Beard as a starter keyed UA's success

FAYETTEVILLE -- When Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson made Anton Beard a starter at point guard, the Razorbacks took off on their longest SEC winning streak in 20 seasons.

Beard, a 6-0 freshman from North Little Rock, helped the No. 18 Razorbacks win seven consecutive games before they ran into No. 1 Kentucky, which beat Arkansas 84-67 last Saturday at Rupp Arenain Lexington, Ky.

It was the Razorbacks' longest SEC winning streak since they won 10 in a row during the 1994-1995 season, including two games in the conference tournament.

While sophomore forward Bobby Portis and junior guard Michael Qualls are Arkansas' marquee players and seniors Ky Madden and Alandise Harris have made their share of key plays, Beard's addition has helped the Razorbacks (23-6, 12-4 SEC) raise their game to a higher level.

"Ever since I've inserted him in the lineup it's given us that balance I've been looking for," Anderson said. "The balance of defense, offense, toughness, guys making plays.

"He's a freshman, and obviously he's going to have some freshman moments, but he's played with a lot of poise."

Beard's emergence has allowed Madden to play off the ball and create his own shots or focus more energy on defense and rebounding.

"Anton handles everything like he's a veteran," Madden said. "He's been making big shots and big plays."

Beard showed his big-play ability in his first start Jan. 31 at Florida. The Gators won 57-56 when Michael Frazier hit two free throws with 1.9 seconds left -- after Alandise Harris was called for a foul of which Anderson was highly critical -- but Beard looked like he might have made the game-winning play when he rebounded a missed free throw and scored on a bank shot with 11 seconds left.

In Arkansas' 65-61 victory at Mississippi State, the Razorbacks were clinging to a 60-59 lead when Beard came up with a loose ball on a turnover by the Bulldogs and hit two free throws with 12 seconds left.

"I feel like Anton's come in and just played a hell of a role for us from the standpoint we don't have Ky Madden trying to do everything," Portis said. "Now we have two point guards out there to create for me, Mike and everyone else."

In Beard's 9 starts he's averaging 8.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 25.1 minutes. He's shooting 44.8 percent from the field (26 of 58), including 40.6 percent (13 of 32) on three-point attempts.

Perhaps most impressively in his starts, Beard is averaging 1.0 turnover, including four in his past seven games.

"I feel comfortable," Beard said. "My teammates and coaches are believing in me. I won't say I've surprised myself. Good things will happen to a person that's working hard."

Arkansas sophomore guard Manny Watkins said Beard is loaded with toughness and confidence.

"It doesn't matter what happens, Anton's confidence isn't going anywhere, and that's huge," Watkins said. "He's just not scared of anything or anybody. He doesn't see height. He doesn't see rankings. He doesn't see any of that. He's just a basketball player.

"He's going to find a way to win, and then it's contagious."

Watkins said Beard is a vocal leader even though he's on a team loaded with older players.

"You should see him in timeouts," Watkins said. "He's coaching. He's like the head coach. He just brings a lot of stuff to the table that is special and we need."

Beard said he isn't dwelling on the Kentucky game, where he shot 1 of 6 from the field and had 5 points, 3 rebounds in 2 assists in 24 minutes.

"I felt the shots that I was taking were shots I normally would hit," he said. "They just weren't falling that day."

One aspect of Beard's game he has struggled with is committing too many fouls. He leads the team with 69 fouls -- despite being sixth in minutes played -- and as a starter he's fouled out three times and had four fouls three times.

Many of Beard's fouls come when he's called for hand-checking or trying to make a steal.

"I think that's the learning curve of a young player," Anderson said. "You've got to know what they're calling and what they're not calling, know when to put your hand in the cookie jar and when not to put it in there."

Beard said he is working to make the adjustment to how games will be called more tightly or loosely depending on the officiating crew.

"They're starting to call a lot of touchy-touchy fouls now, but I've got to know how to not always gamble on certain plays," Beard said. "It's hard to do because I'm such an aggressive player that if a see a ball that I can get, I want to go for it."

Sports on 03/04/2015