CONWAY — It was the most heartwarming blowout I’d ever seen.
How many times do photos following a 116-63 rout capture the head coaches laughing, in a familial embrace?
Yet that was the image forever crystallizing the University of Missouri’s demolition of the University of Central Arkansas on Saturday night — avuncular Mizzou maestro Mike Anderson tenderly holding the head of beaming rookie coach Corliss Williamson.
And why not?
The head assistant coach from Arkansas’ 1994 national championship team should be grateful for Williamson, the best player from that squad. As a headline-snatching All-American, “Big Nasty” helped thrust Anderson’s name into the national spotlight and, years later, into contention as a head coaching candidate in Alabama and Missouri.
Now, Anderson leads the nation’s 13th-ranked program, a paradigm of full-court pressure which is today’s best representation of the “40 Minutes of Hell” style he and head coach Nolan Richardson perfected in Fayetteville.
Williamson, meanwhile, is in his ninth month as a Division I coach.
Before the season, he said his goal is to turn UCA into a mid-major power, something in the orbit of Butler, Gonzaga or Creighton, but channeling the same kind of full-court fury the Missouri Tigers have.
“They play the up-tempo style we want to play as well as anyone in the country,” Williamson told UCA Sports Information before the game. “We want to get to that level and this game will help us see where we are and what we need to improve on to get there.”
So far, predictably, there is plenty to improve on — the Bears started 3-8 this season after ringing up a 43-76 record over the last four seasons. On Dec. 4, they lost 101-61 to Missouri State, after which Williamson told Conway’s Log Cabin Democrat: “This was the first time I haven’t seen them compete. We were on our heels all night.”
Some, predictably, question whether Williamson is ready for the job after previous coaching experience at only the AAU and junior college ranks. He took over as the head coach at Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock midway through the 2008-09 season. That team finished 9-22. Last season’s team started with a 9-10 record.
Another question is how well he can adapt to coaching lesser talents than himself after a superstar collegiate career. Most of the best coaches at Arkansas D1 programs in the last few decades — Dickey Nutt, Porter Moser, Mike Newell, Eddie Sutton, Nolan Richardson — were starters on their college teams, but more “glue guys” than the All-American Williamson was.
There are a couple of examples of All-American-caliber players at Arkansas schools who fared horribly after going on to coach at Arkansas D1 programs. The most famous is Razorback great Sidney Moncrief, who went 4-24 in his lone season at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1999-2000. Another example is Harold Blevins, who averaged 30 points a game his senior season at Arkansas AandM (which is now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) and was that program’s first NBA draftee. He returned to UAPB in 1995, and coached the program to a 36-147 record through seven seasons.
But Williamson may prove to be a different story.
Yes, he was talented and athletic, but not overwhelmingly so. As an undersized 6-foot-6 power player, his superior work ethic, discipline and competitive fire are the main reasons for his stellar college career and successful NBA career. Those are attributes more easily transferable to players.
Moncrief took the UALR job without much prior coaching experience, having spent time as a businessman before his stint instead of learning for three seasons under a central Arkansas basketball guru like Arkansas Baptist College Athletic Director Charles Ripley. Before UAPB, Blevins spent 25 years coaching junior college in Maryland instead of locally, where the network he developed could be of more use.
Williamson is already putting his name, and connections, to good use in the area. Program exposure is growing — KATV Channel 7 aired the Mizzou game, the first time a UCA basketball game has been aired statewide. More talent will come as Williamson seeks out recruits from an abnormally talented senior class within the state.
One of the major keys for the rest of this building block of a season will be for the UCA players to avoid another Missouri State game-type effort. If they continue playing hard, as they did in earlier losses of 83-69 at Hawaii, 76-72 at SMU and 69-57 at Oklahoma State, a Southland Conference surprise could be around the corner.
Reach out to Little Rock native Evin Demirel at thesportsseer@gmail.com