HOG CALLS

Anderson needs all hands on deck

Arkansas juniors Kikko Haydar (left) and Marshawn Powell pressure Texas A&M senior Ray Turner during the first half on Saturday, March 9, 2013, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Arkansas juniors Kikko Haydar (left) and Marshawn Powell pressure Texas A&M senior Ray Turner during the first half on Saturday, March 9, 2013, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE - For starters, leading scorers BJ Young and Marshawn Powell should be in Arkansas’ lineup at tipoff or at least inserted early and often in the Razorbacks’ SEC Tournament game against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn.

“We have everybody ready to roll,” Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said Monday night.

And in some cases maybe ready to roll with a jump start because Young and Powell didn’t start.

For disciplinary reasons, Anderson did not start Powell, a junior forward, and Young,a sophomore guard, in Arkansas’ regular-season-ending 73-62 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday at Walton Arena.

It marked the first time Powell didn’t start for these 19-12 Razorbacks, although he played 24 minutes and finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds.

In the previous 29 games Young had logged 24 starts. He was first off the bench against A&M but played a season-low 11 minutes.

Certainly Arkansas needs Powell and Young to last long in the one-and-done tournament that continues through Sunday’s championship game.

However, with Anderson’s system and tournament strategy relying considerably on depth, he needs all hands ready to roll in Nashville.

More got an opportunity toroll a little more in advance with Young and Powell beginning the last game on the bench.

“The interesting fact was against A&M, we didn’t start off with BJ nor Marshawn on the floor and those guys that started really did a tremendous job of dictating tempo and playing basketball the right way,” Anderson said. “When they do that, that is development of our basketball team.”

The limited presence of Powell and Young would not have been a development these Hogs could have overcome at the season’s outset.

“At the beginning of the season BJ was playing at a high level and Marshawn was playing at a high level, but there were a lot of guys that were trying to find their way,” Anderson said.

“I think this team developed before your eyes. You could see why [forward] Coty Clarke was second in the nation in rebounding in junior college because he was very active. A guy that really is comingon is [freshman forward] Michael Qualls. Watch out for him. He is going to have a bright, bright future in the red and white uniform.”

While pleased with some recent developments, Anderson doesn’t sugarcoat the fact that Vanderbilt waxed Arkansas, 67-49, at Vandy on Feb. 9 compared to Arkansas’ 56-33 victory over Vandy on Jan. 12 in Fayetteville.

Powell and Young combined for 31 points against Vanderbilt in Fayetteville but netted only a combined 12 points against Vandy in Nashville. The Hogs missed Powell and Young’s points, but they missed team defense even more.

“Defensively we have got to guard those guys and keep them off the glass,” Anderson said of Thursday’s matchup.

“I thought they shot it and went and got it on us and they went to the free-throw line too many times. We have to reverse that trend, and we have to make depth an issue.”

Sports, Pages 16 on 03/13/2013

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