Hog Calls

Hogs Present Looks A Lot Like Past

Mike Anderson coaches Arkansas during the second half of the game against Vanderbilt in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Two traits among the Southwest Conference championship teams and Southeastern Conference championship teams that Mike Anderson assisted Nolan Richardson with during 17 Arkansas seasons have manifested in Anderson's Razorbacks starting 2-0 in the SEC.

No. 1, Anderson, in his fourth season, has recruited sufficient quality depth for the unique style he learned from Richardson and coached successfully at Alabama-Birmingham and Missouri truly to be unique again. So unique that after Vanderbilt committed 22 turnovers and was outscored 31-9 on miscues during Arkansas' 82-70 victory Saturday at Walton Arena that coaches may start practicing 7 on 5 readying for Arkansas like in Richardson's heydays.

Kevin Stallings, the esteemed veteran Vandy coach, sounded like his Commodores had just played 5 against 7 in Fayetteville.

"Our kids prepared hard for it," Stallings said. "But you can't simulate their depth and their speed and their quickness and that sort of thing."

The effects of that style can force mistakes even when not always enforced.

"I actually thought a lot of the turnovers at the beginning of the game were unforced," Stallings said. "And they did force us into some, obviously. When you look up and three of your starters have five turnovers each, you're just not going to win. But Arkansas, that's what they do. They turn people over and then they capitalize."

Here is another recurring constant from the Richardson past. Richardson's best teams had stars like Lee Mayberry, Todd Day, Oliver Miller, Corliss Williamson and Scotty Thurman constantly shining like Bobby Portis (32 points and 11 rebounds against Vandy) and Michael Qualls (20 points and 6 rebounds against Vandy) shine now. But Richardson's stars inevitably got big-time help from unexpected sources replaced by other unexpected sources. So do Portis and Qualls.

Slumping displaced starting forward Alandise Harris bounded off the bench to score 15 points in Arkansas' last nonconference game and stun Georgia in last Tuesday's SEC opener with a season-high 17.

Stallings accordingly prepped Vandy against Harris.

Harris shot 0-for-6.

Instead forward Jacorey Williams bounds off the bench, scores 10 points, dishes two assists to Portis and "fixes things on defense and plays lights out," Anderson said.

"It wasn't his (Harris') night," Anderson said. "It was somebody else's night. That's the beauty of this basketball team."

Anderson saw and heard beauty in a nearing capacity (an announced 16,049) Walton Arena crowd that whistled while it worked.

Stallings tried distinctively whistling to get his Commodores' attention through the crowd noise. A chorus of mimicking whistles ensued from the noisy crowd.

Anderson lauded the crowd for "showing up and showing out" and says he hopes for a full house 20,000 at the next home game.

If they weren't tipping off so late to accommodate ESPNU, (8:30 p.m Saturday against Ole Miss) he likely would get it.

And should the Hogs sustain the SEC excitement Tuesday at Tennessee, maybe they fill Walton Arena even for a game likely ending about when Saturday Night Live begins.

Nate Allen is a freelance columnist. His columns appear each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Email nallensports@earthlink.net.

Sports on 01/12/2015