To The Hoop Ya'll - The Hog Ball Preview

(The Yin and the Yang of Razorback basketball. Teams will be tired of Beverley's offense and Hill's defense by the end of this year of Razorback-hoop dominance.)


I've been so caught up in the awesomeness that is Razorback football, that college hoops has completely snuck up on me.

Before we take a serious look at the upcoming Razorback season, I always need a fix of Kurtis Blow around this time of year. I like the pick and roll, I like the give and go, it's basketball with Mr. Kurtis Blow...





OK, now on with tha show... I took in the Arkansas - Wofford game on Friday night hoping that I wasn't going to witness a UK - Gardner-Webb game. Even though the Hogs went the first five minutes of the game without scoring, they pulled away in the second half for a 22 point win.

One thing I really like about Pelphrey's group this year is that even when the offense is stuck in neutral, the defense will be there to keep them in the game. I'll be keeping a close eye on Pelphrey though for fear of him throwing games and picking up costly technical fouls throughout the year (he was T'd up in the Wofford game).


My 1st Team All-SEC Preseason Team:
G - Patrick Beverley, Arkansas
G - Gary Ervin, Arkansas
F - Sonny Weems, Arkansas
F - Charles Thomas, Arkansas
C - Steven Hill, Arkansas

2nd Team:
G - Chris Lofton, Tennessee
F - Richard Hendrix, Alabama
F - Shan Foster, Vanderbilt
G - Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State
F - Michael Washington, Arkansas

Player of the year: Patrick Beverley
Defensive Player of the year: Steven Hill
Coach of the year: Billy Gillispie... just kidding, John Pelphrey


In honor of the Eagles putting out their first studio cd in 28 years, I've divided the SEC Teams up into four categories for the upcoming season:

The Don Henley Division (NCAA Tourney bound teams)


(This is the greatest Don Henley picture I've ever seen)

Arkansas
Tennessee
Mississippi State


The Glen Frey Division (Should be NCAA Tourney bound)





Kentucky
LSU
Alabama




The Joe Walsh Division (Borderline NCAA teams)



(These teams go to parties, sometimes until four. It's hard to leave when they can't find the door. That doesn't really make any sense at all. Sorry.)


Auburn
Florida
Vanderbilt


The Timothy B. Schmit Division (NIT or Bust, baby!)


(Cut your hair, Timmy. It's a total mess. You just can't pull off the long hair look anymore)

Ole Miss
Georgia
South Carolina

I'm going with Arkansas with a final regular season record of either 30-0 or 29-1 (some team may make a last second half court shot to get a win or the referees may just screw over Arkansas at some point during the season, see: Arkansas at Kentucky later this year as a possible reference).

So, to recap:
1. Hogs will dominate in basketball (check)
2. Compare Hill and Beverley to the yin and the yang (check)
2. Reference Kurtis Blow and the Eagles in the same blog (check)

We may be inexplicably 6-4 in football right now, but we're 1-0 in hoops, baby!