Like it is: Gents play their role to perfection against Hogs

WALLY HALL
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Don't call Centenary a cupcake.
A doughnut maybe. The Gents sure didn't have anything in the middle.
At least not against the Razorbacks' defense. But then, the Hogs' frontcourt wasn't exactly lighting it up either, and as usual, it came down to the Hogs' superior quickness, athleticism and defense.
Which is something they can count on this time of year.
This is the season of scheduling folly.
Top 25 teams have to pay big bucks to the folls who are willing to come get their brains kicked in.
That is something that just has to be endured now, especially on weeknights when the networks can't cut into prime time.
On Monday night, No. 2 Kansas calf-roped Middle Tennessee 92-66; No. 7 Tennessee clobbered Austin Peay 98-65; No. 8 Seton Hall escaped St. Peter's 104-85.
And then there was Florida.
The Gators knocked the socks off that powerless house, Florida Atlantic, 100-42.
Florida Pacific must have been booked.
Centenary was hired ... uh, booked, to be just another notch on the Hogs' record.
And there was never any doubt the academic jewel would be just that.
Centenary, a very nice private school in Shreveport, puts most of its revenue into things like academics, so the Gents must face teams such as Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, LSU and even Louisiana Tech for big bucks.
They have to pay the bills and the only way to do that is agree to play the cream puff on the schedule of a team that has a higher recruiting budget than the entire athletic budget at a place like Centenary.
So the Gents arrived with vim, vigor and a dream, and left like skimmed milk.
In the first half, they were in a neck-and-neck battle between points and turnovers.
Points won out at the break, 23-20.
So how did they open the second half?
A turnover. A five-second count before the game officially started.
Part of that was the pressure of the Hogs and part just not being good enough.
They did go on a 5-3 crawl in the first half to get within 26-13, but then Joe Johnson checked back in and that was bad news for the visitors.
Johnson, who sat out eight minutes of the first half, hit a two and then a three-pointer and right before the crowd of 14,017 -- and there were a lot of absentees or an awful lot of fans dressed like empty seats -- Centenary began to disappear.
It wouldn't happen fast because these Razorbacks are determined to shoot the three on most possessions.
Perhaps that's to help make up for all the free throws they miss or, against a team like Centenary, it's a good time to practice near-game conditions.
Threes may get the crowd into it, but when the Razorbacks go on the road, and they have to go on the road, they may wish they had spent just a little more time posting up or attacking the basket, which Johnson did.
Of course, his ability to penetrate forces defenses to play off him enough that if he gets set he's going to bury a three.
No one is trying to hide the fact that Johnson is one of the best players in the SEC and how he does very well could be how the Hogs do this season.
Right now, Johnson is only about 85 or 90 percent because of the foot surgery last summer, and that may be why the Hogs didn't just blow the doors off Centenary.
Oh, the Razorbacks are better than last season when they struggled until the SEC Tournament.
For one thing, Johnson and Larry Satchell are already playing and not waiting on test scores, and Jannero Pargo gives them some depth at the point.
Yet, Tuesday night, they struggled inside and that was against a team that had little resistance to offer down low.
In the first half, the Hogs had nine steals but only four layups.
Again, that could be too much looking for the three and not enough looking inside. Or maybe the inside players aren't looking to score like they should.
Whatever, the Razorbacks coasted by a nonconference nonopponent Tuesday night and should be well-rested for the slight test Saturday when Memphis comes to town.

This article was published on Wednesday, November 29, 2000

RETURN to main page

Copyright and permissions
Copyright © 2000, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved.
This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.