How about a few Arkansas sports-related items that doesn't include the current state of the Razorbacks?
I didn't think you would mind.
BACK TO SCHOOL
I recently interviewed Ron Brewer, a University of Arkansas and Fort Smith Northside basketball legend who played eight years in the NBA and once scored 39 points in a game.
Brewer was part of the famed "Triplets" at Arkansas along with Marvin Delph of Conway and Sidney Moncrief of Little Rock Hall. But of all his accomplishments, Brewer said he never worked harder and felt more satisfied than when he returned to the UofA and earned his degree.
Brewer left Arkansas after being selected seventh overall in the 1978 draft by the Portland Trailblazers. He then returned to college in 1990 following his NBA career.
"That was an important time for me because I had, basically, taken education for granted when I first got to the University of Arkansas," said Brewer, who spent one year at Westark Community College in Fort Smith before arriving in Fayetteville. "I was able to turn pro but, when it was all said and done, there was something in my life that was not complete. It was hard but the most rewarding part was when I walked onto that stage and got my degree."
Brewer transferred his competitiveness on the basketball court into his own home with his family.
"Remember when you used to put your grades on the refrigerator door? That's what I was doing with my kids," said Brewer, whose son, Ronnie, also played in the NBA. "They saw what I did and I think that's one of the reasons they all have college degrees. We made it a competition."
Great players are judged not only by how well they perform, but how well they elevate others around them. Ron Brewer certainly did that in sports and in education.
KING OF THE WILDCAT
I didn't ask, but I'm confident Arkansas fans today would accept a stat line from a quarterback that included 205 yards passing with seven touchdowns and only one interception.
That's the career passing line for Darren McFadden, who was honored Saturday before his upcoming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. The reason the "Wildcat" formation worked so well at Arkansas was because of McFadden, a dynamic runner who could also throw and catch.
I probably shouldn't mention that, coming into Saturday's game with Auburn, Arkansas quarterbacks have combined to throw eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions.
No. Probably shouldn't mention that.
SECOND-GUESSING '69
When George Strait sang "I'd like to have that one back" his thoughts were about a lost love, but the words can easily be applied elsewhere.
Just ask any quarterback who's ever made a bad decision. Ask former Arkansas quarterback Bill Montgomery, who was still talking about the Big Shootout last week as a guest speaker of the Little Rock Touchdown Club.
Montgomery threw an interception in the end zone after Arkansas had driven to the Texas 7 in the fourth quarter. The turnover prevented Arkansas from adding points and Texas made the clutch plays down the stretch to win 15-14 in one of the greatest college games ever played between ranked teams.
In hindsight, Montgomery said the Razorbacks should've kicked a field goal instead of passing while deep in Texas territory.
"We were going to win the game if we went for the field goal," Montgomery told the audience. "We went 73 yards (on the drive) and got nothing."
Montgomery was a star quarterback when Arkansas was a highly-respected program. But it appears that loss to Texas, when Arkansas had a 14-0 lead, still troubles him. Montgomery became emotional about it when I did an interview with him before Arkansas beat Texas 27-6 at the Cotton Bowl in January, 2000.
On the surface, it is sad a former player is still bothered by a game from 50 years ago. But I've seen it before where the great ones like Montgomery still ache over their few failures instead of relishing in their many successes.
"It felt like you went to the store for 15 minutes, then when you got back, your house was burglarized," Montgomery told the crowd in Little Rock last week. "It was gut-wrenching."
Gut-wrenching, for sure, and a burden, I guess, for players most of us just don't understand.
Preps Sports on 10/20/2019