Basketball Discussion Thread

2014-2015 Schedule:

Central Oklahoma (Exhib.)
Pittsburg State (Exhib.)
------------------------------------
Alabama State
Wake Forest
Delaware State
@ SMU
North Texas
Iona
@ Iowa State
@ Clemson
Dayton
SE Missouri
UW-Milwaukee
Northwestern State
Utah Valley
----------------------------
@ Georgia
Vanderbilt
@ Tennessee
Ole Miss
Alabama
@ Missouri
Tennessee
@ Florida
South Carolina
Mississippi State
@ Auburn
@ Ole Miss
Missouri
@ Mississippi State
Texas A&M
@ Kentucky
@ South Carolina
LSU





2014-2015 Roster:
(Name) ---- (Year) ---- (Position)

Nick Babb ---------- Fr. ------- G
Anton Beard -------- Fr. ------- G
Anthlon Bell ------- Jr. ------- G
Jabril Durham ------ Jr. ------- G
Dusty Hannahs ------ Jr. ------- G
Alandise Harris ---- RS Sr. ---- F
Moses Kingsley ----- So. ------- F
Rashad Madden ------ Sr. ------- G
Keaton Miles ------- RS Jr. ---- F
Bobby Portis ------- So. ------- F
Michael Qualls ----- Jr. ------- G
Trey Thompson ------ Fr. ------- F
Manuale Watkins ---- So. ------- G
Jacorey Williams ---- Jr. ------- F






Key Newcomers:

Anton Beard



Coming in as a highly sought-after 4-star recruit, Beard will be expected to contribute early on. Hopefully he will be able to fill the "true PG" hole that we have been missing. If Beard can run the point efficiently, it will allow Madden to spend more time in his more natural SG role.


Jabril Durham

Fortunately, Beard won't be forced to carry all the weight at PG. Durham, a 3-star JUCO transfer, averaged over 20 points along with 6.7 assists per game while at Seminole College.


Trey Thompson

At 6'10 240, Thompson should allow us to rotate Kingsley/Portis out without giving up much size. We don't need him to come in and take over games just yet. Just providing solid minutes off the bench and contributing to our depth could allow Anderson to finally be able to put both Kingsley and Portis on the floor together.


Nick Babb



As a 3-star recruit, he flew somewhat under the radar. His offer list certainly isn't that impressive. Still, I believe he could end up being the best of this incoming class. At 6'4, he's a lengthy, versatile guard that should fit well into Anderson's system. Great mix of shooting ability and athleticism.



Stray Thoughts:


- The conference schedule didn't set up very well for us this year - we don't get UK or UF at home.

- Wake Forest went 17-16 last year, but that included wins against Duke and North Carolina. They are returning most of their team, so don't be surprised if they put up a hard fight in Bud Walton.

- Keaton Miles is eligible to play this year, after transferring from West Virginia two years ago. He never did much for the Mountaineers, but also didn't see much playing time. I'm not sure what to expect from him. He could provide us with some depth, or be a complete flop.

- I like the mix of experience and young blood we have on the roster this year.

- We saw glimmers of what Anthlon Bell can be last year. I'm hoping (and sort of expecting) that this will be his breakout year, and he can consistently provide us with a deep shooting threat game-in and game-out.


Final Note:

Anderson has improved on his win total in each of his three years at Arkansas, and that trend will likely continue. Last season exceeded my expectations easily. I said on here before the season that we would be lucky to make the NIT. In reality we were unlucky to not make the NCAAT. It was a great coaching job by Mike. I think we finally have the pieces together to compete for a conference title, and maybe more.