Arkansas coach Mike Anderson talked with the media ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game with Texas State and addressed the 69-65 loss to Georgia Tech on Wednesday night.
???? Thursday Halftime Pod — featuring Brett Goode
Tye Richardson and Phil Elson discuss the key to recruiting at Arkansas, plus former Razorback Brett Goode joins Halftime in studio!
Hogs let one slip away at home against Georgia Tech, 69-65
PHOTOS BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM
FAYETTEVILLE — This is one Arkansas fans didn’t see coming as Jose Alvarado scored 20 points to help Georgia Tech hold on in the closing minutes for a 69-65 win Wednesday night.
It’s the first time since 2012 the Hogs have lost back-to-back games inside Bud Walton Arena.
The win comes a game after the Yellow Jackets suffered an embarrassing 79-69 home defeat to Gardner-Webb on Monday, and in a game they trailed by as many as five points early in the second half.
Alvarado was 9-of-15 from the field and scored in double figures for the sixth time in seven games, and the 6-foot guard added nine rebounds. James Banks III added 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Michael Devoe finished with 11 points and Khalid Moore had 10 in the win.
The loss is the second in the last three games for the Razorbacks (7-3), who shot just 38.1 percent (24 of 63) from the field.
Mason Jones led Arkansas with 17 points, while Daniel Gafford added 14 and Isaiah Joe 13. The Razorbacks hit only 10 of 32 3-point attempts.
Arkansas trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half while opening the game 1 of 11 from the field, including 0 of 8 on 3-pointers.
The Razorbacks, however, hit 6 of 9 3-point attempts to close out the half — with Jones and Joe combining for five — and rallied to take a 32-31 halftime lead.
The Razorbacks host Texas State on Saturday.
Hogs’ inability to score against Tech zone big factor in loss
Arkansas coach Mike Anderson recapped the 69-65 loss to the Yellowjackets with the media Wednesday night and said not being able to score against the zone was a big factor.
Jones talking about Hogs’ loss to Yellowjackets on Wednesday night
Razorbacks guard Mason Jones led the Hogs with 17 points in the 69-65 loss to Georgia Tech and talked with the media about the team coming up short.
Tech’s Alvarado, Pastner talk about win over Razorbacks
Georgia Tech guard Jose Alvarado, who played all 40 minutes of the game, and coach Josh Pastner talked after the game about bouncing back from Gardner-Webb loss for win.
Morris talking about new players signed on Wednesday
Arkansas coach Chad Morris talked Wednesday about the 20 players (10 on offense, 10 on defense) on the first National Signing Date and said multiple times there will be more signees.
Razorbacks’ Van Horn elected to Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn will be inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame next month, the organization announced.
an Horn will be the sixth player or coach with Razorback baseball ties to earn a spot in the hall of fame, joining coach Norm DeBriyn and players Kevin McReynolds, Melvin McGaha, Tom Pagnozzi and Cliff Lee.
Van Horn will be honored on Jan. 25 at the Fayetteville Town Center as part of a special ceremony to make him part of the 2019 induction class.
A reception begins at 5 p.m. with the banquet starting at 6 p.m.
Entering his 17th year as head coach of the Razorback baseball program, Van Horn has continued to elevate Arkansas into one of the nation’s premier teams year in and year out.
Over his 16 seasons as head Hog, Van Horn has led Arkansas to five College World Series appearances, 15 NCAA Tournament berths, one Southeastern Conference overall title, four SEC Western Division championships and a total of 643 wins, averaging more than 40 wins a season.
Ever since returning to his alma mater in 2003 to take over for retiring SEC legend DeBriyn, Van Horn has continued to successfully field nationally competitive teams, while also grooming numerous All-Americans, all-conference and future Major League players.
Under his guidance, 24 Razorbacks have been named All-Americans, 33 as All-SEC players, and 101 have been picked in the MLB Draft. Those draft picks are the third-most among all active head coaches in the SEC.
Van Horn is the second-winningest coach in Arkansas history with 643 wins entering the 2019 season.
Last year, with a win at San Diego State, Van Horn became only the second active head coach in the SEC with 600 or more wins at their current school.
Including his years at Nebraska, Northwestern State and Central Missouri State, Van Horn has racked up 1,014 wins at four-year institutions, which is 15th-most among all active coaches. He is also one of 10 active coaches with 1,000 or more wins at four-year schools.
The highly decorated coach has both individual and team honors throughout his 30-year coaching resume, beginning at Texarkana (Texas) Community College all the way through the present.
