When the list of new members for the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor was released this week, some may have been surprised to see Corey Beck's name.
It’s not that the point guard should be in the school’s hall, but why did he have to wait so long to get there? One of the smartest on-court players had to become smart off the court, too.
Beck asked and answered that question in his first interview after the announcement.
“It was long overdue,” Beck said. “But that’s OK, because there was a reason. I made mistakes off the court. That made it tough on the people who make decisions like this. I put them into a situation where it was a difficult judgment call to put me in to this hall of honor.
“I had to overcome my problems, the decisions I made young in my adult life. I had to wait a little longer. I had to grow into it.”
More to the point, Beck had to paint for a few years.
“Yes, I did,” he said. “I did just that, thanks to Frank Broyles and Jim Lindsey.”
Beck was going through tough times — mostly because of personal mistakes — in his hometown in Memphis when Broyles made a critical phone call with a rare expletive directed to the on-court leader of the Razorbacks' 1994 national champion basketball team.
“Coach Broyles called and said, ‘Corey, get your head out of your ass and get back to Fayetteville right now, before this day ends,’ and so I loaded up and came back, just that quick,” Beck said. “That next day Coach Broyles took me to a meeting with Jim Lindsey. Coach Broyles set things up that fast. I worked for Mr. Lindsey for four years before going out on my own.”
Almost immediately, Beck had work painting apartments for Lindsey. He’s taken that painting business to the next level, establishing Corey Beck Custom Painting.
“I learned painting from my grandfather,” Beck said. “He had a company. I’d worked with my dad on jobs. I knew how to paint.
“I’ve done some commercial jobs, but mostly residential. It’s been over 10 years now. I’ve gotten some jobs in Memphis, too, but mostly it’s in Northwest Arkansas.
“I’m so lucky to be here in Fayetteville in a safe place, with four beautiful daughters. I’m so lucky.”
It’s better to be lucky than good, but Beck was good, too. He was the glue of the great run through the NCAA tournaments from 1993-95. The Hogs lost to eventual champion North Carolina in the Sweet 16 in 1993, won the title in 1994 and lost to UCLA in the title game in 1995.
“We were close to three,” Beck said. “Really, we were just a couple of 7-footers away in 1993. Coach (Nolan) Richardson got us Lee Wilson and Darnell Robinson for 1994 and off we went.
“The 1995 game was strange. UCLA went on a second-half run and it was the first time in two years that we couldn’t find a way to stop a team.”
The key in that second-half defensive lapse was losing Clint McDaniel to an injury. McDaniel crashed into Corliss Williamson chasing a loose ball just before halftime. He severely injured two ribs and couldn’t play the second half.
“Can you imagine getting hit by Corliss, full speed?” Beck said. “That was a massive collision. We lost a real defensive impact player. That put is in a huge struggle on defense. We never struggled on defense that whole season.”
It was the end of an incredible three-year run for Beck with the Razorbacks. He was All-SEC in 1995 when he drained 49 percent of his 3-point shots, second on the school’s all-time list. He’s third on the career assist list with 483.
There are other impressive numbers, too, but what Beck really did was do the little things that led to winning. If a charge was needed, he took it. If shooting was off by the stars, Beck would go get an offensive rebound for a key put back in crunch time.
Defensively, Beck could be a shutdown cover man, play the passing lane or body a man off the block. His wide body could be used in a physical way that intimidated most guards. He wore down opponents. No one competed more fiercely in an Arkansas uniform.
Beck played with incredible toughness. He could pick a key point in a game to turn up the defensive pressure to make great players wilt. He figured out the winning moments from game to game.
“That’s what the game is about, figuring out what needs to be done to win and when to do it,” he said. “I’m not saying I was always great on the floor. My offense came and went. But I had great work ethic. I didn’t always give everything on offense. My team didn’t need that.
“I was more of a smart leader who settled into a defensive role, kind of like Clint. Defensively, I’ll pat myself — and Clint — on the shoulder. We played defense.
“What happened in 1994 is that with Lee and Darnell at the rim — to go with Dwight Stewart — there was an opportunity for Clint and I to take some chances on the perimeter. We could make it tough on the guards with gambles because we had big guys to clean things up in the paint.”
It was the perfect team, Beck said.
“We had everything,” he said. “Coach Richardson was a genius in the way he put together that team. We were so deep and could do so many things. There were so many great shooters.
“Scotty Thurman was so clutch and had great range. And, you had Corliss on the blocks. He was fundamentally perfect. He played with either hand so you couldn’t stop him on the block. He could turn either direction and score off the glass.”
