(01-20-2017 02:00 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(01-19-2017 04:10 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(01-19-2017 02:56 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(01-18-2017 12:39 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(01-17-2017 10:54 PM)mjs Wrote:  I agree it's hard to discern our fan support from the ASU game. There are always ASU fans, whether local or travelers from Jonesboro, although they weren't a huge factor this Saturday. I agree some folks just come out for that one game, probably pull for LR, but they certainly aren't real UALR fans. We'll see how many "fans" show up this Saturday.

I think we traveled about 1K, based on my extremely rough estimate. It was a very silent crowd for most of the game...mainly because they didn't have much to cheer about until very late in the Men's game.

Side note: The student who got offered free oil changes for life if he could make a layup, and missed at halftime of the Men's game is going to go down in the lore of this rivalry. I shall never forget that moment.

I tried to guess the AState crowd, my guess was 20% which is almost 1,000 on the nose.

There was a Hog fan near me, had on a shirt with a huge hog logo, a razorback cap, sat there like he was watching golf on TV, left at the half and never saw him again.

Central Arkansas hog fans are a different creature from NE Arkansas. The NEA flavor act like insurgents, the Central Arkansas flavor are much less hostile (ie less insecure since UALR and AState don't lead the sportscast very often). They seem to come out just to get a night's worth of entertainment without any passion one way or the other.

The Central Arkansas variant has people who are comfortable with UALR being their sidechick or their basketball season girlfriend. I see Hog donor plates in the UALR donor lot so they are either donating or their employer is and letting them use the parking. Pretty rare to see a Hog donor plate at AState, there is one I see pretty regularly in my donor lot and that's about all I ever see. Most NEA Hog fans want AState to lose every game, followed by the entire campus being bulldozed then struck by a meteor.

Most hog fans I know , at least, on the surface have no ill will to UALR and may even pull for them. Of course, that is until we are recruiting someone they might have interest in. Then they freak out at the "nerve" of little ole UALR even thinking about signing someone the pigs want. It does continue to blow my mind that many very good UALR fans (long-time season ticket holders, donors, TLC members) also pull for UAF, a program that would love for LR and ASU to just "go away", shut down their athletic programs, etc. There is no doubt in my mind that UAF tried to shut us down, during the Newell era, and stopped us from getting dorms and an on-campus arena for years. I know you have a long list of things they have done or attempted to do to hurt the ASU athletic program which doesn't need repeating here. The hate for UAF is palatable in Jonesboro, as it should be..

Most Central Arkansas fans know that you guys are not a threat to them though. No matter what you guys do, they'll always be #1 on LR news, and the Dem Gaz will still call you UALR.

It's even less of an issue in Northwest Arkansas where I've actually had sensible conversations with Razorback fans who admit they respect the work our programs have put out to get to the point we are.

It's just Northeast Arkansas, where the Razorbacks are 3rd or 4th in local Sports coverage, rarely get major headlines in the paper, get only a few token segments on local radio that the bad blood is out. It's something those fans have just never gotten used too.

I did not see this, but I was told the 10 p.m. sportscast on channel 4 the day of our game did not even have the score of the game. Absolutely nothing. More than 5,000 in attendance and they ignored the game. Not surprising the way channel 4 has prostituted themselves to a very average athletic program at ua-fayetteville. No. 1 reason I do not watch local news.

(01-20-2017 02:13 PM)ez272 Wrote:  

(01-20-2017 02:00 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(01-19-2017 04:10 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(01-19-2017 02:56 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(01-18-2017 12:39 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  I think we traveled about 1K, based on my extremely rough estimate. It was a very silent crowd for most of the game...mainly because they didn't have much to cheer about until very late in the Men's game.

Side note: The student who got offered free oil changes for life if he could make a layup, and missed at halftime of the Men's game is going to go down in the lore of this rivalry. I shall never forget that moment.

I tried to guess the AState crowd, my guess was 20% which is almost 1,000 on the nose.

There was a Hog fan near me, had on a shirt with a huge hog logo, a razorback cap, sat there like he was watching golf on TV, left at the half and never saw him again.

Central Arkansas hog fans are a different creature from NE Arkansas. The NEA flavor act like insurgents, the Central Arkansas flavor are much less hostile (ie less insecure since UALR and AState don't lead the sportscast very often). They seem to come out just to get a night's worth of entertainment without any passion one way or the other.

The Central Arkansas variant has people who are comfortable with UALR being their sidechick or their basketball season girlfriend. I see Hog donor plates in the UALR donor lot so they are either donating or their employer is and letting them use the parking. Pretty rare to see a Hog donor plate at AState, there is one I see pretty regularly in my donor lot and that's about all I ever see. Most NEA Hog fans want AState to lose every game, followed by the entire campus being bulldozed then struck by a meteor.

