MONEY SHOTS

Roasting Richardson

Former players help toast their coach to benefit mentoring program

It was a match made in heaven: the man who introduced the phrase "40 minutes of hell" into Razorbacks basketball lingo, and the 40th annual Toast & Roast benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas. The former -- Nolan Richardson, who led the Razorbacks to their 1994 national championship -- was honored during the latter, a dinner held Aug. 21 in a packed Embassy Suites ballroom in west Little Rock.

The event was preceded by a reception and silent auction, and included a live auction.

Telly Noel Sr. kicked off the program, during which master of ceremonies Craig O'Neill reminded audience members that they'd all had "40 minutes of hell" experiences ... experiences such as being on Interstate 630 between the John Barrow Road exit and "the end of I-630" during evening rush hour.

"If the kids in the carpool start singing that song from Frozen at the top of their lungs all the way to school, you've been through 40 minutes of hell," O'Neill continued. "If you're a young out-of-the-state TV reporter that's 26 years old working at Channel 11 and you hear Craig O'Neill say, 'That reminds me of a story,' you've been through 40 minutes of hell."

Doing the roasting and toasting were former Razorbacks basketball players Pat Bradley and Todd Day, along with Mike Anderson, current Razorbacks head basketball coach and Richardson's former assistant.

Day shared several hilarious stories. One was about the time an exasperated Richardson, during a game against Southern Methodist University, bent over in front of the players and invited each to give him a swift kick in the pants for giving them their scholarships. And the time Day and teammate Roosevelt Wallace broke curfew the night before a game and were made to run around the Northwest Arkansas Mall parking lot before bemused or horrified onlookers, tied to Richardson's pickup.

Bradley referenced the coach's flashy sartorial style -- plaid shirt, cowboy boots -- and paid tribute by revealing some loud attire of his own.

Anderson also recalled Richardson's dress over the years, speculating that he'd borrowed a sweater from Bill Cosby, and shared a couple of anecdotes about Richardson's disdain for game officials.

Proceeds from the night's event topped $100,000, according to Amy Davis, Big Brothers Big Sisters special events coordinator.

High Profile on 08/31/2014

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