At first, the expectation was that Blake Eddins would play football like his dad, Liston, who starred at Auburn as a defensive end in the early 1970s. When that didn’t happen, there was still hope the oldest Eddins boy would play basketball at Auburn. That didn’t happen, either. Instead, the University of Arkansas took a chance on Eddins, and he became a four-year letterman for the Hogs and started on the 2000 team that won the SEC Championship with four wins in four days. Younger brothers Bret and Bart also won SEC Championships in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, but they won them with the Auburn football teams. We finally caught up with the busy Eddins and covered a wide range of topics.
Q: What was it like in your house with three boys?
A: It was great. There was a crazy dynamic because as much as we were the same, we were different. I was a smart mouth, and my brother, Bret, who was a year younger than me, was a Parade All-American linebacker, so that didn’t always work out well for me. We remain best friends — our parents took the brunt of it, but it was great growing up in a house like that.
Q: You had a lot of pressure to play football with your dad having been a star at Auburn. How tough was it to tell your dad you were quitting football to concentrate on basketball in the ninth grade?
A: With my dad being an All-SEC defensive end at Auburn and the oldest of three boys, every football team I played on, they would start practice off with me at middle linebacker or defensive end thinking I was like my dad. It became pretty clear after the first practice I wasn’t, so they moved me to offense, and I played quarterback or wide receiver or kicking extra points and punting. I was the exact opposite of my dad, but he was wonderful about it. His deal, was whatever you do, just work as hard as you can — put some effort into it. I think my generation was the first where kids started to play one sport realizing you needed to do that to succeed. I was blessed with some athletic ability but probably not as much as the top-end basketball players. I knew I had to work hard. My goal was to earn a college basketball scholarship, and my dad supported me in that.
Q: Your dream was to play basketball at Auburn. How crushing was it not to get a scholarship offer from the Tigers?
A: It was and it wasn’t. There were some things that factored in. My junior year I tore up my ankle. Auburn had two scholarships and one of the guys ended up playing five years in the NBA. I really wanted to play [at Auburn]. I grew up 35 miles from there, and my great aunt lived there, so we spent all of our holidays there. I went to all kinds of sporting events there, and we were in the locker room after football and basketball games. That may say something about my mentality and humor — being in all of those locker rooms, it stuck with me. I had some scholarship [offers] from some good schools, and when Arkansas offered, I just knew. I knew it was the right decision.
Q: What is your most memorable moment at Arkansas?
A: Definitely winning the SEC Tournament in 2000. At that time the only other team to win four games in four days was Auburn with Chuck Person in [1985]. I grew up going to SEC tournaments, and I always checked off the team that would have to win four games in four days. I started the last part of my freshman year, so it was great to be a part of it. Doing it in the fashion we did — beating Georgia, then beating Kentucky when it was “CatLanta” and LSU [which] was Top 10 and then Auburn. It was an awesome feeling, and that was back when Arkansas was bringing 15,000 fans to Atlanta, and there were people calling the Hogs in the lobby of the hotel.
Q: Can Arkansas get to the NCAA tournament this year?
A: Definitely. Arkansas can go as far as their point guard play takes them. We’ve seen a lot of growth since the Maui tournament. Rashad Madden’s emergence has helped. He can’t keep shooting 60 percent from the 3-point line, but if he can play consistently and go to the lane and make smart plays, [Arkansas] can get to the tournament.