Programs #7-8

8. Michigan State 423

Three names that you need to know when talking about the Michigan State Spartans Jud Heathcote, Ervin "Magic" Johnson, and Tom Izzo. These are the three guys who have spurred this program into greatness. Heathcote started it and he tutored Izzo. Hall of Famer Magic Johnson has obviously been the program's best player even though guys such as Steve Smith, Eric Snow, and Morris Peterson have been good NBA players. The Magic vs. Bird 1979 championship game put college basketball on the national map. Tom Izzo has taken it to the next level. Izzo has been to six of the program's eight final four appearances and have appeared in all six of them since the 1999 season. Do you realize that is as many as programs such as Arkansas, Cincinnati, and Oklahoma State have been to in program history? Also, more than Arizona, Florida, and Syracuse have ever been to. To top it off they were in the national championship game in 2009 and are in the final four this season. If they go on to win the national championship this season they will get a few more points but won't jump the next team just yet. The Spartans have won national championships in 1979 and 2000 and as long as Izzo is there they will always be in the hunt. The Spartans are creeping up on a future top 10 member to be the greatest program in Big 10 history.

7. Louisville 495

It seems to make this list you have to have had at least two great coaches and the Cardinals have had two of them. Denny Crum brought the schools only two national championships 1980 and 1986, but Rick Pitino has gotten the program out of the small lull they had at the end of the Denny Crum era. Louisville was the overall number seed in the NCAA tournament in 2009 and went to the final four in 2005. As Louisville looks to move out of Freedom Hall into their new stadium the Cardinals will be in the hunt for national championships as long as Pitino is on the sideline. Louisville gets credit for 64 NBA draft picks which really put them over the top in the all-time programs list. Also, they got 144 points for tournament appearances so Louisville has had sustained greatness for a long period of time, which is important for being an all-time great program.

Hog Talk Episode 6

Listen to this more info about the Hogs than you can handle!

Powered by Podbean.com

Programs #9-10

Honorable Mention: UCONN 382, Ohio State 373, Arkansas 367

10. Arizona: 387

The Wildcats are carried by NBA players scoring 122 in putting players in the NBA draft. The Wildcats have been to 25 straight NCAA tournaments before missing the tournament this season and 28 overall. The Wildcats have 15 points as a #1 seed (1988, 1989, 1998, 2000, and 2003). The Wildcats have won 11 PAC 10 conference championships. They have been to four final fours and won one national championship. Even though UCLA has been the class of the PAC 10 Lute Olsen did a good job of making the Wildcats the number two program in the conference. The cherry on top is the 1997 national championship.

9. Syracuse: 408

The Orange, formerly the Orangemen, have been a pretty consistent program over time. Coach Jim Boeheim took the Orange to new heights with their only national championship in 2003. Of course, NBA star Carmelo Anthony had something to do with that. Anthony is one of the 57 NBA draft picks that have came through the school along with 1990 number one pick Derrick Coleman. The 'Cuse also has made 19 Sweet 16 appearances and been to four final fours. The tough Big East conference has not been kind to Syracuse as they have some of the fewest conference championships of the top 10 of all-time with eight.

Top 10 Programs of all-time

The NCAA Tournament has went from a field of 65 to four. There have been a range of great plays from last second shots to thunder dunks. We here at The Sports Blitz have tried to give you all things March Madness. The topic of greatest programs of all-time has been on my mind, much of it due to the NCAA tournament and some of it due to the lack of success the Arkansas program has had. This topic is very subjective I came up with a formula to make it less subjective and more objective.

The Formula

National Championship +5

Final 4 +4

Sweet 16 +3

All-Time Wins/Winning Percentage (Rankings)

1-5 +5

6-10 +4

11-20+3

21-25 +2

26-35 +1

Conference Championships +4

Tournament Appearances +4

#1 Seeds +3

NBA Players +2

Recent Success (2000-2010)

National Champ +5

Final 4 +4

Sweet 16 +3

Conf Champ +4

I know that you may ask why is a conference championship worth more than a sweet 16? My answer to that is there have been many teams that have not won a conference championship that made the sweet 16. I feel like a conference championship, especially multiple championships, mean more than a sweet 16 birth. Also, I chose All-Americans at first instead of NBA players, but it was hard to find a reputable source for every team that had a list of All-Americans. Although I feel All-Americans were worth more at one time than NBA players. I know that players entering college basketball now look at programs that send players to the NBA. Also, yes if you are looking teams do get double credit for being recently successful in 2000-2010. I think to make this list legitimate you have to account for recent success as well as all-time success. Hopefully this will help you understand how this list was compiled.

Sports Blitz w/ Hog Talk

Listen you will like this

Powered by Podbean.com

The Best Coach in the State of Arkansas

The struggles of Arkansas basketball has been well documented by many sources including this blog.  Even though the Hogs have been struggling on the hardwood there are some teams in the state of Arkansas that have had some pretty special seasons.  The Arkansas Tech Wonderboys finished the season as Gulf South Conference western division champions and Gulf South Conference tournament champions with a record of 30-2.  They eventually bowed out in the second round of the NCAA Division II tournament.  This was a disappointment but it was still an incredible season for the Wonderboys.  The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns (women's team) just finished their season in the elite eight of the NCAA Division II tournament.  They also won the Gulf South Conference western division championship and the Gulf South Conference tournament.  The Arkansas State Red Wolves also had a pretty good season although it ended in the Sun Belt tournament.  The UCA women also had a pretty good season.  