Most hog fans I know , at least, on the surface have no ill will to UALR and may even pull for them. Of course, that is until we are recruiting someone they might have interest in. Then they freak out at the "nerve" of little ole UALR even thinking about signing someone the pigs want. It does continue to blow my mind that many very good UALR fans (long-time season ticket holders, donors, TLC members) also pull for UAF, a program that would love for LR and ASU to just "go away", shut down their athletic programs, etc. There is no doubt in my mind that UAF tried to shut us down, during the Newell era, and stopped us from getting dorms and an on-campus arena for years. I know you have a long list of things they have done or attempted to do to hurt the ASU athletic program which doesn't need repeating here. The hate for UAF is palatable in Jonesboro, as it should be..

Most Central Arkansas fans know that you guys are not a threat to them though. No matter what you guys do, they'll always be #1 on LR news, and the Dem Gaz will still call you UALR.

It's even less of an issue in Northwest Arkansas where I've actually had sensible conversations with Razorback fans who admit they respect the work our programs have put out to get to the point we are.

It's just Northeast Arkansas, where the Razorbacks are 3rd or 4th in local Sports coverage, rarely get major headlines in the paper, get only a few token segments on local radio that the bad blood is out. It's something those fans have just never gotten used too.

I did not see this, but I was told the 10 p.m. sportscast on channel 4 the day of our game did not even have the score of the game. Absolutely nothing. More than 5,000 in attendance and they ignored the game. Not surprising the way channel 4 has prostituted themselves to a very average athletic program at ua-fayetteville. No. 1 reason I do not watch local news.

I have not watched the local news for years. Anything of importance happens locally I hear it on the morning radio or read about it in the paper. Got tired of the local sportscasts with their pig pens, razorback nation, hog slime, or whatever. Seems it doesn't matter that they are a "very average athletic program", with only baseball doing anything on the national stage.

(01-20-2017 02:13 PM)ez272 Wrote:  

(01-20-2017 02:00 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(01-19-2017 04:10 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(01-19-2017 02:56 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(01-18-2017 12:39 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  I think we traveled about 1K, based on my extremely rough estimate. It was a very silent crowd for most of the game...mainly because they didn't have much to cheer about until very late in the Men's game.

Side note: The student who got offered free oil changes for life if he could make a layup, and missed at halftime of the Men's game is going to go down in the lore of this rivalry. I shall never forget that moment.

I tried to guess the AState crowd, my guess was 20% which is almost 1,000 on the nose.

There was a Hog fan near me, had on a shirt with a huge hog logo, a razorback cap, sat there like he was watching golf on TV, left at the half and never saw him again.

Central Arkansas hog fans are a different creature from NE Arkansas. The NEA flavor act like insurgents, the Central Arkansas flavor are much less hostile (ie less insecure since UALR and AState don't lead the sportscast very often). They seem to come out just to get a night's worth of entertainment without any passion one way or the other.

The Central Arkansas variant has people who are comfortable with UALR being their sidechick or their basketball season girlfriend. I see Hog donor plates in the UALR donor lot so they are either donating or their employer is and letting them use the parking. Pretty rare to see a Hog donor plate at AState, there is one I see pretty regularly in my donor lot and that's about all I ever see. Most NEA Hog fans want AState to lose every game, followed by the entire campus being bulldozed then struck by a meteor.

Most hog fans I know , at least, on the surface have no ill will to UALR and may even pull for them. Of course, that is until we are recruiting someone they might have interest in. Then they freak out at the "nerve" of little ole UALR even thinking about signing someone the pigs want. It does continue to blow my mind that many very good UALR fans (long-time season ticket holders, donors, TLC members) also pull for UAF, a program that would love for LR and ASU to just "go away", shut down their athletic programs, etc. There is no doubt in my mind that UAF tried to shut us down, during the Newell era, and stopped us from getting dorms and an on-campus arena for years. I know you have a long list of things they have done or attempted to do to hurt the ASU athletic program which doesn't need repeating here. The hate for UAF is palatable in Jonesboro, as it should be..

Most Central Arkansas fans know that you guys are not a threat to them though. No matter what you guys do, they'll always be #1 on LR news, and the Dem Gaz will still call you UALR.

It's even less of an issue in Northwest Arkansas where I've actually had sensible conversations with Razorback fans who admit they respect the work our programs have put out to get to the point we are.

It's just Northeast Arkansas, where the Razorbacks are 3rd or 4th in local Sports coverage, rarely get major headlines in the paper, get only a few token segments on local radio that the bad blood is out. It's something those fans have just never gotten used too.

I did not see this, but I was told the 10 p.m. sportscast on channel 4 the day of our game did not even have the score of the game. Absolutely nothing. More than 5,000 in attendance and they ignored the game. Not surprising the way channel 4 has prostituted themselves to a very average athletic program at ua-fayetteville. No. 1 reason I do not watch local news.

