Arkansas To Unveil Nolan Richardson Court Oct. 20
Is it good enough??? In my opinion.....NO. He had the most wins of ANY program in the 90's. Nolan was not only the most successful coach in Arkansas basketball history but he did it while dealing with the hatred and racism that came from this state's fan base. Many fans of none color called his style of play "N" ball and felt it would NEVER work at Arkansas. Ironically, when he started winning it was partially because of what Eddie Sutton established at Arkansas. If that were the case would he have not won his first two years? I do give credit for what Eddie did. However, his accomplishments at Arkansas have ZERO to do with Nolan's success.
The real funny thing to me is that this very fan base glorified in his firing all over the comment that was directed towards the reporter not the fans. Yet, fans took it personal and perhaps he gave them what they wanted. The fan base thought that basketball had caught up to Nolan and his 40 minutes of hell would never work again. Actually, that may be a partial truth but let's deal with the facts. The Nolan philosophy was to put pressure the entire game on the other team. Two things happened. The NCAA no longer allowed hand checking....which was called the Nolan Richardson rule... In fact, it was an attempt to slow the Hog train down. Secondly, Nolan afford a brand of basketball that most teams weren't doing and that gravitated to minority athletes in the inner cities. Other teams started copying what Nolan was doing. So, not only did recruits have more choices for that same style of play, the NCAA took away Arkansas and Nolan's philosophy of defense. And for those that think he had given up......Remember Andre Andre Iguodala had just signed with Arkansas.
The bible says you reap what you sow. Arkansas has sowed because of the firing of Nolan. Rather than listening to what Nolan was saying...fans took it among themselves to protect their University. When Nolan stated that Frank Broyles used the N word towards him....the fans chose to not believe it without having any facts at all.
Yet, years later the fans love him again because of the floor being named after him. I believe what Nolan said....Had he been white there would have been a statue built on campus. If we were to be honest had Eddie Sutton had won a titles he would have had one built for him. The University should do more than just naming the floor after Nolan. The name of the gym should have been named after him and a statue built in front of the gym. He made Arkansas not just good but elite. Arkansas was consistently talked about with the likes of Duke, NC, Conn and other top programs. He is the only coach that has won a JR. college, NIT and NCAA title and a HOF in all of them. ANY coach with that kind of credentials deserves more than just a court named after him.
The real funny thing to me is that this very fan base glorified in his firing all over the comment that was directed towards the reporter not the fans. Yet, fans took it personal and perhaps he gave them what they wanted. The fan base thought that basketball had caught up to Nolan and his 40 minutes of hell would never work again. Actually, that may be a partial truth but let's deal with the facts. The Nolan philosophy was to put pressure the entire game on the other team. Two things happened. The NCAA no longer allowed hand checking....which was called the Nolan Richardson rule... In fact, it was an attempt to slow the Hog train down. Secondly, Nolan afford a brand of basketball that most teams weren't doing and that gravitated to minority athletes in the inner cities. Other teams started copying what Nolan was doing. So, not only did recruits have more choices for that same style of play, the NCAA took away Arkansas and Nolan's philosophy of defense. And for those that think he had given up......Remember Andre Andre Iguodala had just signed with Arkansas.
The bible says you reap what you sow. Arkansas has sowed because of the firing of Nolan. Rather than listening to what Nolan was saying...fans took it among themselves to protect their University. When Nolan stated that Frank Broyles used the N word towards him....the fans chose to not believe it without having any facts at all.
Yet, years later the fans love him again because of the floor being named after him. I believe what Nolan said....Had he been white there would have been a statue built on campus. If we were to be honest had Eddie Sutton had won a titles he would have had one built for him. The University should do more than just naming the floor after Nolan. The name of the gym should have been named after him and a statue built in front of the gym. He made Arkansas not just good but elite. Arkansas was consistently talked about with the likes of Duke, NC, Conn and other top programs. He is the only coach that has won a JR. college, NIT and NCAA title and a HOF in all of them. ANY coach with that kind of credentials deserves more than just a court named after him.
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