With all that success there is one team in the state of Arkansas that has gotten more recognition than almost any team inside these borders, UALR Lady Trojans.  These ladies just finished a special season with a Sun Belt western division championship and were a few seconds away from a Sun Belt tournament championship.  These ladies made their first ever NCAA tournament.  Not only did they make the tournament but they beat Georgia Tech in their first game before falling to the Oklahoma Sooners on their home floor.  The Lady Trojans have a difference maker that gives them an advantage over most anybody they play.  No it's not a player even though they have some very good ones on the team.  No, it's a coach and it's the Head Coach Joe Foley

Joe Foley has amassed a winning record at UALR even though he is the first coach of a fledgling program, that is amazing in itself.  His record at UALR, a lower division one team, is 103-77.  Pretty impressive considering that UALR didn't even have a program before 2003.  So in seven seasons Foley has taken a program to the NCAA tournament and won a game that did not exist eight years ago.  Pretty amazing!  Foley has won two national championships (NAIA), a national runner-up (NCAA), in six seasons in the NCAA's division two at Arkansas Tech he made six NCAA tournaments.  He led the Golden Suns to elite eight appearances in  1998 and 1999.  He has won 662 games as a coach including 559-158 as coach at Arkansas Tech.  He had 17 straight 20 win seasons and six 30 win teams.  He has won 15 conference championships including one this season.  All in all Joe Foley is good.  No he's great!  I think that there is little doubt that he is the best coach in Arkansas.  Men or women.

A Weekend of Madness

So far this weekend I've seen highs and lows. The Cornell Big Red won as I predicted, and the Siena Saints lost to level out my upset picks... Several games I could not foresee upsets in surprised me, Old Dominion over Notre Dame and Ohio over Georgetown both crushed me!

Then Saturday happened. I was on a high after the Diamond Hogs won the SEC opener at LSU Friday night, when the bottom fell out. LSU came from four runs down in the bottom of the 7th to win 8-7 over the Hogs. Villanova decided it would be a good idea to let Omar Samhan dominate them and the two-seed went home crying (I felt a tear too).

Then Northern Iowa snatched my soul...

I have an estimated 15 brackets out there in cyber-space, and in all but one of them I have Kansas cutting down the nets. Tonight I have one bracket left. Northern Iowa used nine three-pointers to keep the Jayhawks at bay. As Ali Farokhmanesh dropped in his fourth three of the night I thought I heard the sound of brackets crackling in the fire. Maybe that was just mine.

So now I'm disappointed. The only thing that could make this worse would be for someone like Duke to win it all. I'm going to be rooting for my sleeper West Virginia, and my Cinderella Cornell.

Hopefully tomorrow the Hogs will win the series they should've swept, the Dukies will go down in flames, West Virginia and Syracuse will cruise, and I'll hit a million threes in the Sunday afternoon pick up games in Clarksville.

With my luck, I wouldn't bet on any of those though!

Hogs vs Tigers breakdown on the SEC Showdown...

This use to not be that big of a deal, but since around 2000 Collegiate Baseball has became a big deal. In the State of Arkansas some would say since the addition of Dave Van Horn the Arkansas baseball program has became a really big deal around the state; especially with the state of basketball affairs some would say baseball has became the second most popular sport around The Hill. With all that said I will be bringing you weekly baseball updates on The Sports Blitz blog.

The Match-up: #13 Arkansas Razorbacks (12-3) come into Baton Rouge on a 4 game winning streak. Sweeping Wisconsin-Milwalkee over the weekend and splitting a pair in the midweek to South Dakota State. Arkansas comes into this weekend with a .288 team batting average lead by Sophomore third baseman Zack Cox with a .410 batting average; Zack is also bringing a 15 game hitting streak into the weekend series with LSU. Zack also is second on the team in RBI's with 18 respectively to Junior FirstBaseman Andy Wilkins with 20 RBI's. Andy is batting a cool .315 and leads the team with 5 home-runs and sporting a slugging % of .722 which ranks him amongst the best power hitters in the SEC.

Since sophomore outfielder Collin Kuhn has taken the lead-off role, Arkansas' offensive numbers have dramatically improved. He has done a great job in the number one spot, batting .340 with an on-base % of .485 and 7 for 7 in stolen bases. Steadily improving freshman Matt Vinson has 2 triples and a home-run since being inserted in the starting lineup. Vinson ran a 4.5 forty while playing football at Alma high school and he is going to become a terror on the base-paths once his .188 average catches up with the rest of his game. Also you will notice that 6'3, 210 pound sophomore catcher James McCann, one of the teams captains this year, has increased his power output. He has already surpassed his RBI and home-run output from a year ago (14 and 4), and looks to be a major piece of the puzzle this season.

LSU comes into the weekend sporting a .331 batting average with 18 home-runs. Arkansas ranks #1 in the SEC in home-runs, but LSU ranks #4 in batting average. LSU has shown the ability to power the ball out of the yard with 18 homers of their own. LSU is led by sophomore first baseman Blake Dean with a .424 batting average with 4 home-runs and 22 RBIs. Dean has 6 doubles on the season as well. Much like his Razorback counter-part Andy Wilkins, Dean is an All-American. Dean was one of the team leaders as a freshman in LSU's national championship run last year. LSU has a stat that jumps off the page as one that Arkansas will have to be aware of this weekend. LSU leads the SEC with 8 triples, and many of those have came off of the bat of Leon Landry, who also posts a .396 batting average and a .623 slugging percentage.

Names that we will see this weekend that Arkansas will have to keep off the bases:Micah Gibbs .385 with 3 home-runs, and Mike Mahtook .380 and 2 home-runs.

In baseball you love the hitting but games are won with pitching (especially the college game) and this is an intriguing match-up. Arkansas has the leg up in this match-up. The Razorbacks sport a 2.73 team ERA with 144 strikeouts and just 30 walks. The weekend rotation for Arkansas has been very consistent thus far. Friday starter, senior right-hander Mike Bolsinger (2-0), brings a 3.38 ERA in 4 starts this season. Thus far this season Bolsinger has taken the ace role Dallas Kuechel held last season. Bolsinger has been Arkansas' grinder this year with 21.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 19 batters while only walking 5. Saturday starter Drew Smyly (2-0), was an important piece in the run to Omaha last year. Smyly leads the team in strikeouts with 33, however this year the red-shirt sophomore lefty has struggled with control at times walking 8 in 20 innings pitched. However, as far as "stuff" goes, this lefty has shown to be as overpowering at times as he has been erractic. Sunday will boast junior righty Brett Eibner (2-1) who sports an 1.23 ERA and brings a fastball that will run up in the mid 90s. At times he has been a solid, but he has been in trouble a few times. He hasn't stayed on the mound very much this year as far as innings pitched. Eibner is more known for his power at the plate than his power on the mound. He has improved his batting tremendously this year and is the strongest outfielders. Look for Eibner to bat after he is taken off the mound on Sunday.

