Strength coach opening

Arkansas is looking for a new basketball strength and conditioning coach.

Adam Petway, who held the position for the previous four seasons, left Arkansas to work in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers, Mike Anderson confirmed Thursday.

“We’ve got some pretty good possibilities,” Anderson said of candidates to replace Petway. “But I thought Adam did a great, great job.”

Anderson said he wants to hire someone who has a similar philosophy as Petway in terms of helping players improve their explosiveness and agility and also has an innovative approach to motivating players in the weight room.

“I want somebody that hopefully can get our guys prepared for what we’re going to do out there on the floor, and it translates [to basketball],” Anderson said. “Sometimes you go into the weight room and you can do all the lifting and all the different things, but it doesn’t translate on the floor. I want it to translate on the floor in terms of what we’re doing and how we’re playing.”

Anderson said an assistant strength and conditioning coach has been working with the players since Petway left for Philadelphia, though he didn’t name a specific person.

“The beauty of it is Adam had [the players] up here this summer, so he had a chance to give them a base,” Anderson said. “It’s important for us to get somebody to come in and grab what he did and just take it up and beyond.”