Hog basketball

 I had a chance to see the Red and White game.  The biggest problem Arkansas has had is the lack of size and inside presence (rebounding and block shots).  There is no question Arkansas has shooter....allot of them.  But, when shooters are not hitting their shots what do you do?  You post up and force teams to the middle to open the outside up.  Who on Arkansas is going to help this year?  Well, let's look at the potential list of inside men.

1.   Abayomi Iyiola 6'9'' F.  What you like about him:  Has long arms.  Concerns:  He needs work.  Not very fast going down the court.  Not great at posting up.  Could develop into a shot blocker but that will take some time.  Very weak with the ball and bring it down low too much making it easy for smaller guys to steal the ball.

2.  Emeka Obukwelu 6'8'' F.  What you like about him:  Very strong young man with great work ethic.  Loves to go get the ball.  Plays decent with his back to the ball. Great vision and passer from the top of the key and is a good mid range shooter.  Concerns:  Just ok athletically, he is not going to outjump most on the team.  Needs to develop more post of moves.  In my opinion is this may be Arkansas best option.  At 6'8'' he will be undersized.

3.  Ethan Henderson 6'8'' F.  What you like about him:  Just an over all great kid with a great attitude.  Can block shots.  Always plays 100%  Concerns:  He is a project.  There is so much he needs to work on in his game.  He is not athletic.  Play weak.  Needs footwork and develop a hook shot and post up moves.  

4.  Connor Vanover  7'3'' F.  What you like about him:  Good outside shooter.  Very smart in school.  Concerns:  Not athletic at all.  Doesn't like to play with his back to the basket.  Loves to pull up from the 3 point line.  At his height he should be a shot blocker Arkansas can depend on.  He is not.  He provides height in the middle but will get posted up by smaller guys rather easily. He likes to step out and shoot the 3.  We have enough guys who can do that.  Would be nice for him to be more inside minded but he just can't fix his mind to do that.  

5.  Jaylin Williams 6'10''.  What you like about him:  This kid plays with some dog in him.  He wants the ball in his hands when the game is on the line.  Concerns:  He can handle the rock and shoot from the outside.  It would be nice for him to develop his post up game.  He wants to handle the ball like a guard.  Needs to watch his turnovers.  I really like this kids game with the exception of his inside game and that's what Arkansas needs most right now.  They have him listed at 6'10'', he is close to 6'8''.  He is just a freshman.

That's really it.  I hear allot of people talk about V. Jackson and J. Smith.  But, they are parameter guys. It looks to be another year of a bunch of shooters and no big inside presence.  I will be rooting for them.  But, I feel they will have the same struggles they did last year against teams that have an athletic big guy.  Like Perry.  Perry killed Arkansas last year at Miss. St. Where do you think we are going to be post up guys for Arkansas??