Notables that will factor into the games this weekend: freshman right-hander DJ Baxendale (Sylvan Hills high school) he has became Arkansas' closer this year and the upside of this young man becoming dominant shows up more and more ever outing. Baxendale sports a 2.08 ERA and the young man is 6 for 6 in save appearances. Also, the improvement of Jeremy Heatly and the Geoffery Davenport, both are bidding to be the number one guy out of the pen. Davenport is second on the team in strikeouts and the lefty has been overpowering thus far. One other name that you could hear from this weekend is freshman Randall Fant. He has one start in the midweek win over South Dakota State and was very impressive showing a big league change-up that is highlighted by a 90+ MPH fastball. with no midweek game this week for the Razorbacks you should see a full compliment of arms for the Razorback bullpen.

LSU is on the other end of the spectrum as far as pitching. They rank 10th in the SEC with a 4.47 ERA with 112 SO's and 58 BB's thus far. Their number one starter Renando, who was their ace last year, has been out with an injury this year and he will not be availible this weekend. However; Jordan Rittner (2-1) brings a 3.32 ERA into the fold, with just 11 strikeouts. Austin Ross (2-0) will be another starter the Razorbacks will face this weekend. Ross sports a 4.57 ERA, but leads the team with 25 strikeouts. The other likely starter is Joey Bourgrouis (2-1) 4.74 with 16 strikeouts. The closer that was at times unhittable last year sophomore lefty Matty Ott leads the team with 6 Saves in 7 appearances and sports a 2.35 ERA. Arkansas will try to avoid the game ever getting to Ott.

Inside the numbers: Last 5 meetings dating back to last year- LSU has taken the last 4 in a row including 2 out of 3 at Baum, an SEC tournament game, and in the College World Series. Arkansas has a losing record in Baton Rouge dating back to 2004 when Arkansas swept LSU in what was a launching point to Omaha. Arkansas is tied in RBI's with 118 on the year. Arkansas leads the SEC in batters hit by pitches. Kuhn Leads the team in that category. Arkansas and LSU rank towards the top of the SEC in stolen bases with (26 and 30 respectively).

Possibly the key stat of this series and something that could be the series changer: fielding % LSU.977 and Arkansas .963 which ranks them (#3 and #7) in the conference.

Streaks: Both Cox and Dean have 15 game hitting streaks and are hitting well over .400 for the year.

Intangibles: LSU will be breaking in the new Alex Box stadium as far as conference goes and expect a big crowd. LSU is 13-2 and ranked #7; however they have not left Baton Rouge this season. Arkansas is 2-1 outside of Baum this year with a weekend series win at over the Cal Bears.

Opponents: The only common opponent that the two have faced off against is nationally ranked Kansas. LSU just went 1-2 over the weekend against Kansas. Arkansas took on Kansas on a Tuesday game at Baum and defeated the Jayhawks 15-3. Matching up the two teams and their schedules you would have to say at this point the Razorbacks have played a much tougher schedule against more quality opponents. LSU is a great team and this should be a great matchup in the college baseball world.

Likely Razorback Lineup

LF- #25 Collin Kuhn

3rd- #7 Zack Cox

1st- #17 Andy Wilkins

C-#27 James McCann

DH-#9 Monk Kreder

CF-#24 Brett Eibner

SS-#18 Tim Carver

2nd- #12 Bo Bigham

RF-#1 Matt Vinson

Rotation-

Fri-Mike Bolsinger

Sat- Drew Smyly

Sun-Brett Eibner

Prediction- 2-1 Arkansas series win.

The Decade's Best: 2-1

The 8 teams already listed were all very good teams, all deserving of their place in championship history. The two remaining teams just have that little extra to put them over the top. First, they both get bonuses for schedule strength, because their conferences were so stacked. Second, they both have NBA talent abounding. Two players from each team received the bonus points.

2.) 2004 UConn 33-6 (+11) Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon led the most complete team in the country to the title. Charlie Villanueva, Josh Boone, and the rest of the '04 Huskies receive bonuses for the bullseye factor, Gordon and Okafor's star power and conference strength, while their negative points for their 6 losses are the only thing separating them from our number 1 team...

1.) 2001 Duke 35-4 (+13) After going 29-5 in the 2000 season, Duke came into 2001 a little more mature and with a lot more expected of them. With National Players of the Year (different publications picked both) Shane Battier and Jason Williams leading the Blue Devils, it was championship or failure to Duke fans.

Although they were uber-talented, luck played a part as well. As I have been reminded, the tournament title game was not without controversy. Jason Williams had two first-half fouls and was allowed a very questionable no-call that could have saddled him with his third in the first half. Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson, and Luke Walton's Wildcats were unable to overcome the Blue Devil onslaught and Duke cut down the nets for the third time in school history, winning 82-72.

In what some (Brad) call the weakest decade of NCAA tournament history, these 10 teams spanned the gap between star-studded and blue collar, from hard-nosed to finesse. Each one of them brought something different to the table, so forgive me if you think they should be placed differently!

The Decade's Best: 5-3

I'm sure the order of the teams so far has been debated by some, and I have some admissions to make.

First, time has played a role in how I have doled out points. For example, 2008 Kansas may turn out to look better on paper years from now using my formula, because players that were stars on that team may become NBA stars as well. Second, splitting hairs between great teams is tough to do. I had to come up with some defining characteristics of a "great" team, and future NBA stardom was the best I could come up with. So a solid 30-4 Maryland team led by Juan Dixon and Steve Blake are seemingly punished for not being as good as, say, Al Horford in the NBA. Finally, this isn't a this-team-could-beat-that-team type of list. There are factors contributing to the final product, and they are entirely at my discretion.

