Anderson's Hogs impress with fall conditioning

Arkansas coach Mike Anderson talks to forward Jacorey Williams during a 2012 practice at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Arkansas coach Mike Anderson talks to forward Jacorey Williams during a 2012 practice at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas' basketball players have been doing some cross country training this fall.

Coach Mike Anderson has added a new twist to the staple of having players run up the steep hill on Cleveland Street.

More of an old twist, actually.

Running up Cleveland hill was incorporated into conditioning workouts when Anderson returned to coach the Razorbacks three years ago, but last week the Razorbacks did it as part of a 3.1-mile run.

Former players now on Anderson's staff -- T.J. Cleveland, Scotty Thurman and Lee Mayberry -- recalled how they used to make the run from Barnhill Arena or Walton Arena to Cleveland hill and back when Anderson was Nolan Richardson's assistant.

"They kept saying, 'Coach, we need to run like we did back in the day,' " Anderson said Thursday when he spoke at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/NWA Media Tipoff Luncheon. "All our guys ran it last Friday, and I was thoroughly impressed."

Thurman and Mayberry said they were impressed, too, especially because the Razorbacks ran a timed mile on the Walton Arena concourse, then hit the Cleveland hill course.

Junior guard Michael Qualls finished first on the Cleveland hill course, but all of the Razorbacks ran well, Thurman and Mayberry said.

"I think we've got a chance to be real good," said Thurman, the team's director of student-athlete development. "Obviously, we've got to prove it on the court, but I think we're moving in the right direction."

Mayberry, a former NBA player who has returned to the UA this fall to complete his degree and be a volunteer coach, said watching the Razorbacks run the Cleveland hill course brought back a lot of memories of what it takes to get into top condition.

"You think you're almost done, and then you hit that hill," Mayberry said. "Then once you finally get over the hill, you've still got to run back to the gym.

"You realize it's not over yet, but you've got to keep going. It's not easy.

"This is all building up to getting out there against other teams, and I think our guys are going to be ready."

Trey Thompson, a 6-9 freshman from Forrest City, is giving himself a chance to be ready to contribute this season, Anderson said, after losing 28 pounds since arriving on campus in June.

"He looks like a different player right now," Anderson said. "I think in order to play the way we want to play, that's something he needed to do.

"He's got a tremendous upside. He's just got to acclimate to playing college basketball."

Anderson said Thompson has benefited from going against sophomore big men Bobby Portis and Moses Kingsley in workouts.

"At Forrest City, he was blocking shots with armpits," Anderson said. "All he had to do was hold his arm out and he blocked the shot, but now you're going against some guys who are men.

"So it makes you step your game up, and I think Trey is one of those guys that won't back down."

The Razorbacks, who have been going through conditioning and individual workouts, started having some team workouts Sept. 15, Their first day of full-scale practices will be Oct. 7.

"So far, so good," Anderson said. "Our guys are working extremely hard. They're pushing each other and they're competing.

"The toughest part for them is the conditioning. That's something you can't get around -- you've just got to go through it -- and the conditioning is just getting you ready for practice."

Anderson said he's been thinking about bringing back another conditioning test for the Razorbacks.

"When I was here with Coach Richardson, we used to take them out by Drake Field," Anderson said of the Fayetteville airport. "We'd just drop them off, and tell them to find their way back -- and you better not get in a car."

Sports on 09/26/2014

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