FAYETTEVILLE — Most any day on the front page and editorial and opinion pages of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette you can read much on the nationally divided views regarding the presidential proposal to build a wall bordering Mexico.
However, in Arkansas among Razorbacks basketball fans no opposition exists on the wall that Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson proposes.
Any wall trumping Tremont Waters seems a great wall to Arkansas fans regardless of race, creed, sex or political party.
The Hogs wallow 0-3 against the LSU Tigers sophomore premier point guard heading into today’s 5 p.m. SEC Network televised Arkansas vs. LSU SEC game at the Tigers’ Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, La.
For LSU’s 72-54 and 94-86 home and home sweep last season over Arkansas at Fayetteville and Baton Rouge, and 94-88 in overtime this season on Jan. 12 at Fayetteville, Waters flowed. He totaled 52 points, including 27 last season in Baton Rouge and 17 this season at Walton Arena, and 30 assists, including 11 each last season at Baton Rouge and this season in Fayetteville.
That doesn’t include what Anderson calls Waters’ “hockey assists,” the pass leading to the pass assisting the score that’s part of an ice hockey official assist.
So walling off the big penetrations from the smallest Tiger, an officially listed 5-11, seems a must if Arkansas isn’t to lose again to LSU.
“He (Waters) controlled the tempo here,” Anderson said of Arkansas’ loss last month to LSU. “Obviously the guy that’s guarding him has to certainly be in position with him. But you have to have multiple people. You have to build a wall.”
Because, as Arkansas has thrice learned, if Waters isn’t contained he borders beyond spectacular. He makes LSU’s already good players great.
That’s good enough for Coach Will Wade’s 19th-ranked 17-3 Tigers to tie at the 7-0 top of the SEC with nationally No. 1 Tennessee.
Examples of good Tigers that Waters made great: 6-10 LSU freshman Naz Reid scoring 27 on Arkansas last month at Walton. Or 6-11 senior Kavell Bigby-Williams this week named SEC Player of the Week, or guards Skylar Mays and Marlon Taylor scoring 15 and 21 points on Arkansas last month.
“We have to build a wall when he gets in there because he’s trying to find those shooters,” Anderson said. “He’s trying to find Reid. He’s trying to find Bigby-Williams or Skylar popping open in the corner. So our heads have to be on a swivel because we have to be in position to see and try to get there and fix.”
Arkansas can take positive note of prying seven turnovers from Waters during his 42 minutes at Walton including the entire 5-minute overtime.
And the Hogs these last three games played excellent defense against Missouri, Texas Tech and Georgia.
But the Missouri, Texas Tech and Georgia point guards merely required the Hogs building a defense.
Today, Anderson asserts, they must build a wall.