With that being said, this is MY list. If you don't like it, make your own! I'll be more than happy to debate it with you, because this stuff is fun... Here are numbers 5-3:

5.) 2009 North Carolina 34-4 (+7): The bullseye was squarely on the back of the '08-09 Heels, and they totally lived up to the billing. Aside from getting everyone's best shot, they were the consensus favorite to win it all, and they did not disappoint. A dismantling of Michigan State in the title game left no doubt as to who was the best, but the lack of a superstar on the NBA level hurts them for now. Maybe one day Ty Lawson or Tyler Hansbrough will reach their potential and move this team further up the list.

4.) 2005 North Carolina 27-4 (+7): This team was one of my favorites. They beat a 37-2 Illinois team led by Deron Williams, and sent four players to the NBA draft. The only reason they are ranked so low is because with all that talent, it blows my mind that none of the stars on the team have translated to stardom in the NBA. Their road to the Final Four is what breaks the tie with the '09 team. In their region were perrenial powers UConn, Kansas, Florida, and Villanova.

3.) 2007 Florida 35-5 (+9): I created the bullseye factor for special teams like these Gators. After their magical 2006 run, the return of all their studs made Florida the favorite to win it all. They receive bonus points for the NBA stardom of Al Horford and Joakim Noah (yes, averaging a double-double is considered stardom) and the bullseye factor. The only negative points were because of the five losses, which come from getting everyone's best.

Numbers 2 & 1 will be up tomorrow, but you can put the pieces together to decide who they are. I'll try to bring good evidence to support my choices, but for now I'll leave it up for debate!

Hog Talk Episode 5

Powered by Podbean.com

If this one don't work we are going to beat somebody up at podbean hahah

The Decade's Best: 10-6

Ok, let me preface this entire list with a few bits of information.

First, each of these teams are national champions, so we all know each of them were very good. I had to differentiate between them in some way, so I came up with a simple formula. Everyone starts out even, then can receive bonus points or deductions.

+5 for the "Bullseye" factor- Meaning the team came in to the season highly regarded and expected to win, and were able to win it all with the added pressure.

+3 for current NBA stars- The most subjective of the bonuses, I see Carmelo Anthony as the biggest star of all the players on these teams, and while Steve Blake, Mike Dunleavy, and Maurice Peterson are all serviceable NBA players, they are not in the league of Anthony, Carlos Boozer, or Ben Gordon.

+2 for conference strength- The Big East is king these days, but it wasn't long ago the ACC was the dominant conference. These two conferences will receive bonuses.

-2 Overall record- The more consistent a team can be throughout the year, the more impressive their winning looks. So the conference strength and record should balance out the tough conference schedules of several of these teams. Any more than 4 losses and the team loses 2 points.

So teams 10-6 are as follows, feel free to disagree!

10.) 2000 Michigan State 26-7 (-2): No NBA bonus and a -2 for losing 7 games take a very good team to a -2 on the scale.

9.) 2003 Syracuse 30-5 (+1): Carmelo single handedly won the championship and gives the team 3 bonus points to offset the -2 for losing 5 games.

8.) 2002 Maryland 30-4 (+2): Juan Dixon and Steve Blake carried a very good team through a rugged ACC, splitting with defending national champ Duke and gets the +2 for conference strength.

7.) 2008 Kansas 37-3 (+3): Six of the players from this team are headed to or already in the NBA, however Mario Chalmers is the only one of note today. His +3 bonus puts them at number 7.

6.) 2006 Florida 33-6 (+4): The team before the team, these Gators got hot at the right time and receive bonuses for the next year's NBA haul of Al Horford and Joakim Noah, and lose two points for the 6 losses.

There are many surprises to come and I am absolutely sure there will be disagreements about teams we will put 1-5. Let us know what you think, because the subjectivity of this list will lend to plenty of debate!

The Decade's Best (2000-2009)

Photo Courtesy glengarvin.com

We found that many of our readers enjoyed the list of best Arkansas Razorback basketball teams ever, so we have an idea to get a little interaction with you all again.

In honor of March Madness and the NCAA tournament starting this Thursday, we want to know; who is the best NCAA Tournament Champion of the past 10 years?

Give us some information supporting your pick, and please take the time to sign in with a Google account and post comments on this blog or on Facebook so we can have some feedback.

A little teaser: Brad said his team of the decade was 2001 Duke, with Carlos Boozer, Jay Williams, Shane Battier, Chris Duhon, and Mike Dunleavy...

So let the debate begin. Do your research and give us your pick!

Here are the champs:

2000-Michigan State
2001-Duke

2002-Maryland

2003-Syracuse

2004-Connecticut

2005-North Carolina

2006-Florida

2007-Florida

2008-Kansas

2009-North Carolina

The Greatest Hog Basketball Team of All-Time #1

10.  1989

9.  1993

8.  1983

7.  1977

6.  1979

5.  1990

4.  1995

3.  1978

2.  1994

1.  1991:  This is the greatest Hog basketball team of all-time and there are reasons for it.  No they didn't win the championship and no they didn't even go to the Final Four.  What they did do is blow a 17 point halftime lead to Kansas, who ended up losing in the championship game that season, in the elite eight.  What they did do is average 99.7 points per game.  Another thing they did was become the first of two number one seeds in Arkansas history.  

This team was loaded.  They had Todd Day a lottery pick. Lee Mayberry and Oliver Miller who were all drafted in the first round.  Then Isiah "Butch" Morris was drafted in the second round of the NBA draft.  So they had four guys that were drafted in the starting lineup.  They won the most games in Razorback basketball history and the even beat Duke who ended up winning the national championship in the preseason NIT.  When it comes down to pound for pound who is the greatest team in Arkansas Razorback basketball history it would be hard to argue against this team.  1991 might have been the greatest year ever in college basketball.  

For the sake of comparison lets take a look at the 1991 team vs. the 1994 team:

1991

1.  Arlyn Bowers

2.  Lee Mayberry (even though he was a point guard too)

3.  Todd Day

4.  Isiah "Butch" Morris

5.  Oliver Miller

1994

1.  Corey Beck

2.  Clint McDaniel

3.  Scotty Thurman

4.  Corliss Williamson

5.  Dwight Stewart

Arlyn Bowers vs. Corey Beck Adv. 1994:  I would give the advantage to the 1994 team in this matchup because Beck was 6'3"  to Bowers being 5'10."  Bowers was tough but Beck was tougher.  Beck was the glue that held the 1994 team together.  It seemed like these two were clones of each other. Beck was actually a bigger Arlyn Bowers.  With the other guys on this team Bowers didn't have to be special all he had to do is play tough hard nosed defense and that's what he did.

