UA gets real foe, real refs

Arkansas' Anthlon Bell, right, attempts to pass around Alandise Harris during the first half of the Razorbacks' Red-White Game Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014, in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Arkansas' Anthlon Bell, right, attempts to pass around Alandise Harris during the first half of the Razorbacks' Red-White Game Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014, in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas forward Alandise Harris is hoping to shoot more free throws in tonight's exhibition game against Central Oklahoma than he usually does when the Razorbacks scrimmage.

Harris, a 6-6 senior from Little Rock, said Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson doesn't blow his whistle a lot in practice.

"I'm tired of the way Coach A refs," Harris said. "He's not calling anything."

Harris smiled as he talked about Anderson's officiating, but didn't back down when asked his assessment of his head coach's skills as a referee, as well as Arkansas' assistants.

"They're all on the same level -- horrible," Harris said. "We have four referees and can't get no fouls."

Anderson made no apologizes for the lack of foul calls in practice.

"My officiating is what it is," he said. "It's been no blood, no foul. That's just part of it.

"I've got the whistle, so it's my judgment. Sometimes my judgment is not very good for a reason."

Anderson said he wants his players to be tough, because he knows they won't always get calls in games, either.

"You're trying to get your guys to play at a certain level and get them to understand you've got to play through adversity," Anderson said. "So I'd rather try to put them under as much pressure as I possibly can."

Anderson said he doesn't let practice get out of hand physically.

"I don't let it get outrageous, but there is a level of physicality that takes place in a game and we've seen that," he said. "There are times that officials don't see everything."

Junior guard Jabril Durham, a junior college transfer in his first season at Arkansas, praised the officiating of Anderson and the assistant coaches after hearing Harris' critique.

"We've got great refs," Durham said. "I'd nominate them for referee of the year."

Anderson smiled when he heard that.

"He's politicking," Anderson said. "He's trying to get some playing time."

All 13 of Arkansas' eligible players figure to get some court time tonight. Junior guard Dusty Hannahs, a transfer from Texas Tech, isn't allowed to play in the exhibition games because he's redshirting.

Junior forward Keaton Miles, who redshirted last season after transferring from West Virginia, will play tonight, Anderson said, after missing last Sunday's scrimmage in Vilonia because of an ankle injury.

Anderson said he's not sure who he'll start against Central Oklahoma, an NCAA Division II team from Edmond that lost to Oklahoma City University 98-83 Monday night in an exhibition game.

"I've probably got 8, 9 -- on this team maybe 10 guys -- that could start," Anderson said. "But it's not going to be important who starts these games here.

"It's going to be the playing time when you get out there and what do you do with those minutes."

Tonight is a welcome change for an Arkansas team that has been practicing, officially, for the past month and going through workouts since the summer.

"It's good because it gives us a chance to go against someone other than ourselves," Anderson said. "Our guys right now are at the stage where they're chippie.

"They're in that mode where they kind of get stale, so I've got to be creative to keep them motivated and keep them going."

Tonight's game will have a 30-second shot clock, rather than the normal 35-second clock, as part of the NCAA using experimental rules.

"The referees want some feedback on shortening the clock," Anderson said. "So'll we'll provide them with some data."

Durham said he figures to be more fired up tonight than some of Arkansas experienced players.

"It's my first Division I game," he said. "So I'm very excited to finally put on a Razorbacks jersey for the first time."

Harris played last season for Arkansas after transferring from Houston and redshirting, but he said he's anxious for the exhibition game, too.

"I'm ready to play somebody for real," Harris said.

And real refs.

Sports on 11/07/2014

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