Phil Elson & Tye Richardson discuss the draw to Indiana/Mississippi State, You Spent What?!?, and interview Neil Price!
Neighbors looks ahead to matchup with Arizona State after big win
Arkansas got a big win over the Lady Mavericks on Wednesday night and coach Mike Neighbors talked about that and looked ahead to Sunday night’s matchup with the Sun Devils.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday
John & Tommy talk coach’s speak, interview Richard Davenport, and Is It Ever Okay Thursday!
Tolefree’s jumper at buzzer lifts Razorbacks to road victory
ARLINGTON, Texas — Fast-paced and physical is the best way to describe Arkansas’ 66-65 win in the first road game of the season at UT-Arlington on Wednesday.
The Razorbacks (2-0) trailed 54-53 but opened the final frame on a 9-0 run as the intensity and urgency elevated in final 10 minutes of the game.
Senior Malica Monk picked up her fourth foul and returned to the bench with 5:13 to go and the Lady Mavs rallied for a 6-0 run.
The North Little Rock native returned to the game with 3:27 to go but the Razorback scoring drought continued as UTA closed the gap and took the lead.
Down one, 65-64, UTA went to the line and missed both bonus shots. Monk grabbed the rebound and called timeout to advance the ball.
Arkansas got the ball at half court with 3.2 seconds on the clock. The inbound went to Monk who dished to Tolefree. Two hard dribbles down the center of the lane and a pull-up jumper that floated in lifted the Razorbacks to the thrilling win.
Arkansas was paced by Tolefree and Monk who finished with 18 points each while sophomore Chelsea Dungee had 16 points for the Razorbacks.
Key Stat
The game featured 16 ties and 13 lead changes in a back-and-forth battle. Both teams put together big scoring runs throughout the game as neither squad was able to maintain the momentum.
Notes
•Arkansas starters: Alexis Tolefree, Malica Monk, Kiara Williams, Jailyn Mason, Chelsea Dungee
•The Razorbacks are 7-0 against UT-Arlington and are 2-0 in Arlington.
•Redshirt sophomore Chelsea Dungee had 12 points in the first half. Senior Malica Monk and junior Alexis Tolefree had eight points each at the half.
•Double-figure scorers: Chelsea Dungee, Alexis Tolefree, Malica Monk
•The game was tied 16 times and there were 13 lead changes.
Up Next
Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena on Sunday, facing its first ranked team of the season as they welcome No. 22 Arizona State.
The game tips at 7 p.m. following the Razorback men’s game against Indiana earlier in the day.
Deifel, Razorbacks sign three players on national signing day
FAYETTEVILLE — Featuring a top-50 addition, coach Courtney Deifel and Arkansas announced the program’s 2019 signing class.
The newest group of Razorbacks are Jenna Bloom, Paloma Usquiano and Rylin Hedgecock.
“We are excited to welcome Jenna, Rylin, and Paloma to the Razorback Softball family,” said Deifel. “Although this class is small in size there is no doubt they will have a huge impact from the day they step on campus. We cannot wait for them to get to Fayetteville and begin to make their mark on the program.”
This marks Arkansas’ fourth recruiting class under coach Deifel as Bloom is the latest top-100 recruit to come to Fayetteville.
She will be joining future teammates Larissa Cesena, Taylor Greene, Mary Haff and Autumn Storms who were all ranked in their respective classes.
Jenna Bloom | 5-10 | RHP
Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison HS (Athletics Mercado)
LA Times: Jenna Bloom’s return sparked Edison softball
About Bloom …
A standout performer for Edison High School and the Athletics Mercado travel ball team, Bloom is ranked No. 43 in the final FloSoftball Hot 100. During last season’s state tournament run, Bloom struck out 24 batters in 12.1 innings of play while allowing just one earned run while leading Edison HS to its first playoff win in two years. Against the nationally-ranked Mission Viejo High School in Edison’s season opener last spring, Bloom dominated, striking out 15 batters while allowing just one hit in a 10-0 win. The five-inning game saw every out be recorded via a Bloom strikeout. She finished last season with a 6-4 record while splitting time at pitcher.
Jenna is the daughter of Daniel and Melonie Bloom and has one brother, Jacob. Her mother, Melonie, played volleyball for San Diego State from 1992-97.
Paloma Usquiano | 5-5 | INF
Downey, Calif./Lutheran HS (So Cal Athletics Jendro)
About Usquiano …
Usquiano helped lead Orange Lutheran High School to a 26-5 record last season, that included a tournament win in the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions against third-ranked Los Alamitos High School. She also lead the team to the Torrance National Tournament championships; a tournament that features the top softball teams from California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada. Usquiano has batted over .350 in each of her sophomore and junior seasons, including a .435 average during her sophomore campaign. As a member of the So Cal Athletics Jendro travel ball team, she has been equally consistent, owning a .350 and a .360 batting average during her sophomore and junior seasons, respectively.