Lee Mayberry vs. Clint McDaniel Adv 1991:  Clint McDaniel was supposed to be the new Lee Mayberry as both of these guys came to Arkansas from Tulsa.  As good as Clint was he was no Mayberry.  In fact, if you ranked top 10 players in Arkansas basketball history Lee Mayberry is probably in the top five.  If not he's top 10 without a doubt.  McDaniel was much like what Robert Shepherd was for the Hogs tough hard nosed defender.  Mayberry was an all around superstar.  He ranks in the top five in Arkansas history in points, steals, assists, and three pointers made.  This guy was sick.  

Todd Day vs. Scotty Thurman Adv. 1991:  Yes Scotty Thurman hit the biggest shot in Arkansas history. If there are 10 seconds left in the game you probably give Thurman the advantage, but Day could get it done too.  If we are talking the other 39:50 of the game Day has to have the advantage. He was just better than Thurman there really is not a whole lot more to be said about it.  Day, 1992 first round pick to the Bucks.  Thurman undrafted.  Todd Day is the all-time leading scorer in Arkansas history.  There is one argument against Todd Day being the greatest Arkansas player of all-time and that's Sidney Moncrief.  

Corliss Williamson vs. Isiah "Butch" Morris Adv. 1994:  Morris was one of the greatest juco guys Arkansas has ever signed, but Corliss Williamson is the top three in all-time Arkansas Razorbacks, and the only Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four award winner in Arkansas history.  Morris was good and did a great job of filling the role that he was supposed to but Corliss is the "Big Nasty."  The advantage is not as lopsided as one would think because of sheer talent, but in all fairness Corliss takes this one.  

Dwight Stewart vs. Oliver Miller Adv. 1991:  This advantage is a decided one.  Dwight Stewart was a good player on a great team.  Oliver Miller was a great player on a great team.  Miller dominated the inside in his three years in the SWC and did the same to the SEC as the Hogs transitioned conferences.  Miller did more than hold his own against a guy named Shaquille O'Neal.  You might have heard of him.  In fact, in the last game these guys played in Barnhill Arena LSU looked like they might get a victory against the Hogs, but it was a blocked shot on Shaq by Oliver Miller that sent the game to overtime. The Hogs ended up pulling out the victory.  Oliver Miller could score, block shots, and pass.  He was a key for an Arkansas fast break with his pin point baseball passes.  This guy is probably the most underrated player in Arkansas history.  Stewart could hit the outside shot but other than that he is not even in the league of Oliver Miller.  That's three pretty decided advantages for the 1991 team versus the 1994 team.  That tells you how good this team was.  

Two of the Hogs four losses that season were to Kansas who made the championship game and UNLV, who had they completed that season undefeated would have been considered the greatest college basketball team of all-time.  

Just to give you more evidence of the greatness of the 1991 team look at these scores in the SWC tournament:

Arkansas 108 Texas A&M 61 Arkansas 109 Rice 80 Arkansas 120 Texas 89

That's a wow!  They did have one conference loss and that was at Texas to keep them from going undefeated in conference.  Their only other loss was to Arizona who ended up being a number two seed in the NCAA tournament.  

Arkansas entered the tournament as the number one seed in the Southeast Region and were expected to make a push for the title.  They started the tournament with an easy 117-76 victory over Georgia State. They then took care of Arizona State 97-90.  It was future foe Alabama in the sweet 16 and the Crimson Tide could not matchup to these Hogs Arkansas cruised to a 93-70 victory.  The third seeded Kansas Jayhawks were next.  Arkansas looked to have every advantage and stormed out to a 17 point halftime lead.  The Hogs were rolling the only problem was they forgot there was a second half.  The Jayhawks outscored the Hogs by 29 in the second half and won the game 93-81.  This was a very disappointing outcome to a season that at the very least looked as if it would end in the NCAA championship game.  It should have.  In fairness UNLV had already beaten the Hogs at Barnhill.  Arkansas would have been hard pressed to beat the Runnin Rebels, but the Rebs got knocked off by Duke who Arkansas had already beaten.  It could have been!  

Kind of crazy how one of Arkansas six final four teams was not their best team but you can see why this team was Arkansas greatest.  Arkansas finished (34-4, 15-1)

Oh yeah, by the way the 1991 team actually got to play the 1994 team in an exhibition a couple years after the championship. seriously I am not making this up.  This was a fund raiser.  The 1991 team absolutely ran the 1994 team off the court and you can see why.

This was Day, Mayberry, and Miller's junior years and the 1992 team brought everybody back, but sadly they never put it together. The Hogs came into that season as one of those favorites. But Todd Day that got in trouble and suspended for the first half of the season.  Arkansas never recovered as they could have.  The Day-Mayberry-Miller team is one of the greatest team to never win a national championship in NCAA history.

Greatest Hog Basketball teams of all time #2

10.  1989

9.  1993

8.  1983

7.  1977

6.  1979

5.  1990

4.  1995

3.  1978

I have had fun doing this and I hope you have had fun reading it.  I think the two greatest Hog teams of all time might shock you.  

2.  1994 So when you started reading this blog I bet you thought you knew exactly who number one was.  The only national champion would naturally be the best team in Hog history, as Lee Corso would say, "not so fast my friend."  Even though, this was Arkansas most special season this was not Arkansas best team.  The one thing where this team had a leg up was the ability to slow the game down or speed it up.  The Hogs scored 131 points in a game this season, but in the NCAA championship game scored 76.  This was a team that had it all, but not a lot of  NBA talent.  Corliss Williamson obviously was the best of the bunch.  He won an NBA title with the Detroit Pistons as well as a Sixth Man of the Year award, but he never reached the super stardom that he did at Arkansas.  I bet if you asked him that would be alright with him.  Most everybody thought that Scotty Thurman had NBA written all over him. Especially after his game winning shot against Duke in the national championship game.  He declared for the draft after his junior year at Arkansas but did not get drafted.  He had made a couple NBA summer league teams, but never made a roster.  Corey Beck played with the Charlotte Hornets more than once but never was on the roster for a full year.  

