LITTLE ROCK — Mike Anderson is officially excited about the prospects of his team.
Tuesday’s Downtown Tip Off Club meeting in North Little Rock at the Wyndham Hotel had a pep rally feel to it as Anderson had an extra spring in his step. His team prepares to play Sam Houston State Thursday night just down the street at Verizon Arena.
“We are getting ready to have a special year y’all,” said Anderson, who began his portion of the program by leading enthusiastic Hog Call. “We have some guys that I can identify that can fit what we want to do, guys that are going to leave it out there on the floor. This team is already changing from the beginning of the season. They will continue to change before your eyes.”
It’s hard to blame Anderson for being excited. The Hogs are off to a 10-1 start, and as six new players blend with a veteran core early on the prospects of a few months from now are very promising for the veteran coach.
The biggest problem Anderson has had in his five years is finding a group of players who can meet the demands of his system.
At first, the transition could be blamed on the holdovers from the previous regime, but then even when he recruited his own players things didn’t fall into place. The exception was the 2014-15 season when the Hogs made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in eight years. The team featured current Chicago Bulls forward, Bobby Portis, and Michael Qualls and other role players such as Ky Madden and Alandise Harris, who added toughness.
That team bought in and won a first-round tournament game. Anderson sees the potential for the same chemistry on this team.
“(The 2014-15 team) was a talented and deep team, and this team does have some similarities,” Anderson said in an interview after the meeting. “We still have room for growth because we have so many new pieces. The blending of the old and the new is going to be a key – how soon they get comfortable with one another.”
While Anderson is ecstatic and Hogs fans are starting to buzz, there is little recognition for the Hogs in the national media. Arkansas had no votes in the Associated Press Top 25 voting this week and 15 in the coaches’ poll.
The catch with the fast start is Arkansas hasn’t been tested. Texas-Arlington is the signature win. The loss at Minnesota, which featured 22 UA turnovers, wasn’t a bad one, but doesn’t help much. A win over a young, struggling Texas team on a neutral court was barely noticed.
“I don’t worry about that now until it is all said and done,” Anderson says. “Preseason [polls] and all of that stuff. Right now, all you are trying to do is getting your team to play at a high level. You want them to be playing their best basketball in January and February on into March. That is what we are doing right now. If you take care of business and win games and continue to get better, then I think the rankings and all of those things will take care of themselves. I think we have a great league, and if teams do what they are supposed to do, they will be recognized.”
Arkansas will have a chance to strengthen its stock when they open SEC play with Florida at home next week. The Gators are on the cusp of being ranked in both Top 25 polls.
“I think I have had one home game to open up the conference season since I have been here,” Anderson told the crowd. “I need to talk to the SEC office about that because it seemed like every year we were being shipped off to Texas A&M. I was like, ‘Hell, is this the Texas A&M Invitational?’ I am glad to be opening up at home this year against an outstanding Florida team.
For now, Anderson is elated and encouraged, and he hopes Hogs fans share that enthusiasm, including a loud, raucous crowd in central Arkansas Thursday night.
“I love playing (in North Little Rock),” Anderson said. “We’ve got an opportunity that most teams wish they had because when they show up here it is a different energy because people are excited to see the Razorbacks.”