NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Three days into the fall semester, the Arkansas men’s basketball team was up early for morning workouts, conditioning and pickup games under the watchful eye of Coach Mike Anderson and his staff.
The most notable presence on the Walton Arena floor is forward Marshawn Powell, who is out of a walking boot and taking part in the 30-minute sessions after spending the bulk of spring and summer recovering from a broken left foot.
Anderson said Thursday night that Powell, a 6-7, 235-pound junior, isn’t going fullbore yet.
“He’s participated in all those workouts,” Anderson said at a Little Rock Razorback Club event in North Little Rock. “He may get into five minutes of a workout and step away for a minute, but forthe most part, in terms of his health, he’s progressing just fine.”
Powell averaged 10.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in roughly 22 minutes a game last season, a slight drop-off from his freshman season and tied in part to nagging pain that lingered through the end of last season after he broke his foot in an August 2010 pickup game.
During April workouts, when Anderson’s staff was allowed to work with players two hours a week, Powell was just making the transition from a cast to a walking boot. At the time, he could only takepart in weight-lifting sessions.
Powell should be back to full strength when practice officially opens in October - “At this point in time, there’s no indication he won’t be,” Anderson said - but the coach said it is important to ease Powell back into it.
“They don’t know that I can get a lot done in 30 minutes,” Anderson said. “With that being said, part of that regimen is strength and conditioning and pickup games during the day.”
Powell figures to continue to be a focal point offensively.
Arkansas lost Rotnei Clark, its leading scorer last season with an average of 15.2 points a game, after he transferred to Butler. Forward Delvon Johnson completed his eligibility last season, and Arkansas’ front court took another hit with thetransfer of Glenn Bryant, who averaged 4.1 points and 3.0 rebounds a game, to Eastern Michigan.
Anderson also will find out how a highly touted freshman class will mesh with the veterans. Those questions won’t be sorted out for two months, butAnderson said everything he’s seen from pickup games has been positive.
“I like their energy right now,” Anderson said. “I like their mind-set, their work ethic. They’re listening. I’ve got guys diving on the floor for loose balls not once, but twice. That tells me they’re listening in terms of the effort they’re supposed to give. It can’t just be that one effort. It’s got to be that second, third, fourth[time]. That’s the thing that gives us the greatest chance to succeed at Arkansas.”
Anderson and his staff are holding 6 a.m. workouts four times a week with the roster broken into groups of four players. The interaction is a nice change. Under NCAA rules, the coaches couldn’t watch individual strength and conditioning workouts over the summer.
“The great thing is that weactually get to be on the floor with them,” Anderson said. “There’s some potential with this basketball team, and I’m getting to see that with these workouts. The pickup games they play, that’s more for conditioning right now. But as we get to spend more time with them, I can begin to get my assessment of them and where these guys are and where they need to be.”
As far as expectations, Anderson is keeping those flexible, too.
“We’ve got to learn to compete,” Anderson said of the Razorbacks, who were 18-13, including 2-7 on the road, last season under former coach John Pelphrey. “When you learn to compete, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win.
“I don’t get caught up in the wins and losses. That’s going to take care of itself. Right now, the goal is to get the guys physically and mentally prepared.”
Sports, Pages 17 on 08/26/2011