That being said this Arkansas team was exactly that a team.  Beck was a gritty floor general.  Thurman was smooth and could score from anywhere and any way you wanted him to.  Williamson was unstoppable down low.  Arkansas had great role players too.  Dwight Stewart did a little bit of everything but would shock you with his outside shooting abilities.  Then Clint McDaniel was a defensive stopper who could hit the three.  Arkansas had players like Darnell Robinson, Lee Wilson, Davor Rimac, Roger Crawford,  Alex Dillard, Ken Biley, and Elmer Martin coming off the bench.  Most of whom could have started for many teams in the country.  Arkansas three losses came to SEC teams.  Mississippi State beat Arkansas by one at the Hump and Alabama beat Arkansas by two at Coleman Coliseum.  Kentucky got Arkansas by 12 in the SEC tournament.  Other than that the Hogs ran over the competition.  One of the more memorable games of that season was Arkansas drubbing of Missouri on ESPN.  The Hogs beat Missouri 120-68 and Missouri ended up being a number one seed in the NCAA tournament.  They weren't the only team to get pounded by the Hogs that year.  

One of the many things that made 1993-1994 a special season is that Arkansas opened their new basketball palace.  Barnhill Arena was a tough place to play, but Bud Walton Arena was and still is one of the best on campus facilities in the nation.  The Hogs protected their house with an undefeated record.  People knew coming into this season that Arkansas had the opportunity to do special things.  Arkansas spent nine weeks that season at the top of the AP and coaches polls.  They were just good.

Arkansas didn't have a whole lot to play for in the SEC tournament they knew they were a one seed and their focus was not the SEC tournament.  They were focused on the national championship.  Arkansas started their special run with North Carolina A & T.  The Hogs slept walked through that game winning 94-79.  The Hogs then drew Georgetown with a Freshman named Allen Iverson and a guy who had all but signed with the Hogs named Othella Harrington.  The Arkansas Georgetown game was very chippy.  Arkansas and Georgetown got into a fight and the Hogs lost a key component of their championship team that game, Roger Crawford.  Arkansas won a pretty hotly contested game 85-73.  The Hogs moved on and beat a Tulsa team coached by Tubby Smith 103-84.  Arkansas then moved on to the Fab 5 minus one  (Chris Webber) and Michigan the Hogs showed the Wolverines that they meant business with a 76-68 victory.  The Hogs moved on to the Final Four in Charlotte, North Carolina.  The Hogs were joined by SEC foe Florida, Duke, and Arizona.  The Razorbacks met the Arizona Wildcats and Damon Stoudamire.  This contest was hotly contested but Corliss Williamson dominated the Wildcats and the Hogs were able to pull out a 91-82 victory. 

 It was the on to Duke.  Arkansas had lost to Duke in the 1990 final four 97-83, but had beaten the Blue Devils in the preseason NIT final in 1991 98-88.  This was a whole new group of players on both teams except Duke still had Grant Hill.  The previous two times the Hogs met Duke they were the underdog but this time the Hogs were the favorite.  Duke led by Hill gave Arkansas all they wanted.  The Blue Devils even took a 10 point second half lead 48-38, but Arkansas battled back.  Arkansas and Duke rocked back and forth and with the game tied at 70 Scotty Thurman hit the biggest shot in the history of the program.  With 51 seconds left in the game and as the shot clock hit zero Scotty Thurman's sky scraping three pointer went through the net.  The shot, as Arkansas fans like to call it, clinched Arkansas first ever national championship in men's basketball.  

Arkansas finished (31-3, 14-2) they were only three points away from an unbeaten regular season.  They finshed as SEC regular season champs.  These Hogs were special!

Greatest Hog Basketball teams of all time 3-5

In case you don't want to look below to see 6 - 10 here it is:

10.  1989

9.  1993

8.  1983

7.  1977

6.  1979

5.  1990 Coming in at number five is one of Arkansas six final four participants (1941, 1945, 1978, 1994, and 1995).  1990 was a special year because you could see Nolan Richardson building this team toward greatness and this was the first glimpse.  This team went (30-5, 14-2) but was only a number four seed going in the tournament due to the disrespect of the SWC at the time. This Arkansas team was as high as number three in the associated press and coaches polls.

 Arkansas took out Princeton in a battle of contrasting styles 68-64.  The Hogs then took on a game 12 seeded Dayton team.  The Flyers gave the Hogs all they wanted, the Razorbacks squeaked by with an (86-84) win.  This was definitely an upset bracket as number eight seeded North Carolina beat number one seeded Oklahoma and number two seeded Purdue lost to ten seeded Texas then three seeded Georgetown got beat by number six Xavier all in the second round.  Arkansas went on to blowout North Carolina 96-73, and then got to take on old SWC foe Texas in the regional final.  (You can see that game on my facebook page)  Arkansas squeaked out a 88-85 victory to head to it's first final four since 1978.  There they met Duke.  The Blue Devils got the best of the Hogs that year with a 97-83 victory.  This set up the Hogs to be one of the favorites in 1991 to win the national championship.  

4.  1995 The Hogs came into the season as the favorite to win the national championship again.  UMass, led by John Calipari and Marcus Camby, thumped the Hogs in the opener of the college basketball season.  That game set a tone for the early season struggles of the Hogs.  Arkansas lost five of it's first 22 games.  Yes, 17-5 we would take now, but this team was expected to be one of the greatest of all-time, this was not expected.  The Hogs recovered after a bad first half at Vanderbilt they stormed back to win that game which set them on an 11 game winning streak.  Arkansas played themselves into the conversation of a number one seed.  They played Kentucky in an all-time great SEC final and basically a play in game for a number one seed.  Arkansas jumped all over Kentucky, but the Wildcats were able to come back to force overtime.   The Hogs jumped out to a nine point lead in overtime, but again the Cats came back and this time took the victory 95-93.  

