Hogs use practice time to sharpen fundamentals
FAYETTEVILLE - The next time that Coach Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks get a week’s practice between basketball games they likely won’t practice much as a full team.
Players will be filtering in and out of practice more concerned with hitting the books than the court. University of Arkansas final exams fill the space between the Razorbacks hosting Western Kentucky Dec. 8 in Fayetteville and hosting the University of Texas-San Antonio Dec. 15 in North Little Rock.
So this stretch of practices between Arkansas’ 78-60 victory over the University of TexasArlington last Friday night at Walton Arena and Saturday’s 7 p.m. game at Walton against Florida International is important to all the Razorbacks in general and one in particular, Anderson said during his Miked Up radio show last Monday night at Sassy’s Barbecue.
“It’s a great time to get these guys in the gym and work on the fundamentals,” Anderson said.
And to accelerate conditioning for the long haul without having to taper until Friday before the next game.
“With this little break without a game this is a great time to get this team in basketball shape,” Anderson said. “In games you have only so many minutes but practice you have multiple sessions.”
Sessions that touted 6-7 freshman shooting guard Jordan Phillips of Fort Worth missed undergoing October knee surgery because of a torn meniscus.
Phillips had just been cleared for a couple of workouts when he shot 0 for 5 playing 10 minutes during the Nov. 21 90-68 victory over Montana State and then shot 0 for 2 logging the final four minutes against Texas-Arlington.
This week’s practice time becomes Phillips’ time making up for lost time.
“For a guy like Jordan Phillips this is preseason basketball practice right now,” Anderson said. “So it’s really important for him. I know
we’ve got to be patient, but he’s got a lot of potential. It’s just a matter of getting a rhythm and his timing down.”
Individual skills will be worked on by all but improving as a team always remains on the docket.
“November we had game after game after game after game after game.” Anderson said. “Now it’s time to get back in the gym and continue to work on things we need to get better at. Defense, offensive execution and understanding game situations. The Texas game showed situations where we need to execute and make the right play.”
While finding an array of things needing work, Anderson said seeing this young team working as a team sets a good tone of things to come.
“One thing I like about this team is that they play hard and play together and will fight, scratch and claw,” Anderson said. “And that give us a chance. I see that as a sign that these guys will continue to get better.”
Anderson said this team has played espousing his premise of defense first.
Offensively, while establishing other threats they need to establish, Anderson said they first know where their bread is most buttered. Get the ball to Daniel Gafford, the 6-11 first-team Preseason All-America center from El Dorado averaging a team leading 19.2 points.
“You keep the big guy happy a lot of good things take place,” Anderson said. “I think they get it. Obviously a guy like Daniel at that size and can run and jump do the things he does does not have to be married to the block. A lot of his stuff is in transition and he’s getting to the free throw line. We can screen and roll. We can play him back to the basket. You play him up top and he can go get it. He can score in a variety of ways. Good things happen when they get him the basketball and our guys appreciate it. And as we feed him it helps him on the defensive end.”
Gafford’s defense, not only as the team’s leading rebounder, 8.0, and shot blocker, 10 in five games, but overall length and quick hands, six steals for third on the team, is a big help.
“His defense is so much better than last year,” Anderson said. “Last year he’d be in foul trouble. He’d get what I call high school fouls where a guy is coming in and he’d turn sideways trying to block a shot. Now he’s moving his feet and getting his body into good position. Our guys see what he brings to the table and that he’s special.”