FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas lost Saturday night at LSU, but the Razorbacks' bench turned in another solid performance.
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson extolled his second five of off the bench guards Anton Beard, Manuale Watkins and Jimmy Whitt and forwards Trey Thompson and Willy Kouassi after Saturday night's 76-74 SEC loss at LSU like he extolled them following the 94-61 SEC triumph Tuesday at Missouri.
Anderson didn't praise his second five publicly for their part in SEC victories over Vanderbilt, 90-85, and Mississippi State, 82-68, at Walton Arena.
After the Mississippi State game, Anderson told media, "Our bench has got to continue to get better."
He acerbically omitted the "continue" part privately addressing his reserves.
Vanderbilt's bench, which isn't deep, outscored Arkansas' bench 14-10 and Mississippi State's reserves had a 13-5 advantage last Saturday. That didn't go unnoticed by Anderson.
The reserves, a vital part of what Anderson preaches and was preached to him when he played for Nolan Richardson at Tulsa and assisted Richardson for 17 Arkansas seasons, heard a sermon before taking the court at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.
"I challenged our bench," Anderson said. "I said, 'You guys haven't been playing like you are capable of playing."
They responded. In Columbia, Anderson's second five outscored Mizzou's reserves, 38-29 and combined for 13 rebounds and 10 assists against one turnover.
Saturday night in Baton Rouge, Beard, scoring 11 points with five rebounds, Watkins, Whitt, Thompson and Kouassi outscored LSU's reserves, 27-12.
"Our bench came to play," Anderson said. "Anton, Jimmy, Manuale, Trey, Willy Kouassi -- they brought it. They brought it in a big way."
The five embody Anderson's greatest coaching attribute. His players improve, this second five proves.
Two seasons ago Watkins was a freshman seldom-used walk-on.
The UA junior and Fayetteville High grad earned a scholarship last year not because he's Arkansas assistant coach Melvin Watkins' son, but because Manny Watkins became Arkansas' sixth man, the blue-collar best defender off the bench and even hitting the late-game winning shot last season at Ole Miss.
On disciplinary suspension that didn't allow him to play until the fall semester ended just before Christmas, or even practice with the team until into November, Beard busted his tail getting in basketball shape.
Touted but earlier struggling freshman Whitt, of Columbia, Mo. hit stride upon returning to score 15 points in his hometown.
Thompson, a sophomore from Forrest City, has blossomed into the soft-hands/hard-nosed big man that Anderson projected.
Kouassi, a former Auburn reject and graduate transfer from Kennesaw State, averages nearly 12 minutes per game and shot-blocks second on the team only to vastly improved center Moses Kingsley.
An Arkansas bench making the superiorly talented LSU Tigers take notice in Baton Rouge will capture the superiorly talented Kentucky Wildcats' attention Thursday night at Walton Arena.
Sports on 01/18/2016