Hog Calls

Long-haul approach to success proven

Arkansas coach Mike Anderson speaks to reporters on Wednesday, April 15, 2015, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Expect Coach Mike Anderson to avoid looking for a quick fix to make up for the loss of Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls, and expect Arkansas to be the better for it that he doesn't.

Seventeen years assisting Nolan Richardson at Arkansas and 13 years as a head coach at Alabama-Birmingham, Missouri and Arkansas have taught Anderson many right ways and wrong ways about the inexact science of rebuilding programs, including replacing great players who turned pro early.

Even with Richardson, the Hall of Fame coach who won a national championship at Arkansas, there were mistakes. Mistakes that Anderson learned from and apparently avoided during his Missouri days while replacing underclassmen who turned pro early, just like Portis and Qualls did earlier this week.

Richardson faced massive rebuilding following the 1995 season. Arkansas had advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1993, won the national title in 1994 and was the national runner-up in 1995 with Corliss Williamson, Scotty Thurman, Corey Beck, Clint McDaniel and Dwight Stewart serving as the core for those teams. Williamson and Thurman, both juniors, turned pro after the 1995 season and seniors Beck, McDaniel and Stewart departed as well.

Richardson signed three freshmen: Pat Bradley, Derek Hood and Kareem Reid. They were in it for the long haul and gave Arkansas some spectacular times over four years.

However, Richardson also took some chances on some character risks that didn't work out. Some junior college transfers' transcripts raised the curiosity of the NCAA, and subsequently one of those all-encompassing NCAA investigations that inevitably find something to penalize did.

Ironically, Sunday Adebayo, the junior college transfer who the NCAA influenced Arkansas to suspend midseason and then was mandated to transfer from the UA, proved to have things in sufficient order. In fact, it was in such sufficient order that the NCAA backed down from Adebayo, who was represented by Fayetteville attorney Woody Bassett.

It was an unprecedented move for an organization that at the time was steeped in arrogance and known for its "my way or the highway" approach. The NCAA actually admitted its mistake and extended an apology while granting Adebayo an extra year to play again at Arkansas after he had played what was thought to be his senior swan song season at Memphis.

As an incoming head coach, Anderson had to clean up messes at Missouri and Arkansas left by the recruiting shortcuts taken by preceding coaches Quin Snyder in Columbia and John Pelphrey in Fayetteville.

In four years Anderson rebuilt Arkansas into a NCAA Tournament team by recruiting for character as much as talent. He previously proved he would not settle for less than both at Missouri.

"We had an Elite Eight team at Missouri and we lost, I think, three or four of our leading scorers," Anderson said. "We were right back in the tournament the next year because we were a team."

They won't be the same Arkansas team without Portis and Qualls. Those two were unique.

But given Anderson's history the Razorbacks will be on the road to rebuilding the program towards and eventually beyond the achievements of their 27-9 record this past season.

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Sports on 04/18/2015