Tuesday, December 31, 2013

TAT: Arkansas Basketball A-Z - Rebounding


This article originally appeared on December 31, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.

If there has been one area Arkansas has struggled in during Mike Anderson’s tenure as head coach, it has been rebounding.
During Anderson’s first two seasons, the Razorbacks have finished ninth and 10th in the Southeastern Conference in the category, pulling down an average of 34.4 rebounds per game.
While Arkansas is still only seventh in the SEC in rebounding this season, it is improving. The Razorbacks’ 37.4 rebounds per game is 10.7 percent better than the 2011-12 season, Anderson’s first year as head coach.
Interestingly, the Razorbacks have done so without one dominant rebounder. None of Arkansas’ players rank in the top 100 in the NCAA for rebounding, but five average more than four rebounds per game.
The Razorbacks had only four such players in the previous two seasons combined.
This is despite losing three of its top four rebounders from last season, Marshawn Powell, BJ Young and Hunter Mickelson.
Helping fill in for these players has been a pair of 6-foot-10-inch freshmen: Moses Kingsley and Bobby Portis. The freshmen duo combine for 10.2 rebounds per game.
The biggest surprise of the season so far has probably been Michael Qualls. The sophomore guard averaged only 3.4 rebounds per game last season, but is pulling in 4.9 per game this year.
Senior Coty Clarke, the only remaining top four rebounder from last year, has also contributed to Arkansas’ rebounding, averaging 5.3 per game.
This rebounding will need to continually improve throughout the season if the Razorbacks expect to compete with teams like Kentucky and LSU, which both rank in the top 10 in the NCAA in rebounding.


This is the 18th of a series of short articles about the Arkansas basketball team. Each day leading up to SEC play, I will post an entry about something basketball related that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. Here are links to the previous entries, as well as the dates for the next five…
S – Jan. 1
T – Jan. 2
U – Jan. 3
V – Jan. 4
W – Jan. 5

Monday, December 30, 2013

TAT: Arkansas Basketball A-Z - Qualls


This article originally appeared on December 30, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.

The human highlight reel that is sophomore guard Michael Qualls has more than twice as many dunks than any of the other Razorbacks.
Qualls has 17 of Arkansas’ 44 dunks this season, while senior forward Coty Clarke, who has the second most dunks on the team, has only eight. He has made SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays three times this season, as well.
However, he is more than a pure dunker.
Through 12 games of his second season with the Razorbacks, Qualls has proven to be one of Arkansas’ best overall players. He has played more minutes than anyone else on the team and leads Arkansas in scoring and assists, with 13.9 points and 2.1 assists per game, respectively.
While he is a guard, Qualls uses his 6-foot-6-inch frame to play like a big man, too. He has 10 blocked shots and averages 4.9 rebounds per game, which rank fourth and third on the team, respectively.
Most fans knew about Qualls’ jumping and dunking ability because of his freshman season, but his numbers this season have been surprising.
Last year, he averaged only 4.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.
If Arkansas is going to make the NCAA tournament this season, Qualls must keep up this type of production.



This is the 17th of a series of short articles about the Arkansas basketball team. Each day leading up to SEC play, I will post an entry about something basketball related that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. Here are links to the previous entries, as well as the dates for the next five…
R – Dec. 31
S – Jan. 1
T – Jan. 2
U – Jan. 3
V – Jan. 4

Sunday, December 29, 2013

TAT: Arkansas Basketball A-Z - Portis


This article originally appeared on December 29, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.

Freshman forward Bobby Portis is the 13th McDonald’s All-American to play at Arkansas and through 12 games, he is living up to the hype.
Portis is in the Razorbacks’ top three in scoring (12.3), rebounding (5.9), blocks (1.0) and free throw percentage (75.6). He is also the only player on the team that has started all 12 games this season.
Before he got to Arkansas, Portis had a standout career at Little Rock Hall High. With the Warriors, he was a four-time state champion and the Gatorade Arkansas Boys Basketball Player of the Year as a senior.
On top of the prestigious McDonald’s All-American game, Portis also played in the Nike Hoops Summit and Jordan Brand Classic.
All four major recruiting services, 247sports.com, ESPN.com, Rivals.com and Scout.com, rated him as a five-star recruit.
Portis’ arrival at Arkansas could not have come at a better time. The tallest player on the team last year was 6-foot-10-inch Hunter Mickelson, but he transferred at the end of the season.
Without Portis and fellow freshman Moses Kingsley, who are both 6-feet-10-inches, the biggest players on the team would be 6-foot-7-inch Coty Clarke and 6-foot-8-inch Jacorey Williams.



This is the 16th of a series of short articles about the Arkansas basketball team. Each day leading up to SEC play, I will post an entry about something basketball related that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. Here are links to the previous entries, as well as the dates for the next five…
Q – Dec. 30
R – Dec. 31
S – Jan. 1
T – Jan. 2
U – Jan. 3

Saturday, December 28, 2013

TAT: Arkansas Basketball A-Z - Offense


This article originally appeared on December 28, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.


The season is still young, but Arkansas has established itself as one of the top offenses in the country.
Through 11 games, the Razorbacks are scoring an average of 85.5 points per game. That is the best in the Southeastern Conference and tied with Duke for 13th in the NCAA.
While Arkansas is one of the top scoring teams in the country, it lacks a single major scoring threat. The Razorbacks’ leading scorer, Michael Qualls, averages only 14.1 points per game.
Of the top 30 scoring teams in the NCAA, none have a leading scorer that averages fewer points than Qualls.
Arkansas is one of the most efficient shooting teams in the country, too. At 49.1 percent, the Razorbacks’ field goal percentage is second in the SEC and tied for 25th in the country.
The Razorbacks aren’t quite as proficient behind the three-point line, as their 38.8 three-point field goal percentage is only 51st in the NCAA. However, that is still 1.6 percentage points higher than Ole Miss, the second-best three-point shooting team in the SEC.
This type of offense has not been seen at Bud Walton Arena since the 1994-95 season, when the Razorbacks averaged 87.6 points per game.



This is the 15th of a series of short articles about the Arkansas basketball team. Each day leading up to SEC play, I will post an entry about something basketball related that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. Here are links to the previous entries, as well as the dates for the next five…
P – Dec. 29
Q – Dec. 30
R – Dec. 31
S – Jan. 1
T – Jan. 2