And, if something wasn’t working, Beck could take control. He scored 15 points with 10 rebounds in the title game. The Hogs beat Duke 76-72 after Thurman hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to break a 70-70 tie.
“I felt like I had to do a little more in the title game,” he said. “I guess I could have hit a couple more mid-range shots, but I was more assertive in that one.”
Beck said it was a glorious time to be a Razorback basketball player.
“I’m not sure we realized exactly what we were doing,” Beck said. “Sure it was fun, but I think what was going on around us, the excitement at Barnhill in 1993 and then opening Bud Walton Arena in 1994, we probably took it for granted then.
“We just went on the court and played. Looking back, it was probably like nothing that can ever happen again. It was a special time.
“I hear it from fans that it was the most enjoyable period of their lives. One family I did a (residential painting job) told me our team saved their marriage. They were about to get a divorce, but they started having fun going to our games. It gave them something to do together and they are still married 25 years later.”
It’s something Beck could never imagine growing up in Memphis.
“You would never dream that big and I sure didn’t," he said. "How could you see all of that coming? It was a great time.”
Beck wanted to correct one misconception of his background.
“I think most think Dwight and I came from the ‘hood,’ and we didn’t,” Beck said of he and Stewart, teammates at Memphis Fairley High School and South Plains (Texas) Junior College before transferring to the Razorbacks. “We did not live in bad neighborhoods. We did not live in the projects. We had good homes.”
But they went to the projects and the rough areas to find basketball competition growing up. His best stories are about how they constructed goals on stripped away poles to have a place to play.
“We built backboards with discarded plywood," Beck said. "We nailed a bicycle rim to the plywood and that would last a day or two. The bicycle rim would bend after awhile.
“We started nailing milk crates to the plywood. The milk crates were the basket. We were creative to have a place to play. Now that was in the projects. That’s where you wanted to play.”
Eventually, Beck’s father built a goal on the other side of the street at their home.
“There was an empty field across from us, so he put up a good goal there,” Beck said. “That was when I was older. But we were building a basket at the projects when I was 10 or 11.
“It’s funny, but I’m not sure we knew that it should be 10 foot high when we’d put up that goal. We just put it up and played. Sometimes we’d find a court with a rim, but there would be no net. We’d bring our own nets.
“Then, when Dad put up the goal at our house, that’s where all the games were played. We had a regulation goal then and that was all through high school. Oh, what fun we had.”
Beck looks forward to a fun 12 months waiting on his induction into the Hall of Honor in 2021. It won’t happen this fall per the usual because of covid-19. UA athletics director Hunter Yurachek called with the news of his selection, but quickly apologized.
“He said he was sorry that it wouldn’t be this year,” Beck said. “It doesn’t even matter. It will be just as fun next year. Waiting is OK with me. I got time. I don’t care.”
Beck just hopes that there are games played in the meantime. He follows all UA sports, but is especially excited with the way Eric Musselman has rebuilt the men’s basketball program in short order.
“He’s established himself in just one season,” Beck said. “I’ve known him for a long time. He was on the staff for the team I played on at the Goodwill Games that went to Europe. Then, he was in the CBA at the same time as me. His team was our toughest game. We played them back-to-back years in the championship series.
“I think he’s a great coach. My only worry: Can we keep him? He’s so good people are going to come after him.
“He’s got everything: high character, ability to coach, ability to recruit and relate to players. I’ve seen his practices. He gets so much done in a short time. He teaches.
“But the most important thing he does is coach defense. You win championships with defense. I like his offense. His sets are incredibly difficult to guard. He’s going to give you opportunity to get good shots, but they might not go in some nights and it’s about your defense. His teams play defense every night.
“Let me just say I like that dude a lot. He sees things on the court that not many can without playing. You come to the sideline and tell your coach some things he might not see. He sees them. It’s crazy how much he sees.”
It’s even crazier how much Beck has seen through the years.
“It is and I didn’t always handle everything the right way,” he said. “I’ve matured. I’ve grown up. It took me longer than some.
“I’m proud that I’ve worked my way to where my business is now. I’m also pleased that I did this without one (painting) job at the University of Arkansas. I think some believe that’s where I’ve gotten my work.
“It’s word of mouth, home by home. I am glad that I haven’t done jobs at the U of A. That would hurt my pride if that happened.
“Now, maybe someday that happens. I’m to the point that I’d maybe do a job at school. But right now, I’ve got work.
“It’s kind of fun to get a call to bid on a job and they say, ‘Corey Beck? Are you the real Corey Beck?’ Yup, the same one.”
Now he can say, “Yes, the same one that’s in the UA Hall of Honor.”
And, the reply will surely come.
“It’s about time.”