It isn’t always easy to make a point

FAYETTEVILLE - Let’s get right to the point when it comes to the difference between those Arkansas basketball teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen or deeper and these Razorbacks of Coach Mike Anderson who weren’t even invited to the NIT.

Anderson was an assistant to Nolan Richardson when those Razorbacks teams of the 1990s had plenty of guards who could play the point but relied mainly on one to handle those duties, whether it was Lee Mayberry (1989-92), Corey Beck (1993-95) or Kareem Reid (1996-1999).

Collectively, those teams were in every NCAA Tournament during that span, except for the 1997 team that advanced to the semifinals of the NIT. Those teams reached the Big Dance by being tough on the road and ended up making trips to the Final Four in 1990, 1994 and 1995 (which included winning a national championship in 1994 and a runner-up finish in 1995), an Elite Eight appearance in 1991 and Sweet Sixteen appearances in 1993 and 1996.

During this past 19-13 season, when Arkansas used a point guard by committee approach, the Hogs were nearly invincible at home. They reigned 18-1 inside Arkansas, including 9-0 in the SEC, but usually looked lost like a riderless horse while going 1-12 on the road.

Whether it was Mayberry’s quiet but subtly assertive manner, Beck’s forceful approach or the flashy style of Reid, Arkansas’ point guards of the past didn’t just play the point, they commanded it.

In turn, teammates naturally took to their commands.

“In the ideal situation, you want somebody that takes charge,” Anderson said Friday during his season wrap-up news conference. “All the successful teams I’ve been associated with, they’ve had very good guards, not only versatility, but guys having a leadership role, and they did it through practice. They were vocal. They were winners.

Of the guards Anderson inherited from former coach John Pelphrey and the two Anderson recruited, 2012-2013 freshmen Dee Wagner and Anthlon Bell, plus Oklahoma State transfer Fred Gulley, only Wagner was recruited particularly for the point.

Wagner was used less than any this past season, particularly in SEC play. So does he still have a shot to contribute on Arkansas’ point?

“Without a doubt,” Anderson said. “He’s had the chance to sit and watch. He’s won at the high school level. Obviously this is a different level here and it takes some guys a little bit longer to get acclimated.”

Among the collection of combination guards, sophomore Ky Madden showed in the SEC Tournament that the Razorbacks may be better with his presence at point guard than without it when he finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists without a turnover in a 75-72 season-ending loss to Vanderbilt.

“You saw the things Ky can bring to the table,” Anderson said. “I think he’s a tough matchup, a guy 6-6 that’s versatile. He can handle the basketball and had seven defensive rebounds in that game. He can create and put people in position to score, and I was glad to see him not be hesitant in terms of scoring himself because he’s a guy that can score.

“I think he grew up in that particular game for sure.”