Back to the future!

Some folks following the varsity boys football and basketball fortunes this year were a bit disappointed when the huge successes of 2012-2013 weren't matched this year.

Of course, those in the know realized that graduation heavily depleted the ranks of experienced athletes this year, football returning but a single starter while the basketball lost the bulk of their scoring from a year ago.

Football had fallen to a low state of affairs prior to the coming of current head coach Tony Travis, although basketball had been routinely winning 20 games a season for several years under the guidance of now "retired" coach Charley Clark. But for a little more depth in the line, the Blackhawks could have well played in the 4A state title football game last year while the basketball team was near invincible until a key player was injured. The hardwood 'Hawks still played lights out, though, and very nearly played their way to the state tournament.

The current school year may just turn out to be a bump in the road with the exceedingly successful junior boys basketball and football teams sending a number of talented athletes to the high school ranks next season. The football juniors won the 4A-1, a first for Pea Ridge, and then went undefeated in 4A-1 junior basketball, another first for the school.

In a way, football in 2014 will be kind of like 2010 all over again with the sophomore class making up nearly half of the fall squad. In 2010, however, most key skill players were sophomores, and while talented, the lack of experience worked against them as they went winless in the 4A-1.

This fall, the 'Hawks will be led by a seasoned, talented quarterback Seth Brumley who will be a threat running or throwing. The 'Hawks also have an elusive speedy star tailback in Shane Ivy. With the underclassmen who are coming back along with the up-and-coming high school rookies, the 2014 season has a lot of promise.

Basketball this season was kind of up and down on the boys high school front, but with most of the experience gone, that kind of thing was almost expected. Still, they barely lost to Prairie Grove who went on to win the District Tournament, the Tigers with Lincoln, will both be playing in the 4A state tournament this week. New high school coach Trent Lloyd, having built a real strong junior high program, will be getting his boys back portending great things for the basketball future.

Last year showed the folks and fans of Pea Ridge High School what it was like to support winning, powerful teams. With the larger and larger pool of junior high athletes that have been coming out and competing successfully for the past few years, this year and the next might well see Pea Ridge athletics get -- BACK TO THE FUTURE!

Finally, Hawg ball returns to Arkansas

I well remember Arkansas Razorback basketball under Nolan Richardson with his Hawg Ball 40 Minutes of Heck. Derided by a lot of basketball fans when he first got to Fayetteville, Richardson employed a frenetic all out style of basketball that just ran teams into the ground, teams that probably had better talent than Arkansas. What the Hogs may have lacked in talent was made up by superior speed, conditioning and just plain guts.

Well, the Richardson era came to an end, in a most disharmonious way in 2002. The UA hired a very nice man in the person of Stan Heath, but who ultimately proved unequal to the job. A blue ribbon, collegiate star from Kentucky, John Pelphrey was the next coach, and while they had their bright spots under Coach Pel, his four-year tenure was barely over .500.

Then a peculiar, but good thing happened. The coach of Missouri, Mike Anderson, agreed to be the next coach at Arkansas. At the time, Anderson's Mizzou Tigers were highly ranked nationally and were a dark horse to take a national title.

It was peculiar in that Anderson had always wanted to walk in Richardson's footsteps but until 2011, never got the chance. Anderson was Richardson's assistant for his whole career until being forced to leave when Richardson was fired. Anderson applied for the head coach job with Richardson's blessing but the UA would have none of that.

Anderson first went to the University of Alabama-Birmingham and turned a moribund program into a highly successful one without a lot of financial support. He did so well that Missouri offered him a job although he really wanted to return to what he considered his home in Arkansas. He became a very popular figure in Columbia and he was getting the type of athletes he needed to match the success of his former mentor.

Finally, three years ago, the UA finally had the good sense to bring Anderson back home to Fayetteville. Having none of the athletes he needed to run his program the way he would like, it has been slow going until these past two months. I happened to be at the LSU game a couple of weeks back, where I witnessed something, that to me was a radical transformation.

Up until recently, the Hogs had a habit of letting up in games, making ill advised shots, and playing with less than all out enthusiasm. At the LSU game, I saw scrambling, hustling, full court pressing, and lightning transitions that overwhelmed the Bayeaux Tigers. In fact, Arkansas hasn't lost a game since, rising from ninth place in the SEC to a game out of third.

I would always watch for opposing teams to start grabbing their shorts in the Nolan era, which meant they were so gassed they could hardly stand up straight. I saw that in the Kentucky players as well as the Georgia ones. I'm heading to Fayetteville tonight to take in the last home game of the year with Arkansas taking on Mississippi. The game is sold out, hearkening back to the times that every game was sold out.

The man they should have hired many years ago is finally at the helm and I can see many years of success headed our way.

•••

Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].

Editorial on 03/05/2014