Fan Frustrations, Why Cal’s Guys Don’t Run More & A New Revenue Sharing Twist

Q. Our first question is from KyHog who asks: How am I supposed to be positive when our basketball team can’t win a conference game? I live around Kentucky fans. They are driving me crazy right now.

A. You have my sympathy. It’s got to be doubly bad for you. Each fan has to handle this in their own way. I have two longtime friends who I’ve been talking to during this awful SEC start. One of them in on the Internet and he’s mad. He’s mad at the AD. He’s mad at Cal. He’s mad at the players. He knows his rants aren’t going to change anything but it makes him feel better. Like he told me, I gotta do something.

The other friend is the opposite of that. He told me that he actually is more critical when Arkansas teams are really good, like some of Eric Musselman’s teams. They were good enough that it didn’t matter if he vented after they had a game that they lost but should have won. But with this team, he said they don’t need me piling on. All I’m gonna do is stir up more anger. I don’t need it and they don’t. So how does he deal with it? He puts his mind on other things. His family and friends he has that aren’t that much into sports.

Two guys, each dealing with it in different ways. Each fan had to decide what’s best for them.

Q. Hammerhead28 wants to know: Is the Arkansas basketball team the Bad News Hogs? Calipari really needs to find his Amanda and Kelly. Too much emphasis is placed on Johnell Davis (Rudy Stein?) to be the answer. Boogie is as close to Amanda that we have, and we need Aidoo or Thiero to be the Kelly.

A. I never watched that movie. Maybe Courtney can give you some feedback. I don’t agree about Nelly Davis. The only way he’s going to find his game is to play more. I understand the problem that has created for Cal. Davis played 20 minutes against Florida and scored zero points. But with Boogie Fland possibly sitting out some games until his wrist heals up Davis will have to play more. Maybe that will do the trick. I hope so. Big Z had been given limited playing time coming back from his ankle sprain. Cal played him right at 30 minutes against Missouri and he had his best game. Officially 14 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocked shots although I think he had more blocks that that.

Hawgredneck asks: I would like your take on what’s wrong with this team. To me they don’t have enough older players and the younger players are good but not great and they’re really inconsistent. This is not a typical Cal team which doesn’t surprise me since he only had a few weeks to put it together from scratch. It’s really hurt that Aidoo and Davis aren’t the players they were before they transferred in.

A. That’s a good assessment. I watched Alabama beat Kentucky on the road and a huge factor in that game was Mark Sears. He’s a transfer but in his second year at Bama. They’ve got some other players like that and you’ll find that around the SEC. The one player that fits that bill at Arkansas is Trevon Brazile and he’s just not showing enough leadership. Because Cal started from scratch every player on this team but Brazile is a transfer and in their first season here. The two experienced players are Jonas Aidoo and Nelly Davis and because of injuries they’ve been behind from the start . So far they are not close to the players they were before they transferred in.

If the younger players on this team were a bunch of top 10 in the country five stars like Cal had had at times at Kentucky this team would be better. But to me, Boogie Flan is the only player that fits that bill. There’s been too much pressure on him to prop this team up and now he’s hurt and may miss some games.

Q. RedDogRazorback asks: During the first practices that Coach Cal had the talk was about playing fast. The local news showed clips of the ball movement up the court without dribbling. what happened? We dribble, dribble, dribble and then turn the ball over.

A. They ran with some success in the non conference period but their rebounding has been so bad in league play and they’re having trouble forcing turnovers. That doesn’t leave many fast break opportunities. Plus SEC teams play much better transition defense.

Q. Hogdogger says: I’m beginning to think that Cal may need to reconsider his decision to only have a 9 player roster. Seems to be that there isn’t much to work with when you have injuries and illness like he’s been plagued with this season.

A. He’s got 13 players on his roster. He only plays nine. That’s not all that unusual. Musselman went with 7 and sometimes 8. Cal used his NIL money to get nine players he thought could help them win rather than spread it out among 10 or maybe 11. However he has indicated that he will probably expand his playing roster for next season.

Q. PigDaddyKane says: The last time we started 0-5 in sec play was 85-86, Coach Richardson’s first year. We only won 4 conference games that year. Looking at our remaining schedule how many wins would you predict this year?

A. I don’t like to make predictions but everybody seems to want them. I certainly could end up being wrong but I’d say 4 wins is probably the best they’ll do unless something really changes.

