Attrition, thy name is Arkansas
Posted: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 2:43 PM
Filed Under:
SEC, Recruiting
The revamped SEC is hardly a secret anymore. Even if John Calipari wasn’t a Tweeting machine, the conference will assuredly be a far cry from its 2008-09 version that saw just three teams earn NCAA tourney berths.
Except, that is, for Arkansas.
It just doesn't seem possible given the turnover John Pelphrey has to deal with.
Chuck Burton/AP |
John Pelphrey
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Pelphrey’s team started 12-1 last season and beat Oklahoma and Texas in the same week. Then SEC play began sending the Hogs on a 2-15 skid and finishing dead last in the conference. Yes, that same conference that had a down year.
Even worse, most of Arkansas’ touted 2008 recruits – six players that made up a consensus Top 25 class – are now gone. Four players lasted less than one year. Sophomore guards Courtney Fortson and Rotnei Clarke, the Hogs’ second- and third-leading scorers, are the lone holdovers.
And, while Arkansas does return every starter, the loss of so many players has created a worry that the program is simply a revolving door of players and not a program that’s being built to last.
From the Northwest Arkansas Times:
Since Pelphrey's arrival two seasons ago, Razorbacks departing the University of Arkansas as underclassmen include Patrick Beverley, Nate Rakestraw, Levan Patsatia, Montrell McDonald, Andre Clark, Brandon Moore and now [Jason] Henry.
That doesn't include Stephen Cox, the Jonesboro native who went from scholarship golfer to basketball walk-on back to scholarship golfer during this summer.
It must be exhausting to recruit a new flight of players every season – Pelphrey and his staff secured commitments from six more recruits this year. But that will surely create more chemistry issues, which was a major problem in 2008-09. Simply plugging holes every season isn’t possible. A program needs continuity.
"I think there's always attrition to your roster, for one reason or another," Pelphrey said in April. "But we also think we've got a chance to add some guys to address our needs through recruiting. We've been very, very busy."
