Spunk instead of dunk: Richardson unveils Hogs team that lacks size, numbers but is not wanting for speed, quickness

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- When Jason Smith came to Walton Arena the previous four years, it was as a Rebel to do battle with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Smith, a forward from Palestine-Wheatley High School, started for Ole Miss teams that won two SEC West titles, played in three NCAA Tournaments and held their own, going 2-2 against the Razorbacks in Walton Arena.
Friday night, Smith was back in Walton Arena, but this time as an uncle. He was part of an estimated 11,500 that attended Arkansas' Midnight Madness practice because he wanted to see his nephew, Razorbacks freshman forward Carl Baker, who also starred at Palestine-Wheatley.
"I'm here to support Carl all the way, it doesn't matter that he's a Razorback and not a Rebel," said Smith, who next month will be going to training camp with the San Diego Sting Rays of the International Basketball League. "I know Carl is going to do real well here."
Smith may not have been wearing an Ole Miss uniform Friday night, but he said some fans recognized him.
"When I first walked in, a guy said I shouldn't be down here," Smith said with a laugh. "It was like I was behind enemy lines or something."
Baker said it was nice to have Smith in attendance, but that didn't stop him from being nervous.
After Lady Razorbacks Coach Gary Blair introduced his players to the crowd, Baker was the first player introduced by Razorbacks Coach Nolan Richardson, and he missed a dunk.
The Razorbacks' other freshmen -- forwards Alonzo Lane and Blake Eddins and guard Charles Tatum -- also missed dunks after they were introduced to form a clang gang for the newcomers.
Sophomore guard Brandon Dean, who is 6-1 but has a 40-inch vertical jump, then stopped the Midnight Badness with a thunderous windmill dunk that brought that crowd to its feet.
"I had to make up for the freshman mistakes," Dean said with a smile. "When they missed, it looked pretty bad. I decided to do something the crowd could get into."
Richardson said Dean may have the best vertical jump of any player he's ever coached.
"He's maybe 6-1, but he's awfully powerful and explosive," Richardson said. "And he jumps better in front of a crowd than he does in practice.
"The more fans there are, the more excited he is and higher he jumps. You bring the fans out, he looks like he can jump over the rim."
Dean said he wasn't surprised the freshmen struggled on their first dunk attempts
"You've got to expect that," he said. "This was the first time they've been in front of a crowd this big, so it's natural they were going to be nervous."
Guard Chris Walker, the Razorbacks' only senior, said the freshmen were doing fine in warm-ups.
"But I guess it changed when they had to do it with everybody in the crowd focusing on them," Walker said. "They had those freshman butterflies."
Baker said fans shouldn't consider the missed dunks an indication of how the freshmen are going to play this season.
"Oh, no, we're going to be a lot better than that," he said. "We've got to play well this season. We don't have any choice."
The Razorbacks are counting heavily on their freshmen because they have just 11 scholarship players available.
Freshman forwards Joe Johnson and Larry Satchell hope to gain their academic eligibility for Arkansas for the second semester, but for now they can't even practice with the team.
The low numbers could put the Razorbacks in a bind in practice, Richardson said.
"With 11 players, if one or two guys go down, then you can't even scrimmage," he said. "And that's what our teams are based on, scrimmages every day."
Richardson said practices may "have to be geared down a little bit" because there aren't enough substitutes to give players a breather.
"If you scrimmage hard for two hours with 11 guys, you can kill them," he said.
Richardson said he hopes the Razorbacks can add a couple of players when the team holds walk-on tryouts this week.
"There are usually some pretty good kids who want to be Razorbacks and are willing to walk on," he said. "If we can pick up one or two players like that, it could make a big difference in how we practice."
Richardson said he was pleasantly surprised at how many fans turned out for Midnight Madness, considering the Arkansas-South Carolina football game was in Little Rock on Saturday night, and he added that the festive atmosphere for the 12th annual event is good for recruiting.
Two recruits -- 6-8 forwards David Anderson of Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy and Ivan McFarlin of Houston Willowridge -- attended Midnight Madness. They sat on the bench for Friday night's 15-minute scrimmage, which Richardson called "a glorified pickup game."
Richardson said the focus for Midnight Madness remains on the food items fans donate to the Salvation Army.
As for the players, Richardson said their main objectives at Midnight Madness are to not get hurt -- he tells them not to take any charges -- and to have fun.
The Razorbacks began their real work Saturday. They will practice twice today and have two-a-day practices the rest of the week, starting at 6 a.m. Monday.
Richardson said the emphasis in practice will be on defense, and creating baskets off defense, because of Arkansas' lack of size.
The team's tallest player is 6-8 sophomore Dionisio Gomez, and he's never played in a college game.
"And Dionisio really is a perimeter-type player," Richardson said. "But he's very competitive, and he'll go to the boards hard for us."
Richardson said that rather than worry about the Razorbacks' lack of a strong inside presence, he wants to build on their strengths, which are speed and quickness.
"The name of the game is advantage-disadvantage," he said. "If we can get an advantage using our speed and quickness, then that's what we have to do.
"I think that if you've got some kids who can run the floor, you turn them loose and let's run."
Smith said he expects Arkansas to be a force in the SEC again this season despite inexperience and lack of size.
"The first practice is always a little rough, especially on the freshmen, and Midnight Madness really is for the fans," Smith said. "You can see the potential on this team, and I know Coach Richardson will have the Razorbacks ready when the conference season starts."
Arkansas will open SEC play against Smith's old team on Jan. 5 when Ole Miss visits Walton Arena.
The Rebels, no doubt, would love to have Smith back in uniform for that one. The Razorbacks would be glad to have Smith back in the stands, cheering for his nephew, as he was Friday night.

This article was published on Sunday, October 17, 1999

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