Q. panchodeana says: 18–52 at Louisville, including a 4-28 season. 4-28!

And now this…

A. Clearly a reference to Arkansas’ assistant coach Kenney Payne. What he did as a head coach has no bearing on the job he did as an assistant coach under Cal. There are plenty of successful assistant coaches who don’t make it as head coaches. Payne was with Cal for 10 years. In that time Kentucky won a national championship, was a national runner up, had two other Final 4 teams and two more Elite 8 teams. That’s a 25-5 NCAA Tournament record in those 6 seasons which is incredible. During Payne’s time as an assistant coach at Kentucky the team went, 29-9, 38-2, 21-12, 29-11, 38-1, 27-9, 32-5, 26-11, 30-1 and 25-6. Kenney Payne is not the reason that Arkansas is struggling in the SEC.

Q. Marty Byrde’s proxy asks: Can you name a player (past Hog) who if the Hogs had his equivalent they would be significantly better this year? I would take Jaylin Williams. He has what this bunch desperately needs. Talented sure but physically and mentally tough, which has been lacking at times.

A. I can name several that would help but I’m not sure any one player would make this team significantly better. Marvin Delph was one of the best pure shooters I’ve seen at Arkansas. He would help. Sidney Moncrief was maybe the toughest guard, offense and defense. He would help. So would Todd Day, Lee Mayberry and Oliver Miller along with either. Cory Beck, Dwight Stewart, Scotty Thurman and Corliss Williamson. Maybe the best all around player, Joe Johnson would help this team. But significantly better? It’s a team game. Right now they have too many missing pieces.

Q. MtElbaHog says: Hog Wild band director Jim Robken would run around the concourse and the electricity in the building was unbelievable. We don’t have Jim Robken now but I’ll bet we have a student in the band who could run around in honor of him and bring the crowd to their feet.

A. The one mistake Frank made when Bud Walton was built, he did not have the concourse go all the way around the arena. In Barnhill Arena Robken would run around the on the edges of the game floor and gesture wildly to get the fans on the lower level to stand up and make noise. Then he’d run up to the concourse and work his way around getting all the upper level fans to do the same thing. The idea was to keep a time out from killing crowd noise which happens a lot these days. Robken was unique. The fans responded to him and the way his did his thing. I’m not sure it would work with anyone else even if they could fix the concourse issue.

Maybe if they had student tryouts and picked one for an entire season. Then have the tryouts again for the next season.

Q. DWR sys: I read that the football team will have 40 new faces on the team for 2025 and maybe more after spring practice. How can any coach be expected to be successful year after year with this much turnover?

A. Over 20 of those newcomers are true freshmen and that turnover has been going on forever. 21 new portal replacements is not unusual for Pittman. He had 23 last year and the team went from 4 to 7 wins. If the same improvement in the roster is made this time Arkansas might win 8 or 9 games. Last year’s portal class was ranked 23rd. This year it’s 15th.

However if it’s the whole portal thing that you don’t like, with revenue sharing the days of mass transfers are likely coming to end. We’ve already seen a player sign a two year revenue sharing deal for next season. It looks like two year deals are gonna be common with revenue sharing which makes sense. If this happens players leaving for other schools will be pretty much limited to third or fourth year players.

Q. We have two questions about NIL’s and if they’re about to change.

PigDaddyKane says: The department of education last week said that the plan for colleges to pay athletes directly for their NIL deals would run afoul of Title IX, that women need the same NIL money as men. What will that mean for the House settlement?

….and we even though it’s worded differently we think I_Was_Right is asking the same thing…
he says:

Correct me if I’m wrong.

The big sports pay for the little sports.

The net of big sports is now impacted by NIL.

This will negatively impact the little sports?
In sum, is the impact of NIL universal across ALL endeavors?

A. No. NIL has not been shared equally even if we’re talking fan collectives. The NCAA’s position on this is NIL money is not the athletic department’s money. It is raised privately and is distributed to an athlete or athletes by the booster or collective that came up with the money.

The purpose of the new revenue sharing model being pushed by Tom Tuberville in the US senate (he’s a former college football coach) is to use the NFL model for paying athletes.

The schools will pay athletes for playing a sport. NIL deals will become what endorsements are for pro athletes.

Let’s use Patrick Mahomes as an example. He get’s paid to play football by the Kansas City Chiefs. They pay him based on what they and his agent agree is his value to the team. He also does State Farm commercials. State Farm pays him and they expect to make a profit off his endorsement.

Right now NIL deals are the only way college athletes get money above their scholarships which allow for tuition, room and board plus about $1,000 a month spending money. Under revenue sharing those athletes would be paid by the school with the amount based on what they bring in ticket sales and TV revenue. NIL money would become a true endorsement agreement.

Q. WVHogfan asks: What are your thoughts of Jordyn Wieber participating on a survival reality show having to share her experience with Larry Nassar and showing her strengths and weaknesses as an individual?

A. I didn’t see it. Courtney did. I defer to her.