Arkansas entered the NCAA tournament as a number two seed.  The Hogs let 15 seeded Texas Southern take them to the wire and have a last second shot to win but it fell short.  Then seven seeded Syracuse had a phantom timeout or Arkansas gets beat in the second round.  Rivals Memphis and Arkansas met in the sweet 16.  Like the previous two games the Hogs had an early lead.  It looked as if the Hogs were going to go down but Scotty Thurman saved the game in overtime and the Hogs were victorious.  Arkansas won in the elite eight and it was a relatively easy game.  

The Hogs then took on the University of North Carolina with Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse, but the Hogs were the defending National Champion.  The Hogs played like it for a half and Corliss Williamson schooled Wallace.  The momentum was seized when Dwight Stewart hit a 65 footer right before halftime the Hogs never looked back (75-68).  This set a meeting with UCLA.  UCLA needed a Tyus Edney miracle against Missouri to get there, but pretty much dominated the competition for the whole year.  Arkansas was no different that night.  George Zidek stymied Corliss Williamson and the Hogs could not figure out UCLA all year long.  UCLA won (89-78).  Arkansas finished the season (32-7, 12-4).  Had they repeated this would probably be considered the greatest team in Arkansas basketball history.

3. 1978 When you look at this list Arkansas' basketball history the good always comes in threes.  (1977, 1978, 1979) (1989, 1990, 1991)(1993, 1994, 1995) (Mayberry, Day, Miller) (Corliss, Scotty, Beck).  This was the start of the threes or the triplets.  Sidney Moncrief, Marvin Delph, and Ron Brewer revolutionized Arkansas basketball along with coach Eddie Sutton.  The Hogs dominated their competition going (32-4, 14-2).  The Hogs started their tournament run with a  73-52 win over Weber State.  Then Arkansas pulled the upset against all-time NCAA power, UCLA (74-70).  Then Arkansas took care of Cal State Fullerton 61-58 in the regional final to advance to the final four.  Many will say that if this team had the three point shot they would have won the national championship.  They didn't and another power Kentucky took the victory 64-59.  This was during the era of the third place game and Arkansas took third place against Notre Dame with a last second shot (71-69).  Many great teams have came and gone at Arkansas this might be the most beloved outside the national championship team.

Greatest Hog Teams of All Time 6-10

In honor of what Razorback basketball used to be we here at The Sports Blitz will be giving you lots of lists when it comes to the Razorbacks and we will even mix in some college basketball this month. Well, this is the month of madness. We are going to start with the 10 greatest basketball teams in Arkansas basketball history.

10. 1989 This team lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to a number four seeded Louisville team. They beat Loyola Marymount 120-101 in the first round of the tournament. The results are not what made this team great, but it was the start of the greatness of Nolan Richardson's Razorbacks. Senior Keith Wilson led this team, but it was three heralded Freshman named Todd Day, Lee Mayberry, and Oliver Miller who were the catalyst of the three consecutive SWC championships and an SEC championship (25-7, 13-3)

9. 1993 This team was led by a Senior named Darrell Hawkins. This guy stepped his game up to lead these baby hogs to the Sweet 16 and a loss to the eventual National Champion North Carolina 80-74. They gave them all they wanted in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Much like the 1989 team this team was the year before greatness. A couple of Freshman had huge impacts on this team. Corliss Williamson and Scotty Thurman. Most people forget that it was Thurman that had the biggest impact his Freshman year because Williamson was hurt for half the year. These Hogs finished (22-9, 10-6) not great, but they did post a victory at Arizona. Had they beaten North Carolina the 1993 team might have made a run at the national championship.

8. 1983 Eddie Sutton started this tradition in the modern era in baskeball. This is one of Arkansas 10 sweet 16 appearances. This team is not one of Arkansas many conference champions though. There was a team called the Houston Cougars had future NBA Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, but Arkansas gave them some battles. Many of these battles were led by a Notre Dame transfer Joe Klein. Arkansas lost a heart breaker to tournament foe Louisville 65-63 in the sweet 16 as a four seed. This team finished (26-4, 14-2).

7. 1977 This was another team that was before greatness (1978 final four). Have you ever heard of Sidney Moncrief, Marvin Delph, and Ron Brewer? These are the guys that started it all under Eddie Sutton. The only thing about this team is they lost in the first round of the tournament to Wake Forest, but they finished (26-2). The reason they get to be up in the greatest they were the only undefeated (16-0) in conference.

6. 1979 The 1979 team went (25-5, 13-3) and after their final four appearance in 1978 they felt like they could win the whole thing. This was a very good team and went to the tournament as a two seed. Only problem was they had to play a one seeded Indiana State and in that year they had a guy named Larry Bird. In one of the greatest games of all-time in Hog basketball history Larry Bird hit a two pointer (no threes back then) to put the dagger in the hearts of the Hogs. ISU wins 73-71.  That shot sent Bird and ISU to the Final Four where they ran into Michigan State and Magic Johnson.  Many think that had Bird not hit that shot the Hogs might have been the champs this year.

Hog Talk Episode 4

Powered by Podbean.com

John Pelphrey, should I stay or should I go?

Let the Madness Begin

Tuesday March 16th the Madness is back! A little more than a week from now little known teams will take down giants, I'll surely pick a couple 12s over 5s, and the chicks who pick the Huskies over the Tigers because they like their colors more will most likely ruin the pools...

I can't wait...

Before anyone can dispute my saying I picked so and so over someone else, I felt I should get some stuff out there. First, without seeing a bracket, I won't pick an absolute champ, but I do have favorites. The three #1 seeds that are locked up, Kansas, Syracuse, and Kentucky, are obviously going to make some noise. I've heard many people say a low seed will make a run this year.

Murray State, Siena, Cornell and Georgia Tech are my four low seeds to watch, but I have one more team I have liked all along, but they are now slated by Joe Lunardi to be a two-seed.

West Virginia (24-6, 13-5).

They play in the Big East, the toughest conference in America, they have big wins over top competition, and they have no "bad" losses. Bob Huggins's style of hard-nosed defense and smart basketball is tournament friendly as well.

So you heard it here first.

Pick your favorites and make sure to get them out there before it's too late, because once Cinderella gets to the ball, nobody will believe you picked them from the beginning!

