ITT, you personalize your own Top 10 ... mine is Hog-dominated and a "best" list, so it's positive ... but you can put yours together however you like ...
1. Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball finishes 2014-15 ranked in the Top 20, made the NCAAT and advanced to the Round of 32, won 27 games, finished 2nd in the SEC and SECT, and had the SEC POY and another All SEC performer ... Mike Anderson's 4th season was the kind of season that Arkansas Razorbacks basketball should have more of on a consistent basis, but just getting back there for a season was a first this century.
2. Brandon Allen ... after all he went through transitioning from CBP, to JLS, to CBB, as well as a parade of OCs, injuries, and fan unrest/cruelty, BA is standing tall above all of it now. Brandon Allen -- who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side ... the turnaround he made was obvious at the beginning of the season, but when he grew the clutch gene during the thrilling Auburn double-OT win, he went on to play the best stretch of QB that Arkansas has seen since we joined the SEC. My only wish is that the staff would have let him finish the MudState game the right way by leading us to victory ... NOW he's proven to be the QB that I saw play numerous times as a HS senior en route to earning his 4th-star, the QB that CBP said he'd be from Day 1, and the QB we always hoped he would be.
3. Bobby Portis ... SEC POY, 2nd-team AA, 1st-round NBA draft pick, and already a fan favorite as a rookie in Chicago ... NBA all-star may be in the cards some day for this Hog, because his will to be great exceeds any talent/athletic shortcomings he may have ... and, he may end up being the best Hog ambassador ever ... truly a rare gem that we are lucky to call our own.
tie 4. Alex Collins and Hunter Henry ... CBB's 2 most-prized recruits in 2013 enter this 2015 list together ... AC became only the third player in SEC history to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first 3 seasons (joining DMAC and Herschel Walker), had his best season en route to All SEC 2nd-team honors while moving up near the top of the meaningful UA all-time rushing statistical categories ... Hunter Henry ... best TE not only in the SEC but in college football as evidenced by his winning the Mackey Award earlier this month.
6. Darren McFadden ... How awesome has it been to watch him perform at a Pro-Bowl-worthy level this season? Playing in an offense that was void of other difference-makers at the skill positions for various reasons, DMAC ran behind the best O-line in football to become one of the Top 5 RBs in the NFL in terms of production. He enters the season finale against Washington with a chance to push even higher up that list. It was a forgettable season in Dallas, currently 4-11, so questions for 2016 are already front-and-center, including where DMAC goes from here. Did he resurrect his career in Dallas, or will this be a one-season thing? Is DMAC's season proof that any back can have success running behind this O-line, or was it proof of the kind of player he is when healthy and not playing in the armpit of the NFL post-2000 (a.k.a. Oakland) ??? I think there is a combination of things -- good health and great O-line -- that have allowed DMAC's talent to bubble up again. Former Oakland HC Hue Jackson used to say that DMAC had "greatness" in him, and we started seeing some of that again in 2015.
7. Arkansas Baseball / Andrew Benintendi ... an argument could easily be made that these two should be at the top of the list, but this is my list and baseball is 3rd in the pecking order of my preference of Hog sports, but to have college baseball's best player in a season that went from bad (OOC) to awesome (making the school's 8th College World Series) goes down as one of the most memorable seasons in a top-notch national baseball program's history. Well done and kudos to DVH and the 2015 Arkansas Razorbacks.
8. Dan Enos / Hogs' WRs and TEs ... coming into the season, nobody expected what became of this group collectively. Enos helped lift BA and the pass-catching corps to levels we haven't seen under CBB, but let's give credit, too, to guys like Drew Morgan, Dominique Reed, Jared Cornelius, Keon Hatcher (before getting hurt), Hunter Henry, and Jeremy Sprinkle. Viewed in 2014 as the weakest group on the offense, it was a strength in 2015. What a turnaround.
9. Dallas Keuchel ... Pro Hog of the Year ... his memorable performances as a Hog pitcher, especially the 2009 College World Series, will remain part of our baseball program's lore forever, but what he did in MLB in 2015 puts him up there with Cliff Lee in terms of former Hog pitchers dominating baseball at the highest levels ... 2015 Cy Young Award winner, 2015 AL wins leader, 2015 Gold Glove (his 2nd), 2015 All Star ...20-8, 2.48 ERA, 216 strikeouts in 2015.
10. Arkansas football has its first winning regular-season (overall and SEC) since 2011 ... what began as a Top 20 season with the hope for better things quickly faded to "here we go again", only to make another strong comeback (similar to how we finished 2014) with renewed hope for another end-of-season bowl win and a final national ranking. In the big picture, 2015 was another step in the right direction for our football program and 8 wins/national rankings will further drive that point home.
1. Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball finishes 2014-15 ranked in the Top 20, made the NCAAT and advanced to the Round of 32, won 27 games, finished 2nd in the SEC and SECT, and had the SEC POY and another All SEC performer ... Mike Anderson's 4th season was the kind of season that Arkansas Razorbacks basketball should have more of on a consistent basis, but just getting back there for a season was a first this century.
2. Brandon Allen ... after all he went through transitioning from CBP, to JLS, to CBB, as well as a parade of OCs, injuries, and fan unrest/cruelty, BA is standing tall above all of it now. Brandon Allen -- who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side ... the turnaround he made was obvious at the beginning of the season, but when he grew the clutch gene during the thrilling Auburn double-OT win, he went on to play the best stretch of QB that Arkansas has seen since we joined the SEC. My only wish is that the staff would have let him finish the MudState game the right way by leading us to victory ... NOW he's proven to be the QB that I saw play numerous times as a HS senior en route to earning his 4th-star, the QB that CBP said he'd be from Day 1, and the QB we always hoped he would be.
3. Bobby Portis ... SEC POY, 2nd-team AA, 1st-round NBA draft pick, and already a fan favorite as a rookie in Chicago ... NBA all-star may be in the cards some day for this Hog, because his will to be great exceeds any talent/athletic shortcomings he may have ... and, he may end up being the best Hog ambassador ever ... truly a rare gem that we are lucky to call our own.
tie 4. Alex Collins and Hunter Henry ... CBB's 2 most-prized recruits in 2013 enter this 2015 list together ... AC became only the third player in SEC history to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first 3 seasons (joining DMAC and Herschel Walker), had his best season en route to All SEC 2nd-team honors while moving up near the top of the meaningful UA all-time rushing statistical categories ... Hunter Henry ... best TE not only in the SEC but in college football as evidenced by his winning the Mackey Award earlier this month.
6. Darren McFadden ... How awesome has it been to watch him perform at a Pro-Bowl-worthy level this season? Playing in an offense that was void of other difference-makers at the skill positions for various reasons, DMAC ran behind the best O-line in football to become one of the Top 5 RBs in the NFL in terms of production. He enters the season finale against Washington with a chance to push even higher up that list. It was a forgettable season in Dallas, currently 4-11, so questions for 2016 are already front-and-center, including where DMAC goes from here. Did he resurrect his career in Dallas, or will this be a one-season thing? Is DMAC's season proof that any back can have success running behind this O-line, or was it proof of the kind of player he is when healthy and not playing in the armpit of the NFL post-2000 (a.k.a. Oakland) ??? I think there is a combination of things -- good health and great O-line -- that have allowed DMAC's talent to bubble up again. Former Oakland HC Hue Jackson used to say that DMAC had "greatness" in him, and we started seeing some of that again in 2015.
7. Arkansas Baseball / Andrew Benintendi ... an argument could easily be made that these two should be at the top of the list, but this is my list and baseball is 3rd in the pecking order of my preference of Hog sports, but to have college baseball's best player in a season that went from bad (OOC) to awesome (making the school's 8th College World Series) goes down as one of the most memorable seasons in a top-notch national baseball program's history. Well done and kudos to DVH and the 2015 Arkansas Razorbacks.
8. Dan Enos / Hogs' WRs and TEs ... coming into the season, nobody expected what became of this group collectively. Enos helped lift BA and the pass-catching corps to levels we haven't seen under CBB, but let's give credit, too, to guys like Drew Morgan, Dominique Reed, Jared Cornelius, Keon Hatcher (before getting hurt), Hunter Henry, and Jeremy Sprinkle. Viewed in 2014 as the weakest group on the offense, it was a strength in 2015. What a turnaround.
9. Dallas Keuchel ... Pro Hog of the Year ... his memorable performances as a Hog pitcher, especially the 2009 College World Series, will remain part of our baseball program's lore forever, but what he did in MLB in 2015 puts him up there with Cliff Lee in terms of former Hog pitchers dominating baseball at the highest levels ... 2015 Cy Young Award winner, 2015 AL wins leader, 2015 Gold Glove (his 2nd), 2015 All Star ...20-8, 2.48 ERA, 216 strikeouts in 2015.
10. Arkansas football has its first winning regular-season (overall and SEC) since 2011 ... what began as a Top 20 season with the hope for better things quickly faded to "here we go again", only to make another strong comeback (similar to how we finished 2014) with renewed hope for another end-of-season bowl win and a final national ranking. In the big picture, 2015 was another step in the right direction for our football program and 8 wins/national rankings will further drive that point home.
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