Individually, he has been named national coach of the year twice, regional coach of the year twice and conference coach of the year four times.
His teams have made seven College World Series appearances, tying for the second most among all active head coaches, won five outright conference championships, a Division II National Championship and made 18 trips to the NCAA Tournament in the last 19 years.
Van Horn is one of only 11 coaches in NCAA history to lead two programs to the College World Series.
Van Horn and the Razorbacks are continuing to prep for the 2019 and will face Eastern Illinois on Feb. 15 for Opening Day.
First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
???? Wednesday Halftime Pod — featuring Collin Clay & Richard Davenport
Phil Elson & Tye Richardson interview Collin Clay, Richard Davenport and discuss the 2019 signing class!
Morris shouldn’t be forgetting home-state players in Arkansas
Arkansas’ football program will have a Texas flavor as long as Chad Morris is the coach.
After all, that is one of the main reasons he was hired, right — his ability to recruit Texas, a state that produces some of the finest prep football talent in the nation.
Morris, the former ultra-successful Texas high school coach, proved himself as an offensive coordinator at Clemson, but he hadn’t fully completed the reclamation process at SMU. The Mustangs were not the new mid-major darling such as Boise State and now Central Florida.
No, he hadn’t proven he could win consistently as a head coach, but his relationship with Texas high school coaches was proven. The former Texas prep coach was leading quality talent to SMU.
Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek was intrigued with how that relationship may be leveraged at an SEC program that is a Lone Star State neighbor.
And that’s one of the big reasons Morris got the job. It was the major reason I defended the hire. Arkansas coaches have tried and tried to tap that market. Some have done better than others.
Morris seemed to have the connections to top them all. If he could bring in the top players in Texas, he certainly could rebuild the Hogs.
So far, so good.
On the strength of his Texas ties, Morris has amassed a top-notch recruiting class. We won’t know how all of that talent will translate or how well Morris will call games under the immense pressure of the SEC, but a foundation is being laid.
The recruiting class has been the shining light of hope in what otherwise has been a dismal year, which included a school-record 10 losses.
There is something Morris should keep in mind, though, as he scours the nation for talent. He has some good players residing in his back yard, some players who have dreamed about playing in Fayetteville for a long time.
It’s true that Arkansas is not loaded with NCAA Division I prospects. It’s also true that most years Arkansas is among the top 10 states producing D-I talent per capita.
Some of Arkansas’ better teams have included starting lineups dominated with Arkansans. I point to the Houston Nutt Era as one example.
Nutt has his critics, but one of his strengths was a knack for recruiting diamonds in the rough such as defensive end Jamaal Anderson and developing them over time.
He recruited players because they were from Arkansas. Sometimes he may have turned down more talented players from other states to sign a native.
No one is asking Morris to do that. Clearly, he has the pipeline to some major talent in Texas, and other states, that Nutt didn’t have access to. Sometimes Nutt’s only option was to lean on in-state ties, but there is something to be said to have multiple key players that have state pride.
Out-of-state players learn the customs — the Hog Call, Running through the ‘A’, but do they have the devotion of a Peyton Hillis, Drew Morgan or Jake Bequette? Maybe not.
The Arkansas players can be the glue guys, and that is an important part of building a program. A program overhaul isn’t complete without team leaders. Players who are examples on the field, in the weight room and off the field.
Currently, Morris has five Arkansans included in the 2019 recruiting class. There are several other in-state players that will play Division I football for other programs. Maybe Morris should have offered some of them.
Players such as North Little Rock three-star recruit Oscar Adaway, who is committed to North Texas — which beat Arkansas this season. Another prime prospect is Bryant defensive tackle Kajuan Robinson, who has offers from Louisiana Tech, Memphis and others.
Morris ID’d one of those diamonds in Pulaski Academy star receiver J.D. White, whose father was a standout golfer at UA. White has been recruited as a preferred walk-on.
Having seen him play numerous times the past two seasons, his speed and hands should outweigh his smaller stature. Add the fact that he played for one of the nation’s top prep offensive minds in Kevin Kelley, and he’s got all of the attributes needed to beat the odds.
If not at Arkansas, White will be a standout receiver for a D-I program. If he had a scholarship offer from UA, he may be guaranteed to do it in Fayetteville.
I know the pressure on Morris to produce has become greater after a poor 2018 season. He’s evaluating graduate transfers and junior college players to speed up the process. He is targeting players with an abundance of stars. I get that, and he may need to go that route.
However, he should give more Arkansas players a chance.
