It was a lively debate about whether the Arkansas Razorbacks have been a top-25 men's basketball program in the past 20 years.
This season marks the 20th year since the one-time national power made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
The debate started between Justin Acri and Pat Bradley on their radio show, The Zone, on KABZ-FM, 103.7, The Buzz, and later included guest Scotty Thurman.
Bradley was a freshman starting point guard on that 1995-1996 team, which got a little lucky in its draw of Penn State and Marquette. The Hogs lost to UMass in the Sweet 16.
Thurman, of course, was a catalyst for the Razorbacks' 1994 national championship team and 1995 runners-up.
The former Razorbacks definitely think Arkansas is still a top-25 program.
Acri was, let's say, skeptical and more than willing to debate.
It made for good radio.
It also sent this columnist searching for statistics. Numbers really don't lie.
Since that eventful day in Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 23, 2002 -- when Nolan Richardson said give him his money and he would be gone, which led to his firing -- the Hogs have struggled more than they had since before Eddie Sutton became the head coach for the 1974-1975 season.
In Richardson's last four seasons, the Hogs were 2-4 in NCAA appearances, but he mostly made the tournament.
Stan Heath was 0-2 in two appearances. His teams were seeded No. 8 and No. 12.
John Pelphrey was 1-1, and that record was in his first season (1997-1998) after Heath left him some pretty good players. The Razorbacks, a No. 9 seed that year, drew Indiana, which had fired head coach Kelvin Sampson days before the tournament started.
After a six-year drought for the Razorbacks, Mike Anderson got the program back in the big dance last year as a No. 5 seed and went 1-1.
Heath may have never had a chance at Arkansas. He had a wondrous one year at Kent State, taking that school to the Elite Eight in his only season as a head coach. That got him the Razorbacks job.
He got there just in time for Richardson's lawsuit for discrimination against the UA. Richardson lost the suit and the appeal, but there was no way that lawsuit was good for recruiting.
Heath made some progress, and his final two seasons got the Hogs into March Madness, but it was too little, too late. His overall record was 82-71 and 31-49 in SEC play.
Pelphrey was in the right place at the right time. Dana Altman accepted the job, but less than 24 hours later he returned to Creighton (he's now at Oregon).
Pelphrey's first team finished second in the SEC West, and his personality was so bubbly and enthusiastic he was immediately a hit with the fans. He still was to many after going 69-59 overall and 31-49 in conference play, but he was fired.
Now comes Anderson, who took over a program that might not have been bankrupt but was very much like the price of a barrel of oil right now. Unsteady and usually dropping.
His first team, which seemed to think pressure defense meant shooting threes, finished ninth in the SEC; his second was seventh; his third was fifth; and last season the Hogs finished second, went 2-1 in the SEC Tournament and entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed. The Hogs went 1-1, losing to an extremely talented North Carolina team.
Anderson lost four starters from last year, plus a fifth starter for the first half of the season for legal reasons.
The debate was have the Hogs remained a top-25 program for the past 20 years? The answer is no.
The moment Richardson left, the program got off track badly. Now, 14 years later, it is showing some signs of a comeback, but more time is needed.
Sports on 01/17/2016