40 Minutes of Pel has to go

A once proud Arkansas program has fallen to a point that in 1994 people would have laughed you to scorn.  Yeah, I know it's not 1994 anymore.  In fact, 1994 might as well be 1894 or 1794 as far as the Arkansas basketball program is concerned.  

Now, if you have read this blog before I admit I have said that Pelphrey  should stay, but the sad truth is he is not getting it done as the Razorback head coach.  The rich history of Arkansas basketball goes back before Eddie Sutton or Nolan Richardson with a final four appearance in 1941.  Houston Nutt got a free pass with two consecutive losing seasons in football, but consecutive losing seasons in basketball is inexcusable especially with non conference games against the Morgan State's of the world.  

I know that he has had suspensions and just a string of bad luck, but he has recruited these players.  He took some chances last year that ended up blowing up in his face with Montrell McDonald, who had already been dismissed at George Washington University and Jason Henry, who was supremely talented but just could not stay out of trouble.  Henry would have made a difference on this team. It just does not seem that Arkansas gets the most out of it's players consistently.  The same problems seem to rear their ugly heads such as bad defense or bad turnovers, but more importantly bad attitudes.  Look at Tennessee.  They dismissed their best player and suspended others only days before they played the #1 Kansas Jayhawks only to win.  

Do you realize that Arkansas has been on three seperate four game losing streaks during this season?  At the University of Arkansas that is not acceptable. The acceptable improvement would have been the NIT this season and the Hogs were in position to be there but the effort has started to wain much as it did last year.  Now most likely the NIT is not going to happen. Isn't the mark of a good coach somebody who can figure out a way to stop the bleeding?

I know the talent has to be there, but this same talent won five games in a row in the SEC.  I like John Pelphrey, and I may look back at this post with regret some years from now. The fact is he has a slightly lower winning percentage than he had at South Alabama (.544 at USA and .536 at U of A).  The days of Nolan Richardson may never be seen again in this state but Arkansas should be the best program in the SEC West and number two in the SEC after Kentucky.  That is just not the case.  Sadly Stan Heath had the program going in a better direction than Pelphrey with two straight NCAA appearances before his firing.  

I don't know if he is the answer but if Arkansas does not do it's dead level best to go after Mike Anderson at Missouri it would be a mistake.  He plays the style of basketball that is Arkansas basketball.  One that is sorely missed.

Busy Busy Busy

As you can probably tell by the posting patterns, TSB (The Sports Blitz) has had recently, we have been super-busy... The Caldwell's lost a grandfather, and I (Mark) have had job training consume my last couple weeks. Have no fear, however, we haven't gone anywhere!

Since I wrote the Fanatic Approach there has been a swell of negativity beginning to surround the Razorback basketball team. This isn't too surprising though, because of four straight losses, and falling from alone in 1st to fighting for 2nd in the SEC-West. I have lost my leg to stand on in a lot of people's eyes. I said pre-SEC that 5-7 wins in conference would be a great transformation from last year's 2-14 debacle. I also said John Pelphrey deserved another year (at least) because of the way he handled the Courtney Fortson saga and how although the team struggled through the non-conference, they had their floor general back. Now, I don't know anyone who agrees with me.

That's fine, because I'm one of the only rational people I know too.

No offense to you Pel-haters, but none of you look at the biggest picture. You say others, like Mike Anderson, would do more with this team, and that it's time for a change, again. Don't you realize Pel had two years worth of hangover from Stan Heath's last team, including SEVEN players gone after his first season, which happened to be an NCAA tournament team (they beat Indiana in the first round before running into North Carolina?) That team had only three players currently contributing to this year's team; Stefan Welsh, Mike Washington, and Marcus Britt.

Who would expect Pel to do anything with that?

So he tried to recruit quick fixes. Jason Henry, Montrell McDonald, et al... Result? Bomb.

What would you have done? Recruited more stable, reliable players? Enter Rotnei Clarke and Courtney Fortson. You see, Pel has players on the way that can help change the Razorbacks' fortunes. Rickey Scott is leading the Dallas-metro area in scoring, Mardracus Wade and Marvell Waithe should be welcomed additions, and we have seen flashes from Bryant, Farmer, Johnson, and Nobles this season. Marshawn Powell is enough to get flat out giddy about, that dude is a man...

Bottom line, Pel has guys he likes coming in. I know he has yet to fulfill his promise of full-court defense, high intensity basketball, but with his own guys coming in and depth being built, next year will be now or never. If next year's team doesn't make the NCAA's or if Pel is unable to get AT LEAST three of the big-time 2011 recruits targeted (Madden, Mickelson, A. Thomas, etc.), it will be time to reconsider.

I'm all about patience, because starting over just doesn't sound like fun to me. Three more years like the last three would drive me to the crazy house, and I know it would you too... Please, try some positivity, and if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. I mean it...

LeBron #6?

  LeBron James says he is going to change his number to six from 23 in honor of Michael Jordan.  James states that 23 should be retired all over the NBA because of the greatness Michael Jordan, who is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all-time.  

The only problem with this gesture is that he is going from 23 to six and six is the number of the greatest winner in NBA history, Bill Russell.  Russell appeared in 13 NBA finals as a Boston Celtic winning 11 of them and winning atleast one as a player/coach, which is unheard of these days. 

Of course, honoring Jordan is something that the NBA should probably do.  In fact, it had been bantered around to change the NBA logo to the Jordan logo.  But shouldn't Russell be honored?  Russell won five more titles than Jordan.  Of course, these titles come in a different time and it seems competition was much greater in the time of Jordan because Russell was one of the tallest players in the NBA at that time at 6'9."  Russell is not to blame for this he played the competition that was put in front of him and absolutely dominated it.  Russell is one of the greatest rebounders of all-time, but his greatest attribute is being a great leader of men for this Russell should be honored.  

In my opinion James is doing the right thing but if he is going to change his number six is not the number that he should change it to.  My suggestion is 2 because by the time he is done he will be considered the 2nd greatest player of all-time.

Hog Talk Episode 3

Powered by Podbean.com

The best show yet