BENTONVILLE - John Pelphrey no longer coaches Patrick Beverley, but they still talk.

"We'll always have an interest in Patrick and want him to do well," Pelphrey, set to begin his second season as Arkansas' coach, said Thursday night before speaking to the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Club at Bentonville High School. "If we can ever be of help to Patrick, we want to do that.

" He's back home in Chicago, and when I spoke to him, he said he's doing well."

Pelphrey had expected to be coaching Beverley this season.

But the 6-1 guard, who would have been a junior after averaging 13 points and 5. 5 rebounds in his two seasons at Arkansas, was declared ineligible for this season by the UA in an announcement Aug. 8.

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Arkansas coaches and administrators have declined to comment on the reason Beverley wouldn't be allowed to play this season, citing student privacy laws.

But Beverley, who has signed with an agent and hopes to play professionally, told The Sporting News Today Web site that a situation regarding a class paper resulted in his being ineligible for this season.

"It's obviously a devastating blow for the Arkansas basketball team, and it's also a horrible, horrible thing to have happen to a young man," Pelphrey said of Beverley being unable to play for the Razorbacks. "But the reality of it all is, there will be a basketball season, and Patrick's going to have to try to pick the pieces up and do the best he can with his life.

" Our season isn't over, and his life isn't over, either."

Beverley led the Razorbacks in rebounding last season (6. 6 ) and would have been the team's returning leader in scoring (12. 1 ), assists (2. 4 ) and steals (1. 3 ).

"He was an experienced player, a guy who had been through it," Pelphrey said. "From a work ethic and performance standpoint, he was an outstanding example for everybody to follow.

" It's hard to replace a guy like that."

Without Beverley and six departed seniors, Arkansas has lost 87 percent of its scoring and 77 percent of its rebounding from last season's 23-12 team that beat Indiana for the Razorbacks' first NCAA Tournament victory since 1999.

The leading returning scorer is junior guard Stefan Welsh, who averaged 5. 3 points. Junior forward Michael Washington is the leading returning rebounder (3. 9 ) and the second-leading scorer (4. 3 ). Also back is sophomore guard Marcus Britt and junior walk-on Stephen Cox.

Seven Razorbacks who will be playing college basketball for the first time this season are redshirt freshman Michael Sanchez and a recruiting class of freshmen Andre Clark, Rotnei Clarke, Courtney Fortson, Jason Henry and Brandon Moore and junior college transfer Montrell McDonald.

The Razorbacks, who have been going through individual workouts since the fall semester started Aug. 23, begin practice Friday and play their Red-White intrasquad game Oct. 24.