Conference Play Real Test For Teams In Search Of Titles

If I were a basketball coach, my team could start 13-0 every year.

How’s that?

Simply schedule schools like High Point (N.C.), Savannah State (Ga.), and Arkansas-Pine Bluff , which is 2-10 and ranked No. 335 of 351 teams in Division 1. Play Champions Baptist College of Hot Springs, which became the butt of jokes last week after falling behind 44-0 in a game against Southern University (La.). Southern’s 44-0 start set an NCAA record in a game that ended 116-12.

But you know what getting mentioned on ESPN or earning a few votes in a national poll in December means?

Absolutely nothing.

Basketball is going tobecome interesting very quickly because conference play is about to start. Fans will begin to fill the arenas again now that the holidays are over and league opponents appear on the schedule.

Even on the high school level, victories over Lebanon, Mo., or Lebanon, Pa., mean nothing once February and March rolls around. Teamswith sparkling records in November and December often regress in January when the real competition begins.

The Arkansas women got another dose of reality with a 55-51 loss at home to South Carolina to begin SEC play on Thursday. Arkansas, which started 13-0 while winning by an average of 33 points per game, has now lost eight consecutive SEC openers and 10 of its past 11.

The Arkansas men must prove themselves in SEC play after getting some fans excited with a 10-2 start.

“Arkansas is going to be really good in the SEC,” High Point coach Scott Cherry said after an 89-48 loss to the Razorbacks. “They’ve got a chance to win a lot ofgames, I think, and play in the postseason.”

Cherry’s quote is fl attering, but it would be more encouraging coming from a coach whose team is 8-3 instead of 3-8.

I like the Alan Barton formula for success. When the Greenland girls coach says he couldn’t care less about his team’s nonconference record, he means it.

Greenland is a small Class 3A school that routinely plays larger opponents anywhere or at any time. The Lady Pirates finished the regular season 11-13 last spring after another tough nonconference schedule. But Greenland was primed for postseason play and rolled to a second consecutive state championafter a 59-32 over Jessieville, which entered the game 33-0.

Anyone want to bet this year against Greenland, which improved to 10-6 on Friday after rolling over Class 4A Pea Ridge on the road?

That came after a loss to Class 5A Alma in the fi nals of the Airedale Classic earlier in the week.

I didn’t think so.

Holiday tournaments can be fun and the format gives teams a sample of what they’ll face in postseason tournaments. But the grind of conference play twice a week is the true test for players and coaches who aspire to be champions.

I remember a newcomer to the Arkansas baseball team who hit three home runs andwas voted the MVP of a tournament in Texas. He turned out to be a flash and was benched after hitting about .180 in SEC play.

You want to show everyone you’re a star? Do it against your rivals in league play, especially on the road. That’s where heroes are born.

So, put away your tournament trophies and ribbons and let’s get ready for Arkansas vs. Missouri, Bentonville vs. Fayetteville, and Springdale High vs. Springdale Har-Ber.

By March, nobody will care what your record was in December. Even if you were 13-0.

RICK FIRES IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR NWA MEDIA