That’s a joke, of course, but today it was announced that five players on the Arkansas Razorback basketball team were suspended, including guards Stefan Welsh and Courtney Fortson who were suspended indefinitely.
Last year Arkansas was 14-16, 2-14 in conference play despite beating Oklahoma (with Blake Griffin) and Texas (who opens 2009 ranked #2 in the country). That’s almost unbelievable considering the worst Razorback team of my lifetime – the 03-04 team – managed four conference wins.
In the 08-09 season, Arkansas’s only two conference wins came against Alabama and Georgia at home. Looking at the schedule, it is conceivable that the Hogs won’t fare much better this season.
The benefit this season is that LSU and Auburn are also terrible, and the Hogs get a shot at them at home. Georgia hired former Nevada coach Mark Fox, who avaraged twenty-four wins a season there. The Bulldogs, too, are horrendous, but having to play them on the road instills a Donny Osmond amount of stage fright. Vanderbilt is expected to be weaker than in year’s past, but the Hogs won’t get them until late Feburary. There are likely to be more people eating lunch at Hugo’s than sitting in the stands at Bud Walton Arena, making it feel more like a practice than an actual game.
Don’t forget Bama, they should be awful as well, albeit unpredictable due to new coach. On the other hand, the Mississippi schools should both be tournament teams. Listened to you some Sunday on way home from Fay via the iphone app. Also, seriously let me know when you find Simmons book, and I will assist in any way I can to get him to @clintonschool.