| |
LOCATION: Little Rock, AR
CONFERENCE: Sun Belt
LAST SEASON: 12-15 (.444)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 5-9 (t-7th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 4/1
NICKNAME: Trojans
COLORS: Maroon & Silver
HOMECOURT: ALLTEL Arena (18,000)
COACH: Sidney Moncrief (Arkansas '79)
record at school First year
career record First year
|
ASSISTANTS: Clarence Finley (Ark.-Pine Bluff '78)
Porter Moser (Creighton '90)
Kevin Fricke (Nebraska '84)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 17-23-18-15-12
RPI (last 5 years) 135-56-141-160-235
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference quarterfinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
|
While Arkansas-Little Rock enters its 61st season, there is certainly an air of newness surrounding the program. Where to start? How about the head coaching position? Retired is Wimp Sanderson, the former dean of Sun Belt Conference coaches. Enter Sidney Moncrief. Yeah, that Sidney Moncrief, the former Arkansas two-time All-American and five-time NBA All-Star who has owned a successful Little Rock auto dealership since 1987. Name recognition makes him a popular choice. But can he coach? "Coaching is something that I have always wanted to do," said Moncrief, who was twice selected the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. "I have been influenced greatly by coaches, all the way from junior high school into the NBA." And it is those same coaches who rallied to support Moncrief's hiring, the lack of coaching experience notwithstanding. Just ask Eddie Sutton, the Oklahoma State coach who tutored Moncrief at Arkansas.
|
Blue Ribbon Analysis |
|
BACKCOURT C BENCH/DEPTH D+
FRONTCOURT C INTANGIBLES C
It will be interesting to see how Sidney Moncrief, out of basketball and in the business world for more than a decade, adapts to the coaching profession. In name alone, he seems to have a head start in recruiting. Surely, doors will open when someone of Moncrief's magnitude comes calling. The same can be said in the world of corporate and fan support for the program. Moncrief was a popular player at Arkansas and never severed ties within his home state during his brilliant NBA career. And Moncrief was smart to retain the entire coaching staff of Sanderson. That will not only make for a smooth transition, but Sanderson was considered a solid bench coach and motivator, although his star was waning the last few season. Quality talent to compete in the Sun Belt Conference is where Little Rock has slipped in the last few seasons. And it will take Moncrief several recruiting classes to return to that level, although he will surely go for some quick fixes through the junior-college ranks. "This is a very good opportunity to build on a program that has done very well in the past," Moncrief said. "This is a great program to sell to young people." Look for Little Rock to be a program on the rise in the next few years, although it will continue to take a few steps back before that happens. |
"UALR has hired an outstanding person and someone with a tremendous knowledge of the game of basketball," Sutton said. "He will be a success at everything that he does, because of the type of person that he is. Look for great things to happen at UALR with Sidney Moncrief as head coach." Another of Moncrief's coaches, longtime NBA mentor Don Nelson, agreed with Sutton's assessment. "Sidney Moncrief is the greatest player that I ever coached," Nelson said. "He had both ends of the floor in perspective. He had the defensive mentality and the offensive capabilities. He will be a great coach." More of the newness at Arkansas-Little Rock surrounds the opening of the 18,000-seat ALLTEL Arena, a new facility in North Little Rock that will serve as the Trojans' home venue and the site of this season's Sun Belt Conference Tournament. "I can think of no better place to coach than in the city and state that I am from," Moncrief said. "I am very excited and look forward to starting." Well, there is newness in that regard, too as in nine newly signed players, seven of whom will make the roster this season. The lone returning starter is 6-4 senior guard Alan Barksdale (14.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 72 assists, 26 steals), who led the team in scoring last season. Barksdale ranked third in the country a year ago with 3.8 three-pointers per game, and he also made a school-record 95 treys. He finally settled into a Division I program after originally signing with Colorado, transferring to LSU and then on to Meridian Community College. Depth at shooting guard will come from 6-3 junior Laverne Smith of Hutchinson (Kan.) Junior College, who averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists en route to being selected to the All-Kansas Jayhawk League. He originally hails from Wichita (Kan.) South High School. Just who will run with Barksdale in the backcourt is up for grabs between one returnee, a junior-college signee and a walk-on. The leading candidate appears to be 6-1 sophomore Adrian Brown (0.6 ppg, 0.4 apg), who played in 19 games last season as a redshirt freshman. But Brown is not a lock for the job. Alex Finger (Central HS/Little Rock, Ark.), a 6-0 local product, was All-Metro and All-AAAAA-Central Conference and shows promise, while 5-10 junior walk-on Terry Lee will get a shot to play, too. The small-forward slot appears headed to 6-2 senior Michael Lovitt (3.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg), who makes up for his lack of height at the position with athleticism. A junior-college transfer, Lovitt has a soft shooting touch and has good range for a slasher. Lovitt will be pushed for playing time by 6-5 sophomore Bart Reid (Northark CC/Harrison, Ark.), a scorer out of nearby Sheridan, Ark., who averaged 24.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He transfers to Little Rock with three years of eligibility. But don't be surprised if the starting job eventually winds up in the hands of the most exciting newcomer 6-5 freshman Roderick Nealy (Smiley HS/Houston, TX), who shows much promise after averaging 19.9 points and 6.5 rebounds en route to being chosen second-team all-state in Texas last season. A pair of newcomers from the junior-college ranks are vying to start at power forward 6-6 junior Stan Blackmon (Odessa JC/Odessa, Texas), originally out of South Garland High School in the Dallas area; and 6-7 junior Troy Moore (Connors State CC/Warner, Okla.), originally out of Natchez (Miss.) High School. Last season, Blackmon was selected the most valuable player of the Western Junior College Athletic Conference and was a juco All-American honorable mention after averaging 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. Moore was All Bi-State Conference after notching 12.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. There is little doubt who will man the post down low. Michael Neal (1.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg), a bruising 6-8, 225-pound junior, is the only player to have earned more than one letter with the team. Neal showed a lot of promise two seasons ago as a true freshman when he played in all 28 games, but a hand injury slowed Neal last season, especially early. Also signing with the Trojans last November was 6-8 freshman Roman Brown (McClellan HS/Little Rock, Ark.), a third-team all-stater who averaged 14.2 points, 12.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists as a senior. The Trojans were hoping to gain the services of two more junior-college transfers 6-8 junior Don Crowden (Riverside CC/Riverside, Calif.), who was co-MVP of California's Orange Empire Junior College Conference and first-team all-state; and 6-2 freshman Mark Green (Central HS/Little Rock, Ark.), a third-team all-state pick. Both could be sidelined because of academics.
 | The 19th edition of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook is on sale now. To order, call 800-828-HOOP (4667), or visit their web site at
http://www.collegebaskets.com
|
| |
Conferences
America East
ACC
Atlantic 10
Big East
Big Sky
Big South
Big Ten
Big 12
Big West
Colonial
Conference USA
Independents
Ivy League
MAAC
Mid-American
Mid-Continent
Mid-Eastern Athletic
MCC
Missouri Valley
Mountain West
Northeast
Ohio Valley
Pac-10
Patriot
SEC
Southern
Southland
Sun Belt
SWAC
TAAC
WAC
West Coast
|
