Hog Calls

Improvement can help overcome departures

Arkansas guard Manuale Watkins brings the ball up court during the first half against South Carolina on Feb. 3, 2014, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Arkansas guard Manuale Watkins brings the ball up court during the first half against South Carolina on Feb. 3, 2014, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — The basketball Razorbacks may require Manuale Watkins-type improvement multiplied entire team wide.

Such massive, en masse improvement in the other Razorbacks’ holdovers this season, like what Watkins waged as a sophomore last season, presently appears Arkansas’ only hope at fielding a competitive team for 2015-2016.

Watkins went from freshman walk-on guard in 2013-2014 mopping up eight lopsided games to playing every game off the bench in 2014-2015. The Fayetteville High graduate and son of Arkansas assistant coach Melvin Watkins was second on the team in steals (37), just two behind team-leader Bobby Portis even while Portis doubled Watkins’ minutes.

Offensively, Watkins mainly looked to feed departed team stars Portis and Michael Qualls but shot the clutch 71-70 game-winner at Ole Miss.

Given present circumstances, Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson needs all seven returnees improving like Watkins while also looking significantly to newcomers Jimmy Whitt and Willy Kouassi.

Concluding his fourth Arkansas head coaching season last March at 27-9, Arkansas’ best record since Nolan Richardson’s 1994-95 national runner-ups went 32-7, Anderson since has seen some unraveling of what he worked so successfully to build on and off the court.

Anderson’s two best players, sophomore All-American and SEC Player of the Year Portis, and junior leaper Qualls, turned pro while guard Nick Babb transferred after one year to Iowa State.

Ted Kapita, originally from the Congo and the most heralded forward signed for this Arkansas season, remains not academically cleared.

Worst of all, sophomore-to-be point guard Anton Beard, the lone returning starter, senior-to-be three-year letterman forward Jacorey Williams and Dustin Thomas, a redshirting junior transferring from the University of Colorado, were arrested last week on suspicion of forgery.

Fayetteville police reported surveillance cameras showing all three spending counterfeit money.

The University and Anderson took a prudent tact, indefinitely suspending, but not permanently dismissing, the three under suspicion.

Authorities higher than their coach and their university ultimately will determine if the three, as they reportedly told police, spent money they didn’t know was counterfeit, or if they committed the crime of spending bogus bills they knew to be bogus.

They get their legal due process but not what normally would be their due with their team until their cases are resolved.

In the meantime, Anderson must prepare like all three won’t be there minus Kapita, too.

That leaves the “We’re fine with nine” roster situation that beset Jimmy Dykes last season, Dykes’ first as the Arkansas women’s basketball coach.

Dykes started with just nine players on his roster and finished an 18-14 season two rounds deep into the NCAA Tournament.

However, from predecessor Coach Tom Collen, Dykes did inherit a quality team leader in point guard Calli Berna, scoring leader Jessica Jackson and three other proven starters in Guards Kelsey Brooks and Melissa Wolff and since graduated center Jhasmin Bowen.

Unless a bunch of Hogs improve whole Hog, Anderson’s present nine don’t add up to Dykes’ past nine.

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