A lot has been made by some posters about how Coach Mike Anderson can't recruit. So much that I was compelled to take a look at the CULTURE of basketball recruiting and what motivates "ELITE" players. Is it getting to the NBA? Is it representing the home state? Is it playing time? Likely all of these factor in to it. In any event, I thought that I would look at the Top 100 players in 2015 (according to Rivals) and who they have committed to at this point to see if there was anything that it would reveal. Below are some things I noticed:
- 4 - The number of teams in the nation with FOUR players in the Top 100 (Duke, AZ, A&M, Syracuse)
- 7 - The number of teams in the nation with THREE players in the Top 100 (UK, Cal, LSU, Marquette, UNLV, FSU, Louisville)
- 29 - The number of teams in the nation that have TWO or more players in the Top 100 - and yes, Arkansas is one of them
- 5 - The number of undecided players in the Top 100
- 2 - The number of Top 10 players that committed to a home state school (20%)
- 3 - The number of Top 25 players that committed to a home state school (12%)
- 29 - The number of Top 100 players that committed to a home state school (29%)
- 351 - The number of Division 1 basketball programs in the nation
- 8% - Arkansas is in the TOP 8% of teams in the country that have MULTIPLE Top 100 players committed to them this year (29/351)
- 57% - Arkansas' winning percentage in the previous 13 years prior to this season (237 wins vs. 178 losses)
- 4 - The number of coaches that the Razorbacks have had during that same period (Heath, Altman, Pelphrey, Anderson)
- 3 - The number of NCAA appearances the Hogs have made during that same period
- 2 - The number of 1st round losses out of the 3 NCAA appearances the Hogs had during that same period
- .536 - The overall winning percentage of Stan Heath during his career at Arkansas (82-71)
- .388 - The conference winning percentage of Stan Heath during his career at Arkansas (31-49)
- .000 - The overall winning percentage of Dana Altman during his career at Arkansas
- .000 - The conference winning percentage of Dana Altman during his career at Arkansas
- .539 - The overall winning percentage of John Pelphrey during his career at Arkansas (69-59)
- .391 - The conference winning percentage of John Pelphrey during his career at Arkansas (25-39)
- .602 - The overall winning percentage of Mike Anderson during his first three years at Arkansas (59-39)
- .557 - The conference winning percentage of Mike Anderson during his career at Arkansas (39-31)
- 54% - The combined winning percentage of coaches between Nolan Richardson's tenure, and the hiring of Coach Mike Anderson
- 64% - The winning percentage Coach Mike Anderson since he was hired as the Head Coach of the Razorbacks
- 0 - The number of years that Nolan Richardson had to coach under standards that required compliance with the APR
- Losing Allen sucks, but "elite" prospects have less loyalty according to the numbers above so it's not that Anderson is doing a bad job - it's the "CULTURE" of college basketball. "Elite" players are looking for the path of least resistance that will get them greater exposure and playing time that will in turn lead them to playing professionally - in the NBA or overseas; this greatly minimizes loyalty to the home state programs - creating a "mercenary-type" culture
- The program was a dumpster fire when Anderson took it over. It lacked discipline, accountability, and was in terrible shape academically; also, when you have more coaches than NCAA tournament appearances it's NEVER a good thing and will cripple your recruiting.
- The last time the Hogs were a force on the national stage - these recruits were 4 yrs old.
