The phone call came during ESPN.com's preseason tour of colleges in October. The voice on the other end belonged to Stan Heath. He was calling to get some publicity for his program. He was a bit miffed that no one was talking about Kent State.

That was one year ago.

In 2002, the calls aren't coming into the office as frequently.

	Stan Heath said he needed to prove his worth as a head coach. Like, say, going 30-6 and reaching the Elite Eight at Kent State last season.

"I thought I had to build up our program and give us exposure at Kent State. I knew we had a good team," Heath said Tuesday afternoon. "Now there are people who do those things for you. I don't have to worry about it."

In the past 12 months, Heath has hung on tight and enjoyed one the most remarkable rises in the coaching industry. Friday night, in an 81-44 rout of Jackson State, Heath notched win No. 1 in one of the most storied college basketball programs -- Arkansas -- in one of the best buildings -- Bud Walton -- following one of the biggest names in the sport -- Nolan Richardson -- in only his second year as a head coach.

Talk about a promotion ...

Heath's meteoric climb from MAC head coach to SEC head coach was one of the 2001-02 season's biggest stories. It started when Kent State went 17-1 in the MAC and, of course, raised the college basketball roof by reaching the Elite Eight. But, Heath, never in his wildest imagination, could have thought he would be the head coach at Arkansas.

Never.

But while Heath was enjoying a fairy tale season with the Golden Flashes, all hell was breaking loose in Hog Heaven. Richardson's abrupt departure after a blowout with the administration meant the program was handed to Mike Anderson on an interim basis. But Anderson wasn't the answer, not when the Arkansas administration was sold on getting a head coach, albeit one who had only one year of head coaching experience.

The obvious choice would have been former Bulls coach Tim Floyd, but he wasn't interested. Once he was out of the mix, there was no clear favorite to replace Richardson. Attention shifted to Wyoming's Steve McClain, but once Heath was brought in for an interview, it was his job to take.

And it happened fast, real fast. Over the course of a few days, once Heath was in Fayetteville over the Final Four weekend, he was locked in and sold on taking the job, and the school on him.

The whole process seemed a bit overwhelming. Watching Heath at the news conference, where he was introduced as the man placed in charge of a program that's been part of 27 NCAA Tournaments and appeared in the Final Four six times, it was clear he wasn't prepared for the reception planned by the Arkansas institution. Athletics director Frank Broyles jumped up and started the "Pig Soooieeee" chant to call the 'Hogs. The look on Heath's face was priceless.

It was clear, he knew then, that he'd arrived at a school that takes its athletics seriously. Even if it looked a bit odd to an outsider to see a group of grown men call Hogs.

"It caught me off guard," Heath says now. "I was like, 'Man what's going on here.' But it's become normal around here.

"Everywhere you go in the state of Arkansas, everybody knows how to call the 'Hogs. I've got to do it."

"He didn't realize how big that chant is to the school," said senior forward Carl Baker, who was the student rep on the coaching search committee. "It's part of the school. Go to any stadium, any gym, and they call the 'Hogs. It brings life to the sport."

Heath's humility was clear on the day he was hired during the "Pig Soooieeee" chant. It also came through during the interview process.

"He was humble. But we wanted someone who had a good personality and had energy, as well as the winning credentials," Baker remembers.

Heath's resume didn't lack such bullet points, having assisted Tom Izzo during Michigan State's three straight Final Fours and 2000 national championship season. Not to mention the 30 wins and Elite Eight in one season in charge of Kent State.

"I had to go somewhere before I could get here," said Heath, who also interviewed for the Eastern Michigan and Ball State jobs while at Michigan State. "When you get a high-profile job, they're looking for head coaching experience. But it's hard to get that.

"I'm not sure what the cutoff point was (to get the Arkansas job). But I think it was because of our team success. I'm not sure it had to be the Elite Eight or Sweet 16."

Regardless of what convinced Broyles to hand the Hogs over to a 37-year-old with minimal head coaching experience, Heath has it and he's not going to change the methods which led to his past success.

"Stan has a great basketball mind and relates very well with Kids," said Izzo when Heath was hired. "I've watched him grow ... I know he is ready to take over a tradition-rich program."

Heath is doing what he did at Kent State, just with a bit more of a receptive audience upon arrival. When he got to Kent State, there was nearly a mutiny when he took Gary Waters' style of rip-and-run and tried to instill the rugged, halfcourt, Michigan State rebounding and defensive approach.

"People had doubts. He came into a program of the defending MAC champs where we pressed and he wanted to do it in a different way," Kent State senior Antonio Gates said. "He brought this halfcourt, defensive mentality. There was a struggle to buy into it. It was hard to change. But once we came together, that's when we went on our run."

Gates said the Kent State players would have only been bitter if the Golden Flashes were told to play for a coach who didn't want to carry on the same principles of what they finally accepted from Heath. So, when Kent State assistant Jim Christian was bumped up this season to head coach, there were no complaints.

	“	I'm pulling for those kids. I've got great admiration for the kids I left up there. ...It'll be just a matter of time for those kids to get (Heath's style) ”
		— Nolan Richardson, Former Arkansas head coach

"Some of the friction was overstated," Heath said. "The guys I inherited (at Arkansas) didn't come off a good year, and some didn't play a lot. So, what could they say."

Baker said his involvement in the committee helped ease any concern among the players going from Richardson to Anderson to Heath.

"There was no resistance," Baker said. "It just took us longer to get it, especially defensively. We're used to trapping and basic man-to-man and it's hard to get out of that trapping mentality. He's putting an emphasis on man- to-man and rebounding. You won't see '40 Minutes of Hell.' Rebounding is the focus. No one knows what to expect and that's a plus."

The transition from Richardson/Anderson to Heath is actually similar to one that occurred 18 years earlier when Richardson took over for Eddie Sutton.

"When I first got there, Eddie had players who played halfcourt," Richardson said. "There was point guard, a post man, and so on. I'm totally opposite. I'm not a coach who has to know every move. I teach the basics of what you want to do. I want the offense to be freer. It'll be just a matter of time for those kids to get it."

It's no secret that Richardson and Heath have spoken a few times since the coaching change. There is no animosity. They simply don't know each other that well.

As for keeping Richardson in the loop, Heath said there is a fine line. He may have replaced Richardson on the cover of the Arkansas media guide, but wants Richardson to remain part of the program. But he doesn't want to smother him, either.

Richardson said he wants the best for Heath and is still close to the players he recruited, like Baker, Alonzo Lane and Dionisio Gomez. He'll watch Friday's game on television, largely because his best friend, Jackson State's Andy Stoglin, is coaching.

"I'm pulling for those kids," Richardson said. "I've got great admiration for the kids I left up there."

And the ones he did leave aren't all that bad, although they'll struggle in one of the best divisions within a conference in the country. Arkansas and Auburn will likely jockey for fifth place in the SEC West.

Regardless of what happens this season, Heath is already endearing himself to the locals with one of the top 15 recruiting classes in the country. Heath got Arkansas native and the son of a former player in Ronnie Brewer, one-time Georgia signee big man Julius Lamptey, wing Olu Famutimi of Flint, Mich., and Heath's sleeper -- power forward Vincent Hunter of Little Rock.

"The first recruiting class is the most important because the head coach will be measured in two or three years when they become juniors," Heath said. "We've got the momentum going now."

Heath might have said the same thing a year ago while still at Kent State. But this year, his long-term goals should remain the same. There are few places for him to go after Arkansas. And, if he does leave, it won't be anytime soon.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.