Paloma is the daughter of Armando and Dianna Usquiano and has two sisters, Sofia and Julietta.
Rylin Hedgecock | 5-9 | RHP/INF
Valdosta, Ga./Lowndes HS (Gainesville Gold)
About Hedgecock …
During her high school career, Hedgecock posted a 1.1 ERA in each of the last two seasons. She holds the school record for career strikeouts with 500. Hedgecock has led Lowndes High School to two Region Championships, including a fifth-place finish in the state tournament during her sophomore campaign. As a batter, she has posted 11 or more home runs in a season three times, including a career-high 13 home runs and 49 RBI her sophomore year. She has batted over .400 each season with Lowndes HS, including a .549 mark last season, with 12 homers and 43 RBI.
Hedgecock plays travel ball for Gainesville Gold. Rylin is the daughter of Russ Hedgecock and Heather Prince. She has three siblings: Tori, Bryson, and Savannah.
No. 11 Wildcats shut out Razorbacks at Barnhill Arena
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas fell 3-0 to No. 11 Kentucky Wednesday night in the team’s final mid-week home match of the season.
FINAL
No. 11 Kentucky 3, Arkansas 0 | Box Score
Attendance: 389 | Time: 1:19
Barnhill Arena
#RazorStats
• Stat leaders vs No. 11 Kentucky
o Kills: Reagan Robinson – 11
o Digs: Okiana Valle – 15
o Blocks: Liz Pamphile and Fernanda Guitron – 1.0
The Wildcats went up early, taking the first set 25-18. The Hogs dropped the second set 25-15 before Kentucky clinched the match with a 25-13 third-set win.
The Razorbacks will return to the court Sunday afternoon to host No. 23 Tennessee for senior day.
???? Wednesday Halftime Pod — featuring Madre Hill
Phil & Tye interview former hog Madre Hill and try to change each other’s mind!
Has apathy become Hogs’ biggest opponent moving forward?
Have we reached a point with Arkansas football where bountiful, almost over-the-top, enthusiasm has been replaced with almost total indifference or, worse, an expectation of failure?
It appears to be that way with many Razorback fans.
The one thing Frank Broyles always feared may have come to fruition.
“The worst thing in the world is if the fans don’t care,” he said one time in the 1970’s in response to folks screaming he should be replaced as the coach.
Over the past few years, fan interest appears to have waned with each passing year. This year, tickets sold averaged out to 61,458 per game. Actual tickets scanned has been considerably south of that number.
Yes, a lot of folks who bought tickets considered it a donation and didn’t bother showing up.
To be completely fair, it’s a trend all across the college football landscape. Many schools are downsizing their pigskin cathedrals dramatically. Oh, they’re not doing massive rebuilding, just replacing bleacher seats with armchair-type seats with cupholders.
That’s the direction college football is going.
It’s the cycle of college football continuing. Years ago, Yale and Rice had some of the largest football stadiums in the country. When Arkansas played in Houston against the Owls it was a guaranteed ticket for Hog fans that couldn’t regularly make a game. The same was true of the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Now teams like Penn State and others are downsizing seating capacity.
It reminded me of the preacher at the church my grandparents attended down in Southeast Arkansas and they made expansions to the overall facility, but not the main sanctuary.
“It holds the same number of people it did before,” I remarked to the pastor when I was still in single digits of age.
“Young man,” he said as he gently put a hand on my shoulder, “you don’t build the church for Easter Sunday.”
Those words popped back in my head as I see empty seats at every game on television nearly every week.
Oh, you still have full houses at some places. But even at Alabama, Nick Saban chastised students for not coming to games or leaving early. Get ready, Nick, because that’s just the start of this current trend.
With every game live on television, there has to be some incentive for folks to spend the ever-increasing large sums of money to go fight traffic, brave the weather (hot, cold, rainy) and then sit on a bench, literally rubbing shoulders with people you don’t know … only to spend half the time watching big screens in each end zone.
College football has changed and Arkansas has right along with it.
The most important things now are sales of luxury boxes and club seats. For media coverage, many act like they’d be just as happy if everything went through ESPN, which is interesting as they continue to lose massive amounts of subscribers every month.
All of that has combined to place interest in Razorback football where it is now. It’s a massive shrug from a fan base that once was as crazy fanatical as any in the country.
The blame shouldn’t be placed at the feet of Hunter Yurachek or Chad Morris.
They inherited a mess created by other people who made you wonder if they spent an entire decade trying to sink Arkansas football as deep into the ground as possible.
Yurachek is working on his end of things. Morris is doing things nobody has done with the Hogs in decades, mainly increasing the talent level.
Winning will help things somewhat. There once was a time when winning guaranteed sold-out stadiums and made life great.
The business of college football today says that’s not the only thing that matters anymore.
