Hog calls

Guards help Razorbacks stay on point

Arkansas guard Ky Madden reacts after hitting a 3-pointer during a game against Tennessee on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- We won't get carried away. Not with the vast gulfs between them.

A Sweet 16 and a SEC championship, much less a national championship and national runner-up finish, are achievements on Corey Beck's and Clint McDaniel's Arkansas Razorbacks resumes that current senior guard Ky Madden never remotely approached.

Nevertheless, with Arkansas 21-5 overall and second in the SEC at 10-3 heading into today's game at Mississippi State, Madden and freshman Anton Beard appear Arkansas' best dual starting point guards since Beck and McDaniel piloted the 1994 and 1995 national champions and national runner-ups.

Mike Anderson acknowledges a Beard-Madden resemblance to Beck-McDaniel. He should know. He is the head coach of Beard and Madden and was Nolan Richardson's top Arkansas assistant when Beck and McDaniel terrorized defensively and orchestrated an offense led by Corliss Williamson and Scotty Thurman, whereas Bobby Portis (17.6 average) and Michael Qualls (15.5) lead today's scoring.

"You can say that," Anderson said. "I just think it is good when you have those two guys out there that can take care of the basketball and distribute it."

Technically, Beck was the point guard and McDaniel the off guard, but Richardson loved interchanging their roles on the fly.

So it goes today. Madden, mostly on point last season, now wings it while sometimes interchanging with freshman point guard Beard, whom Anderson likens to Beck.

"I think he is a winner," Anderson said. "He does all the things that help you win. Obviously he has been scoring lately, but if you look at all the other stuff that takes place -- he is hit in the nose and mouth all the time because he is right there doing the dirty work. Corey Beck was that kind of player."

The down and dirty yet skilled Beck and McDaniel bettered each other and bettered their team.

Ditto for Madden, a Lepanto native, and Beard. Now free to play off the point more than on it, Madden's assists have jumped from 91 for 33 games last season to 126 for 26 games so far. His scoring has dropped from last year's team-leading 12.7 to 9.7 in large part because he more often delivers to Portis, Qualls and others if they wield hot hands.

And he still has his moments to score, like 22 against Ole Miss in Fayetteville and 17 against Alabama.

"Most of the time we have seen Ky, he has been coming from the top where the defense is at its strength," Anderson said. "Now you are seeing him coming from the side. We are seeing him dropping off passes to Bobby and kicking passes to guys spotting up."

Portis concurs.

"I think it's big for our team to put Ky on the wing because he can create more for people, and so can Anton," Portis said. "It's like having two point guards out there at one time."

For the first time since Beck and McDaniel, it seems the Hogs are ahead on points.

Sports on 02/21/2015