KARK Channel 4 "sports" is a total joke. If you want reasonable sports coverage, KTHV Channel 11 is your best bet. KATV Channel 7 isn't too bad, but 11 is the best.

I quit KARK at night on the Sunday of the British Open which had been rather exciting and of course takes place when no college sports are being played.

The lead sports story that night was a former Razorback women's golfer had TIED for 20th place at an LPGA event. Said screw it. Won't watch their sports.

Why, Arstfan, I am surprised at you! Don't you realize that Fayetteville is the only sports program in the state worthy of notice, and that all the fans of all other programs ought to be grateful that we are allowed to root for them? Why, even the lowliest event in the Sausage Factory is of more newsworthiness than a world championship by any other team. Shame on you!

(I hope your sarcasm detector is up and running.)

It is pretty discouraging right now. There was a glimmer of light after the USA game, but then we lapsed right back into our old habits and got slammed from the 3 against Troy. If this team does not start playing perimeter defense, it is pretty much over except for the slow walking and the sweet singing.

(01-24-2017 09:22 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  It is pretty discouraging right now. There was a glimmer of light after the USA game, but then we lapsed right back into our old habits and got slammed from the 3 against Troy. If this team does not start playing perimeter defense, it is pretty much over except for the slow walking and the sweet singing.

If we guarded the 3 better, Troy would have eaten us up inside- I guess they did that anyway, but it might have been worse. A couple of Troy's 3's where from like 26 feet out- not much you can do about that.

Down the road I think Wes may be able to coach the kids out of the rough spots they get in. However this year is another story. I think the remainder of the season may be a learning experience for the team and the fan base.

(01-25-2017 01:49 PM)UALR92 Wrote:  Down the road I think Wes may be able to coach the kids out of the rough spots they get in. However this year is another story. I think the remainder of the season may be a learning experience for the team and the fan base.

I agree it will be a learning experience. It is tough to win without your point guard (FSU transfer who I feel confident would have been a very solid Sun Belt player) and your 6'11" center. With Lis, I really believe we beat ASU and Troy, at home. Even with Lis, I'm not sure we can beat them on the road. We are likely a middle of the road Sun Belt team this year. Whether you finish upper middle or lower middle, depends on the results of a few close games. We have been losing the close ones. Hopefully, that will change. As for the fan base, those who thought we were suddenly going to dominate that Sun Belt, after one amazing season, were deluding themselves (I was likely one of them, at least, for a short time).

I am really trying to not be so negative. I just didn't feel that the coaching search was handled correctly based on where the program was at that point. Last year was nice while it lasted. I will be a Trojan fan thru good times and bad as I always have been. Hoping for better things for Wes and the guys down the road. I know they are putting in the work and doing what they can.

It is what it is. I like the program and I like the sport. If we have to always win for me to be happy being a Trojan fan, then I wouldn't get much enjoyment out of it. My first season as a fan saw four wins, so it's all good from there.

(01-25-2017 08:14 PM)UALR92 Wrote:  I am really trying to not be so negative. I just didn't feel that the coaching search was handled correctly based on where the program was at that point. Last year was nice while it lasted. I will be a Trojan fan thru good times and bad as I always have been. Hoping for better things for Wes and the guys down the road. I know they are putting in the work and doing what they can.

There were 2 choices. 1. Hire Wes who has strong Little Rock ties, was liked by the players (several who he recruited), had stints at 2 Power 5 conference schools, and who could continue running Coach Beard's system. 2. Roll the dice again and hope we strike gold twice in a row. Number one seemed like the better option to me. Chasse's job depends on making the right call, our jobs don't. Although to be honest, Chasse has done so many good things for our program, in his short time here, I think he actually would survive one bad hire even in our only money-generating program. Wes will be our coach for, at least, 4 years so at this point he needs all of our support. I'm certainly not going to judge him half-way through his first season, especially with us being 2 starters short at this point in time.

Pappy and MJS both make some good points. Wes seems like a hell of a guy and I'm behind him and the guys as well.

(01-25-2017 09:02 PM)mjs Wrote:  I think he actually would survive one bad hire even in our only money-generating program.

I think he probably could survive more than that, assuming he were doing a good job overall. That is a big job covering a broad area that involves a lot more than just men's basketball, and a lot that is not at all visible to the public. And his boss knows that. Granted that is the most vi$ible part of his job.

(01-25-2017 01:49 PM)UALR92 Wrote:  Down the road I think Wes may be able to coach the kids out of the rough spots they get in. However this year is another story. I think the remainder of the season may be a learning experience for the team and the fan base.

I would think he'd get a little better with some experience, how much is a question. At least had experience as a head coach, be it Juco or D-2. He'd faced all kinds of things and evidently knew what to do when he saw a similar situation. A great player doesn't always make the best coach.

