All Hogs

Deep Dive on LSU Game Provides Unexpected Source of Hope for Hogs

Arkansas has foundation that can be built upon if willing to commit

Kent Smith

Arkansas head coach John Calipari talks with his team in a huddle during a time out against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Arkansas head coach John Calipari talks with his team in a huddle during a time out against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — One thing that does not change regardless of what age group or setting is that building a solid team, whether sports, academics, extracurricular or at work, begins by building upon clear strengths while improving upon weaknesses beginning with the one that needs the least improvement.

So, with Arkansas being such an inconsistent mess of late, it seemed best to take the approach of looking at this as someone charged with developing this team and finding a way to make improvements and find an identity going forward. What that necessitated was going back and looking at the first half of the LSU game without the influence of a room full of Razorbacks fans clouding perception of what was happening.

What was revealed was how stunningly different the perceived potential of this team is. The first thing that was abundantly clear is that a relentless Arkansas team is a good Arkansas team.

The Razorbacks came out with a clear purpose. There was pointed intent on attacking the basket as often as possible and making sure bodies were around to help out if the shot didn't go in, which it often didn't.

The Hogs came from all directions as the ball went inside over and over again. Shots were blocked, but Arkansas kept coming, placing pressure on LSU's defense.

The biggest reason the Razorbacks were rolling was because of the combination of Jonas Aidoo and Johnell Davis. Aidoo was a monster on the boards.

He was banging around inside making his presence felt on both ends, and if shots came off the rim, the Hogs were going to get a chance to put points on the board. In the first half alone, Aidoo racked up eight rebounds. He complemented that with 4-of-8 shooting for eight points, although it should be noted one of those missed shots was a last second three that had to be heaved up.

Aidoo dominated the paint, which helped tilt the game in the Hogs' favor. He also blocked several shots along the way, giving Arkansas a decided mental edge at times.

Meanwhile, Davis was equally as dominant in his own way. He was a perfect mixture of scoring on cuts to the basket and knocking down threes.

The biggest thing was he received the ball in the middle of a basketball act instead of simply standing around. There was no opportunity to think.

Davis just caught the ball and did what has always came naturally to him prior to arriving at Arkansas — score. He led the Razorbacks in points at the half with 10 on 4-of-6 shooting, which was perfectly split in both attempts and makes in front of and behind the arc.

He also mixed in a steal, a rebound and an assist without a single turnover in a little less than 14 minutes of floor time. That's quality production per minute.

That pair's production, plus the Hogs' willingness to be aggressive on both ends of the floor, is why Arkansas led, 36-34, at the half despite LSU shooting twice as many free throws while knocking down six more than the Razorbacks.

There's the building block. Attack the basket, let Aidoo do Aidoo things down low, actually feeding him the ball, getting Davis moving so he can naturally react instead of think, and get everyone else engaged in rebounding and defense alongside them.

What's more notable, one simple addition to the arsenal for this team could make a huge difference. One things fans noted was how many shots got blocked and how few fouls the Razorbacks drew.

That's because Arkansas kept going to the basket, and rather than feeling the defensive movement around them, players went up every time in perfect rhythm. It made it easy for LSU to disrupt and block shots without fouling.

All the Hogs had to do was feel the defense, jump stop every now and then to allow the defenders to get up in the air, and go up through them to draw the foul and possibly get an old fashioned three-point play. It not only would have thrown off the TIgers' timing, it would have caused them to make defensive decisions late as the fouls racked up.

Instead, when the game ended, LSU only had two players with three fouls. There was never a threat anyone would foul out, so there was no need to do anything but fly at the Razorbacks defensively without concern.

Looking at the second half tells a much different story. Aidoo only had two more rebounds.

Davis didn't score another point. Had freshman Boogie Fland not gone on a personal 10-point spurt over the course of two minutes in the final five minutes of the game, it might have been a blowout.

However, without the steadying presence of Aidoo and Davis to serve as a counterbalance, Fland cooled off as quickly as he lit up and Arkansas never made it over the hump. So, what happened to the two elder statesmen who were expected to be the anchors and leaders of this relatively young team?

For starters, LSU made a conscious decision to make rebounding a priority. Every time Arkansas put up a shot early in the second half, and it should be noted these shots were coming away from the basket, the Tigers dropped three guys into the paint to take on Aidoo for the rebound.

Not only was Arkansas not attacking inside, everyone else stood around outside and watched LSU clean up the glass. Without the extra Hogs around the basket, Aidoo was too outnumbered to play his game.

As for Davis, the first time he got the ball was late in the shot clock out by the LSU logo while not making a basketball move. What followed was a brief pause to think, then he tried to create and got the ball knocked away out of bounds with a second left on the shot clock.

In the latter part of the game, he got the ball up top with the Hogs desperately trying to stop the bleeding. Again, he had the ball while not in a basketball act, and threw the ball away shortly after dribbling a rebound off his knee.

It was very clear Davis is a do, don't think player. He is highly effective in the act of offense as a natural talent, so the simplest adjustment is to not start the offense at any point in a possession through him.

Once Aidoo went out for an extended period of time midway through the second half because of a foul, the defense inside simply went away, resulting in an 11-0 run by LSU. Meanwhile, Davis caught the ball on the way to the rim to cut the lead to a pair with 7:50 left, but the it hit every part of the rim and just didn't fall.

However, instead of giving up, he fought for the rebound while trying to stop what on a larger scale was a 14-2 LSU run and got Arkansas another possession, continuing to show he can have positive impact when flowing with the game. Let him slash or catch and shoot while scrapping for rebounds, a valuable skill the other guards could learn, and his value will maximize.

When Arkansas went on its run and built things back up to a solid lead at 50-43, it was done so by driving to the basket. There should be concern about the inability to recognize when Aidoo had a mismatch inside against guards, but the Hogs still made a run.

So, with all that said, and it should be noted this is from a sample of only one game, if the Hogs can build a game around taking the ball near or through Aidoo inside and find ways to get Davis the ball while in natural motion, there is a path to a win. Everyone else benefits so long as they develop a mentality of keeping pressure on defense and not being afraid to crash the boards.

Aidoo will need to work on keeping his stamina up in the second half so he can hold his positioning in the post as well as he does in the first half. However, his teammates need to see him more also and immediately snap the ball inside on mismatches.

Meanwhile, the easiest fix to a current weakness is to vary the approach on lay-ups. Mix in a few jump stops with an added head fake every now and then and the woeful percentage on what should be easy baskets will go up.

At the very least, it should get the Hogs to the free throw line more and put Arkansas in position to have defenses back off a little bit late in games, providing the space needed to generate offense when the game is on the line.

It's not much, but at least it's a starting point that provides hope. And right now, hope is about as high as Arkansas fans appear willing to let themselves imagine right now.

HOGS FEED:

.• Pittman heads to Sheridan to provide in-state offensive lineman dream offer

• Hogs' flame throwers ready to become full-fledged contributors

• Former lineman for Razorbacks now cult hero for best in NFL

• Hogs' hope gamble on small school transfers pays off in 2025

• Next year's Arkansas basketball roster shaping up to look unusually familiar

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Kent Smith
KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments. 

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