Like It Is

Long 12 days follow ouster of Anderson

Arkansas basketball coach Mike Anderson watches practice, while athletics director Hunter Yurachek looks on in the background during the Razorbacks' Red-White Game on Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, in Fayetteville.

It has been 12 days since Mike Anderson was fired as the head basketball coach at the University of Arkansas.

There was still a Sweet 16 to play in the NCAA Tournament and dreams of a high-profile coach arriving with a heart full of desire and head full of know-how.

Not much more is known today than on March 26 when apparently a meeting didn’t go well and Anderson was terminated, most likely for remaining too loyal to his assistant coaches.

There has been no announcement of a search committee or a search firm being hired.

Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek is heading up the task of finding the next coach with the help of some of his staff members, who used to help Jeff Long run the athletic department.

They seem focused on mid-major programs to find a power conference coach.

In football, there is the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12; for basketball, the Big East is graciously added to the upper-echelon conferences.

Mostly, the officials in charge of this search have Arkansas history that started the day Long hired them, so fully comprehending the pride and passion of guys such as Pat Foster, Tommy Boyer and Skip Coffman who played in the 1960s; Jim Counce, The Triplets and others from the 1970s; and Joe Kleine, Charles Balentine, Todd Day, Lee Mayberry, Corliss Williamson and dozens of others from the 1980s and 1990s might be difficult for them.

Many former Razorbacks own season tickets. They have experienced the decline from 20,000 Hog-calling fanatics to 6,000 praying for a victory.

These days they talk on the phone, exchange texts, read Twitter and hope to gleam a little news to encourage them. No real news for 12 days is not reassuring.

They hope history isn’t repeating itself. Until Eddie Sutton and Nolan Richardson were hired, a lot of mistakes were made in basketball hiring, but mostly that was to ensure football wouldn’t be challenged. Since 2002, mistakes were made because those doing the hiring had agendas that were best for them and not so much the fans, except for Anderson who many thought would be the second coming of Richardson.

So for 12 long days, the fans have lived on rumors about programs such as Houston, Nevada, Wichita State and Minnesota — all mid-major programs, and yes the Gophers are in the Big Ten but are not a major player.

There has been a lot of talk, mostly hopeful, about the chances of hiring Texas Tech’s Chris Beard, who spent a 30-5 year at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he knocked off Purdue in the NCAA Tournament. He made the Elite Eight in his second year at Texas Tech. Once he made this year’s Final Four, there was no chance to talk with him.

This adds up to mean there probably wasn’t an immediate list of candidates when Anderson was fired, or if there was one it had just one name on it. Maybe a later list was squashed by the board of trustees.

One great coach that has survived serious health issues and whose name has been whispered is Billy Gillispie.

The length of the search becomes less concerning to the Razorback Nation if the right coach is hired. A coach who has a passion for his job, a work ethic that is enviable and who loves March Madness as much as the fans do.

Razorback fans once considered the Big Dance a spring ritual under Sutton and Richardson, and they want it back.

The UA has great facilities, greater fans and much to offer the right coach, one who knows how to win at the highest level. He needs to keep talented Arkansans at home and bring in some from surrounding states, especially Texas.