BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — First in a series previewing SEC basketball teams
When John Pelphrey was a senior forward at Kentucky for the 1991-1992 season, he represented the Wildcats at SEC Basketball Media Days.
Sixteen years later, Pelphrey was back at the SEC's tipoff event on Wednesday, this time as Arkansas' coach.
"Coach Pelphrey has been around," Razorbacks senior forward Charles Thomas said. "He's kind of old, isn't he?"
Pelphrey, 39, actually is the SEC's youngest coach, edging Ole Miss' Andy Kennedy by four months. Both were born in 1968, but Kennedy's birthday is March 13 and Pelphrey's is July 18.
Asked what he remembered about his experience at SEC Basketball Media Days as a player, Pelphrey said his main concern was Kentucky CoachRick Pitino.
"I just didn't want to do anything that would upset Coach Pitino," Pelphrey said. "At that point in my life, I was just consumed with pleasing that guy and making sure that I got a chance to play the next game."
Pelphrey stayed on Pitino's good side enough to be a key senior starter on Kentucky's 29-7 team that lost to Duke 104-103 in overtime in the NCAA East Regional final. That game is considered one of college basketball's greatest.
"I think it's a positive for us to have a coach who played in the SEC," Arkansas sophomore guard Patrick Beverley said. "He knows what it takes and has experienced the ups and downs and had a lot of success."
Pelphrey and Florida Coach Billy Donovan were in the print media room conducting interviews at the same time Wednesday.
While Donovan, who has led the Gators to back-to-back national championships, drew the bigger crowd, Pelphrey got plenty of attention, too.
A lot of reporters wanted to talk to Pelphrey because he's a new coach in the conference, he played at Kentucky and the Razorbacks are the media's choice to win the SEC West.
Pelphrey seemed as ease with the attention and showed a good sense of humor along with an understanding of the job that lies ahead.
"When I was a player I wanted a chance to compete at this level and I feel very, very fortunate that Arkansas has given me the opportunity to do that now as a coach," Pelphrey said. "That's an opportunity you don't get all the time."
Arkansas is a popular media choice to win the SEC West because the Razorbacks return the top nine scorers from a team thatfinished 21-14 last season, including a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Southern California.
Pelphrey downplayed the media poll, calling it a "paper championship" and noting it will have no impact on the outcome of games this season.
Arkansas won or shared four consecutive SEC West titles its first four years in the conference from 1992-1995, but hasn't finished higher than second the past 12 seasons.
"Obviously, we've all got goals [of winning a title]," said Pelphrey, who coached South Alabama to an 80-67 record in five seasons, including 24-7 and 20-12 the past two years. "But before we get there a lot of things have to take place.
"We've got to learn what it's like to play hard on a possession-by-possession basis and learn how to be a team in terms of chemistry and getting along and taking care of one another.
"We've got to do those things before we can talk about winning the first [West] championship since 1995."
Pelphrey said while the team has long-term goals, his primary focus is to make sure the Razorbacks keep improving each day.
"What's important is getting through to our guys on a daily basis in practice," he said. "I'm trying to find the buttons that need to be pushed to get those guys to overachieve."
Beverley and Thomas echoed Pelphrey in calling the media poll a "paper championship" and said they don't pay much attention to it.
"It makes us feel like we've got a bull's-eye on our backs now," Thomas said. "We have to be sure and play hard every game, night in and night out."
Thomas said being picked to win the SEC West could be considered "a sign of progress" for the Razorbacks.
"But it's not about what people say," Thomas said. "It's about what we do."
Next TennesseeArkansas at a glance COACH John Pelphrey (first season at Arkansas, 80-67 in five seasons at South Alabama) LAST SEASON 21-14, 7-9 SEC KEY LOSSES None KEY RETURNEES G Patrick Beverley, F Charles Thomas, F Sonny Weems, C Steven Hill, G Gary Ervin, F Darian Townes KEY NEWCOMERS F Michael Sanchez, G Marcus Britt, G Nate Rakestraw PROJECTED FINISH First in SEC West
Sports, Pages 17, 28 on 10/25/2007