Anderson upbeat despite long odds this season

Going Deep: A sports column by Nate Olson

University of Arkansas basketball head basketball coach Mike Anderson at the Basketball Performance Center before practice Oct. 5 in Fayetteville.
University of Arkansas basketball head basketball coach Mike Anderson at the Basketball Performance Center before practice Oct. 5 in Fayetteville.

Mike Anderson deserves better than the hand he’s been dealt. But in typical Anderson fashion, he won’t make excuses or lower expectations after half of his basketball team isn’t returning either by NBA defection or discipline problems.

“We’re not going backwards,” Anderson said at the University of Arkansas basketball media day Oct. 5.

Just when it looked like the Hogs program turned the corner with a 27-9 record and a second-round finish in the NCAA Tournament, Anderson started this season with just 10 scholarship players who produced just 21 percent of the scoring and 28 percent of the rebounding from a year ago.

The problems began when star sophomore forward Bobby Portis and junior forward Michael Qualls declared themselves eligible for the NBA draft last spring. Most suspected Portis, who grew up in a low-income, single-parent family, would chase the millions that were sure to be his as a sure-fire first-rounder. Qualls’ departure might have been more unexpected since some experts didn’t project him to be drafted. Those losses, coupled with the loss of seniors Ky Madden and Alandise Harris, left the squad with gaping holes.

Then, there was even more bad news in July, when lone returning starter Anton Beard, a sophomore point guard, and and forwards Jacorey Williams and Dustin Thomas were arrested in connection with a counterfeit investigation. Anderson dismissed Williams. Beard, a North Little Rock native, and Thomas, a University of Colorado transfer who must redshirt this year, remain suspended indefinitely.

“I was kind of blindsided,” said Anderson, who hadn’t experienced any other discipline problems in his previous four years as head coach. “But at the end of the day, when it happens, I think the measure of not only the person, but the program is how you deal it, and I think we’re dealing with in the right way.”

Talented signee Ted Kapita enrolling in a prep school and now playing professionally in France was also bad news.

“We know people are counting us out right now, and that’s OK,” senior guard Anthlon Bell told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “We’ve just got to come onto the court every night and prove we’re still here. There’s no letdown coming.”

The setbacks point to a major decline.

Sporting News picked Arkansas to finish 13th in the 14-team SEC, while Athlon Sports picked the Razorbacks 10th and Lindy’s picked the team 12th.

“Everybody’s looking at what’s on paper, but our mindset is we’re preparing to win a championship,” Anderson said.

Anderson made great strides, but the new attitude that surrounds the program may not be enough to salvage this season.

Someone who hasn’t produced much is going to have to fill shoes. Beard was expected to have a breakout year, but if he plays, it won’t be until later in the season or maybe the second semester.

That leaves a role player like Bell (7.9 ppg) from last season, along with former junior walk-on guard Manny Watkins and pedestrian junior big man Moses Kingsley. Also hoping to help is senior guard Jabril Durham.

Arkansas’ best active players may be the ones who haven’t hit the court yet. Junior shooting guard Dusty Hannahs, a Pulaski Academy alumnus, played significant minutes for Texas Tech for two years and could, alongside Bell, be a legitimate three-point threat. Freshman guard Jimmy Whitt, who was ranked by some services as the No. 1 recruit from the state of Missouri, could be an immediate contributor. He will have to be if the Hogs expect to compete.

“People think we’re undermanned, but I think we still have a lot of talent,” Hannahs told the Democrat-Gazette. “It’s going to be a fun year. I think we’re going to shock some people.”

Anderson and Co. have nothing to lose. No one, including most fans, expects a great season or will hold a mediocre season against the Hogs, considering the circumstance. That is a situation where Anderson can thrive. Some experienced players who understand the system need to step up their game, and some young talented players will be thrust into leading roles.

Anderson is so low on bodies that he conducted open tryouts for walk-ons, but if Beard returns to form and the newcomers can adapt, Arkansas could be an NCAA Tournament bubble team come March. That would be a major coaching feat.

Read Nate’s sports blog at goingdeep.syncweekly.com.

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