(01-25-2017 03:34 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(01-25-2017 01:49 PM)UALR92 Wrote:  Down the road I think Wes may be able to coach the kids out of the rough spots they get in. However this year is another story. I think the remainder of the season may be a learning experience for the team and the fan base.

I agree it will be a learning experience. It is tough to win without your point guard (FSU transfer who I feel confident would have been a very solid Sun Belt player) and your 6'11" center. With Lis, I really believe we beat ASU and Troy, at home. Even with Lis, I'm not sure we can beat them on the road. We are likely a middle of the road Sun Belt team this year. Whether you finish upper middle or lower middle, depends on the results of a few close games. We have been losing the close ones. Hopefully, that will change. As for the fan base, those who thought we were suddenly going to dominate that Sun Belt, after one amazing season, were deluding themselves (I was likely one of them, at least, for a short time).

No doubt we'd probably been better had Beard returned. Lot of difference in being an assistant and a head coach. Sliding down one seat might get your called "the head coach", but it doesn't make you one.

Is it the Virginia Tech coach that never played college basketball?

(01-16-2017 12:29 PM)LRTrojan Wrote:  I don't know how many new folks have joined this board since last season, but it still looks like we're still about in single digits with postings. You'd think this board would have been hopping with new posters after Hurricane Beard blew through. Hasn't happened. Why?

I think the big problem is basketball in general is not as big of a draw as football is. Football at any level-high school college and pros-is an event. Fans are encouraged to set up and tailgate, people are also inclined to host "watch parties" or go out to the local sports bar and set up with other fans. I've heard of some teams/organization trying to establish some sort of tailgate or pre game gathering at basketball games but to me, it just feels out of place (and I think a lot of people would feel the same way).

Even though basketball is a "past paced, back and forth" affair, I think the way our society and media have really emphasized football, it's made the sport of basketball second tier and not as exciting as a fan to get involved in. Furthermore, when you play 12 games stretched out from August-November (maybe December) versus 30+ games spanning from November through March (then tournament games on top of that) I think it makes it kind of easy to become complacent as a fan (particularly if you're team ends up doing poor)

(01-26-2017 03:51 PM)RamblinRedWolf44 Wrote:  

(01-16-2017 12:29 PM)LRTrojan Wrote:  I don't know how many new folks have joined this board since last season, but it still looks like we're still about in single digits with postings. You'd think this board would have been hopping with new posters after Hurricane Beard blew through. Hasn't happened. Why?

I think the big problem is basketball in general is not as big of a draw as football is. Football at any level-high school college and pros-is an event. Fans are encouraged to set up and tailgate, people are also inclined to host "watch parties" or go out to the local sports bar and set up with other fans. I've heard of some teams/organization trying to establish some sort of tailgate or pre game gathering at basketball games but to me, it just feels out of place (and I think a lot of people would feel the same way).

Even though basketball is a "past paced, back and forth" affair, I think the way our society and media have really emphasized football, it's made the sport of basketball second tier and not as exciting as a fan to get involved in. Furthermore, when you play 12 games stretched out from August-November (maybe December) versus 30+ games spanning from November through March (then tournament games on top of that) I think it makes it kind of easy to become complacent as a fan (particularly if you're team ends up doing poor)

You make some good points. We don't have football and probably never will. You guys have generated a ton of excitement in NE Arkansas with 6 straight bowl games. Some of the fans that have been drawn by football, will likely transition to basketball if program continues to improve with your new coach. We have to do it with basketball alone, which apparently is not easy in this part of the country. At least we now have an AD that will work hard to promote what we have.

(01-25-2017 09:02 PM)mjs Wrote:  There were 2 choices. 1. Hire Wes who has strong Little Rock ties, was liked by the players (several who he recruited), had stints at 2 Power 5 conference schools, and who could continue running Coach Beard's system. 2. Roll the dice again and hope we strike gold twice in a row. Number one seemed like the better option to me. Chasse's job depends on making the right call, our jobs don't. Although to be honest, Chasse has done so many good things for our program, in his short time here, I think he actually would survive one bad hire even in our only money-generating program. Wes will be our coach for, at least, 4 years so at this point he needs all of our support. I'm certainly not going to judge him half-way through his first season, especially with us being 2 starters short at this point in time.

I'll agree that Chase has done many good things for this program. I support him 100%, and I still contend he screwed up on this hire by not conducting an all out search when this program was hot. As for you Mickey, you are a great fan, but you always support moving one of your friends up as the head coach. That's it's not good to get to be buddies with the coaches.

Now please explain exactly why if you make a bad hire, and we don't know for sure that it is a bad hire yet, but it's beginning to smell like it; that you have to keep him around for four years. You buy a rotten tomato, you don't eat the damn thing, you throw it out and give the produce a thorough look before you buy tomatoes again.