so his spending a lot of detailed teaching time with the receivers isn’t that unusual. We’ve seen him do it with other groups.
But it’s a much more relaxed appearance with the quarterbacks and receivers. The coaches at times in practices last spring looked exasperated with what they were seeing.
Now they’re doing more teaching and it’s much more detailed, such as where the ball is supposed to be delivered on a break and why the receivers should expect the ball to be in a particular place.
That’s due in part to what they hope is an increase in the talent level.
And it’s clear to see somebody has worked with the receivers before the coaches got to be there.
It’s a good bet that was Hicks, who every offensive position coach has pointed out in our limited interviews, was doing a lot of instruction and teaching in the workouts before spring drills that coaches aren’t allowed to watch.
That is part of what Morris has talked about with “culture.”
For Morris, there’s a history in Fayetteville of player leadership working out pretty well and for a coach that’s well-versed on a variety of sports it’s a good bet he’s aware of what McDonnell did.
He’s trying to build a similar culture, but we’re a long way from knowing for sure.
But you can see the start.
Morris on Harris out for spring, getting back to basics on offense
Arkansas coach Chad Morris talked with the media after Tuesday’s spring practice and gave the news that senior linebacker De’Jon Harris would miss the rest of spring, but be a “student coach” and back by May.
