NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Missouri was going through a hard workout in Vanderbilt's practice gym, which was a little surprising since the Tigers needed overtime to beat Auburn in the late game Wednesday night and were just six hours away from taking on Ole Miss.
The winner of that game will face the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville tonight, and the Razorbacks patiently were waiting for the Tigers to finish so they could have a shootaround Thursday.
It wasn't going to be a hard hour -- nothing compared to what Missouri went through against Auburn -- because the Hogs had practiced that morning in Bridgestone Arena, site of this week's SEC Tournament.
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson spent part of the hour teaching, but at that point he didn't know who he was preparing for so he just knocked a little rust off and tweaked his team.
Six of the seven goals were being used, and the only reason it wasn't all seven was because of the the crowd that had gathered, which included families. The Arkansas Razorbacks basketball program is like a family.
Marcheita Anderson, Mike's wife, is like everyone's mom and always has time to listen to the players.
Assistant coach T.J. Cleveland's wife was busy with their twin boys, who seem to love basketball, and both are using their left hands. Melvin Watkins' wife sat next to Cleveland's wife.
The list goes on and on.
Walking around and taking it all in was one of the most unheralded guys on the staff, Lee Mayberry, who came back to the university to get his degree, worked his tail off as a graduate assistant and has moved up to special assistant to the head coach.
Mayberry, arguably one of the top-five players in Razorbacks history, is a soft-spoken, friendly and energetic guy who wouldn't say spit with a mouthful of it.
The players turn to him when they want to talk about the NBA. Mayberry played seven seasons in the NBA and was a scout for five more (five daughters and a wife got him off the road). He knows what the NBA is looking for, and he constantly gets calls from other scouts about players.
Two of Mayberry's daughters play for Fayetteville High School and will play for a state championship Saturday morning. Mayberry was thinking about them, but he was focused on the Hogs.
On one goal, Trey Thompson was shooting baseline jumpers one after the other. He wasn't just shooting around: He was practicing his shot. Thompson is a key reason why the Hogs finished third in the SEC and won six of their last seven games.
Although he averaged just 15 minutes a game in SEC play, he tied for the team lead in assists in conference play with Jaylen Barford, who averaged 26 minutes a game, with a total of 36.
There was a lot of teasing among the players, some lighthearted challenges and more teasing.
For Dusty Hannahs, Moses Kingsley and Manny Watkins, this is the beginning of the end. As seniors, they have helped this group bounce back after losses at Missouri and to Vanderbilt at home to become more of a team.
This and the NCAA Tournament are their final rodeos, but they will leave with the knowledge they made a difference on a team that made it to March Madness.
Hannahs leaves with the legacy of a deadly shooter; Kingsley as a shot-blocker extraordinaire; and Watkins as a guy who walked on, worked his tail off and became a vital part of the team on both ends of the court.
Thursday's shootaround was part of the preparations for the SEC Tournament, and it seemed like the Hogs weren't worried about who they played while here.
Sports on 03/10/2017