Arkansas basketball

UA coach: Hogs' fame not fleeting

Arkansas coach Mike Anderson watches from the sideline during a game against LSU on Saturday, March 7, 2015, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- SEC Player of the Year Bobby Portis and All-SEC second-team guard Michael Qualls are leaving Arkansas' basketball team early after declaring for the NBA Draft, but Coach Mike Anderson said the Razorbacks aren't going away.

Portis and Qualls helped Arkansas get back in the national conversation this season when they led the Razorbacks to a 27-9 record and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008.

"This is a program," Anderson said. "This is not a one-year wonder."

Anderson, who has an 86-48 record in four seasons at Arkansas, said he expects the Razorbacks to build on this season's success and continue to be nationally relevant.

It appears to be a daunting task given what must be replaced from this season's team.

The departures of Portis and Qualls along with seniors Ky Madden and Alandise Harris mean Arkansas is losing four starters who combined for 65.3 percent of the team's scoring (50.6 points per game), 59.2 percent of the rebounds (21.2) and 55.1 percent of the assists (16.1).

Anderson said he's looking at what the Razorbacks have, though, not what they've lost.

"When I look at this team right now and with the guys that are coming in, I get excited," Anderson said. "We've got some work to do, but our team has never been afraid of work.

"It may be a different type of looking team, maybe a more guard-oriented team. But I think it's going to be one that excites our fans."

Qualls said he's confident that the players and the coaching staff will get Arkansas back to the NCAA Tournament.

"Arkansas is going to be there," Qualls said. "Arkansas is still going to be 40 minutes of hell, pressing, getting after you. As long as you can stop somebody, as long as you can grind it out, you can get the wins.

"I still feel like this is an NCAA Tournament-caliber team. I've got a lot of faith in those guys. They're going to work over the summer and they're going to be big-name players."

The Razorbacks' only returning starter is point guard Anton Beard, who as a freshman averaged 5.7 points, including 7.9 in SEC games.

Arkansas' top returning scorer is junior guard Anthlon Bell, who averaged 7.9 points. Other players with some starting experience are junior forward Jacorey Williams (4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds), sophomore center Moses Kingsley (3.6 points, 2.5 rebounds) and junior guard Jabril Durham (1.8 points, 2.0 assists).

Sophomore guard Manny Watkins averaged 2.6 points in 36 games off the bench and was second with 37 steals. Junior forward Keaton Miles and freshman forward Trey Thompson combined to play 81 minutes off the bench.

Dusty Hannahs, a junior guard, redshirted this year after transferring to Arkansas from Texas Tech, where he averaged 7.7 points as a sophomore.

Guard Jimmy Whitt, a November signee from Columbia (Mo.) Hickman, and forward Ted Kapita, a forward from Huntington (W.Va) Prep committed to sign during the spring period, are both rated among the top 55 players nationally by Rivals.com and Scout.com.

"They're going to be fine," Portis said. "I have trust in my guys."

Arkansas is the third program Anderson, a Razorbacks assistant for 17 seasons under Nolan Richardson, has rebuilt and taken to the NCAA Tournament. He sustained success previously at Alabama-Birmingham and Missouri.

At UAB, the Blazers went to the NIT in Anderson's first season, then to the NCAA Tournament the next three years before he left to take over at Missouri. The Tigers went to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in Anderson's third season, then returned to the NCAA Tournament the next two seasons before he took the Arkansas job.

Anderson's Elite Eight team went 31-7 during the 2008-2009 season, but lost its top three scorers in DeMarre Carroll (16.6 points), Leo Lyons (14.6) and Matt Lawrence (9.2).

Missouri went 23-11 the next season, including 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament with a victory over Clemson and loss to West Virginia, with sophomore guard Kim English improving his scoring average from 6.5 to 14.6 points, sophomore guard Marcus Denmon improving from 6.0 to 10.4, sophomore forward Laurence Bowers from 3.7 to 10.2, junior forward Justin Stafford from 3.4 to 8.6 and with freshman guard Michael Dixon averaging 8.1 points.

"We were right back in the NCAA Tournament the next year because we were a team," Anderson said. "When someone leaves, it gives another guy opportunities.

"You're going to look at this team next year and say, 'Man, I didn't know this guy could do that.' "

Anderson has three more scholarships available, even with the additions of Whitt and Kapita, because of the losses of Portis and Qualls along with the transfer of guard Nick Babb to Iowa State.

"We're still very active recruiting," Anderson said. "We never stopped recruiting.

"When you see a lot of transfers and see a lot of kids putting their names in the draft, you can't get caught off guard. So we've got our eyes on some other players and hopefully we'll fill those spots."

Sports on 04/19/2015