Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

We knew earlier in the week that the crowd greeting new UA head basketball coach Mike Anderson would be overflowing at the Wyndham Riverfront ballroom. The Razorbacks’ 91-68 win over Oakland on Wednesday night seemed to add even more buzz among the packed room Thursday when Anderson spoke at the first meeting of the season of the Downtown Tip Off Club in North Little Rock.

Arkansas (2-0) plays at Verizon Arena on Friday night against Houston. Arkansas native James Dickey coaches the Cougars.

Anderson told the Tip Off Club that he’s “got a lot of great memories, and I want to make more memories.”

Some of the past seemed rekindled Wednesday night in Fayetteville when the Razorbacks pounced on Oakland, an NCAA Tournament team the past two seasons, in the early minutes and raced to a 55-27 lead.

“We did a lot of things right, but the main thing was, we shot the ball well. When you’re shooting well, a lot of things start going right for you,” Anderson said. “Every night isn’t going to be like that.”

That fact would be true even for an experienced team, but with the Hogs, the new coach has four freshmen on the 10-man scholarship roster, plus some walk-ons.

Junior forward Marshawn Powell hit all eight of his first-half field goals on Wednesday, and he went on to score 20 points. “He had the best first half of his life,” Anderson said.

To observers at Bud Walton Arena, Powell seems a more comfortable, happier player than in his first two years as a Hog. He admitted as much in a quote after the game Wednesday about “enjoying the coach I’m playing for.”

He’s conceded to be the best talent of the older players — Powell was the only Hog on the preseason All-SEC team announced last week — and he’ll have to carry the team on many a night. So far the coaching change to Anderson from John Pelphrey seems to have helped Powell. It remains to be seen how the 6-8 forward will react in a physical situation on the road in the SEC.

THE RUNDOWN: Mike Anderson was asked during the Q&A period with fans about the freshman class. Here are some quick thoughts he had about each:

BJ Young, guard: “He never stops talking. He’s like the Energizer bunny. You want to sometimes say, ‘Shut up BJ, just listen.’ … He’s very gifted. [Wednesday] night was probably his most productive game so far … Defensively we have to work with him some and what to do off the ball, and build his strength on this level.”

Hunter Mickelson, forward: “I like his versatility. He can really pass the basketball. He’s making no-look passes in practice all the time. He can run, he’s very agile. He’s put on 30 pounds since the start of the summer.”