FAYETTEVILLE - Because your next door neighbor is a nice guy doesn't mean he can't achieve brilliance,
Like Mike Neighbors. The Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball coach and everyman from Greenwood seems the next door neighbor from his vast collection gladly lending that last minute movie rescuing your kid's birthday party.
He's also brilliantly yet without drama achieved dramatic results.
Off inheriting a dispirited Razorbacks program previously crashed 2-14 in the SEC, Neighbors boosted morale even as his first Arkansas team struggled 3-13 in the SEC and 13-18 overall in 2017-2018.
Now thanks to holdovers sticking with him and some incredible Neighbors recruits like senior All-American Chelsea Dungee, these 19-8 Razorbacks with upsets over perpetual powers UConn and Baylor lodge in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014-2015.
Monday's first-round game in Austin, Texas against Wright State easily could be Arkansas' third Neighbors coached NCAA Tournament instead of his first.
His 22-15 SEC Tournament finalist team of 2018-19 was the last cut from NCAA Tournament consideration and drove three rounds deep into the WNIT.
Last season's 24-8 Razorbacks knew they had a NCAA bid coming until the covid pandemic shut down all college sports.
The three consecutive NCAA Women's Tournaments would have met a long range goal that former Arkansas administrator and assistant coach Neighbors set for his alma mater.
"When I talked with the committee and took the job I was confident we could in a very short period of time become a NCAA Tournament team," Neighbors, who head coached the Washington Huskies to a Final Four said. "And the thought was not only that one time, but multiple times. Back to back to back in the NCAA Tournament is not in our history, but I believe we could."
Sounds like a master plan.
"I would love to take credit that it was a master plan," Neighbors said. "It was hopes. I hoped we could do it."
From the holdovers, including and especially current lone remaining holdover fifth-year senior Jailyn Mason, to Dungee redshirting transferring from the University of Oklahoma while his first team struggled, Neighbors calmly kept the faith.
"A lot of good people stayed and believed with lack of evidence," Neighbors said. "That's what faith is, believing with lack of evidence. We had kids who had faith in us. Because we didn't have a lot of evidence to spread around. 'Hey, Chelsea, guess, what? We're going to be picked 14th in the league!' That's not the recruiting pitch that usually lands kids."
Mason recalled Neighbors re-recruiting her upon his arrival.
"You know everybody jokes about when I sat down with Coach Neighbors with my laptop it's very true I had an insider list of questions," Mason said. "But from there we established that relationship and confidence in one another that we would be able to build this program into where it is. To see it blossom from my freshman year to seeded fourth in the NCAA Tournament is amazing."