Morris before Hogs’ indoor workout Wednesday on noise, injuries
Arkansas coach Chad Morris talked with the media before the team’s workout indoors Wednesday in the final media availability before Saturday’s game in Starkville against Mississippi State.
Neighbors signs nationally-ranked recruiting class for Hogs
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors and his staff announced the addition of four players for the 2019-20 season.
The staff’s second recruiting class includes Makayla Daniels, Marquesha Davis, Destinee Oberg and Ginger Reece. Neighbors also adds the services of Amber Ramirez who is redshirting the 2018-19 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
The Class
The recruiting class is ranked No. 4 in the Southeastern Conference behind powerhouses South Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi State by All Star Girls Report.
The class ranks 15th in the nation by the same service.
From Coach Mike Neighbors
“Signing day is a special day for every student-athlete and “the village” who helped them achieve what it takes to earn a Division I scholarship. We welcome these four freshmen, one transfer and their villages to our Razorback family. Each student-athlete was selected for her unique basketball talents on the court and specific character qualities off the court.”
The Players
• The five players in this class …
• Represent five different states | Arkansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Oklahoma & Texas
• Range in height from 5-8 (Daniels) to 6-3 (Oberg)
• Play four different positions (G, C, PG, WF)
• Average 4.2 stars (ESPN)
Makayla Daniels
Daniels comes to Fayetteville from Frederick High School in Frederick, Maryland. The 5-8 point guard is the all-time leading scorer (boy or girl) for the Cadets and earned Maryland Basketball Coaches Association All-State First-Team honors as a junior.
Daniels paced the Cadets to the Class 3A state titles as a sophomore and junior going 26-2 last season. Daniels scored 47 points in the championship game as a sophomore and dropped in 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the final game in 2018.
Daniels is finishing her high school basketball career under the leadership of Ashley Bush at Frederick High School. She finished her club career this summer with club coach Joe McAleer.
Marquesha Davis
Neighbors adds Arkansas native Davis to the lineup from nearby Springdale High School. Born in McGehee, Arkansas, Davis was named to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps second team and the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette first team after averaging 21 points, 10.2 rebounds and three steals per game while shooting 45 percent from the field.
She eclipsed 1,000 career points as a junior and broke Springdale High’s single-season scoring and rebounding records in 2017-18.
She averaged 15 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 steals as a sophomore. Davis was also named an Adidas Uprising All-American Camp selection in 2017-18.
Davis is finishing her high school basketball career under the leadership of Heather Hunsucker at Springdale High School. She finished her club career this summer with club coaches Nathan Sadler and Brian Morgan.
Destinee Oberg
Burnsville, Minnesota, native Oberg returns to the court as a senior after a year away due to an injury. Despite missing a season, Prospects Nation rates Oberg a 4.5-star prospect, the No. 6 post player and No. 38 overall recruit in the nation for the 2019 class.
As a sophomore, Oberg and the Academy of Holy Angels played to a third-place finish at the state tournament.
She averaged 16.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game that season.
Oberg is finishing her high school basketball career under the leadership of Quentin Johnson at Bloomington Kennedy High School. She finished her club career this summer with club coaches Jamal Guy, W.H. Nelson and Tracy Martin.
Ginger Reece
Reece is considered a versatile perimeter prospect with a quick first step at Eisenhower High School in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Rated the No. 59 prospect in the nation when she committed, Reece was an honorable mention all-district selection as a sophomore and a second-team pick as a junior.
She has guided the Eagles to back-to-back state tournament appearances and averaged 14 points per game last season.
Reece is finishing her high school basketball career under the leadership of Danny Wall at Eisenhower High School. She finished her club career this summer with club coaches Earl Allen and Robert Foreman.
Amber Ramirez
Ramirez transferred to Arkansas after two seasons at TCU. She will redshirt the 2018-19 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
At TCU, Ramirez was third on the team with 10.4 points per game and she led the team from distance. She scored in double figures in 18 games as a sophomore and broke the TCU and Big 12 single game records with 11 made 3-point shots last season.
The five-star McDonald’s All-American won two medals with USA Basketball in the summer of 2016 and gold with the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
Ramirez was the No. 10-ranked prospect as a senior in high school and had a 4.5-star rating.
Ramirez played high school basketball under the leadership of Christina Camacho at Wagner High School. She finished her club career with coach Ray Caldwell.
Club Teams
Makayla Daniels | Maryland Belles
Marquesha Davis |Arkansas Banshees
Destinee Oberg | Minnesota Stars
Amber Ramirez | San Antonio’s Finest
Ginger Reece | Cy-Fair EYBL / OK Swish
Chose Arkansas Over …
• Makayla Daniels | Iowa, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Marshall, Delaware, Richmond, Saint Joseph
• Marquesha Davis | Kentucky, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Houston, Georgia Tech
• Destinee Oberg | Florida State, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, North Dakota, Purdue, Rutgers, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin among others
• Amber Ramirez | Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech
Ginger Reese | Texas Christian, Washington
