Monk and basketball
Charity Tosses
Derek Oxford
Issue date: 10/29/08 Section: Sports
There are still a lot of unknowns about this year's basketball team.
Virtually all of the scoring from last year is gone, and all the size, other than Michael Washington, has graduated and moved on.
So it's a whole lot of newcomers, trying to play in one of the more competitive conferences in the country, with little to no experience in the college game.
With Monk having played in SEC basketball games before, that gives him an edge because he at least has experience, albeit it was in an entirely different system under Heath.
At the same time, though, Heath seemed hesitant to play Monk, and never looked like he wanted to let him play to his full potential.
Instead, he just kept him within the boundaries of the offense, and never let him take many shots or explode to the rim.
I don't foresee Pelphrey holding Monk back.
If Monk is available to play and is in good shape, I think Pelphrey will let him loose, and Monk may prove to be an even better basketball player than he was a football player.
And that's saying something, because there's no denying Monk was a gridiron talent.
When Monk came out of high school, some people in the state were speculating that he was a better basketball player anyway, so maybe those theories will be proven true if the 6-foot-4, former all-SEC wide receiver is allowed a chance on the Hog hardwood.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Derek Oxford is a senior staff writer for The Arkansas Traveler.
Virtually all of the scoring from last year is gone, and all the size, other than Michael Washington, has graduated and moved on.
So it's a whole lot of newcomers, trying to play in one of the more competitive conferences in the country, with little to no experience in the college game.
With Monk having played in SEC basketball games before, that gives him an edge because he at least has experience, albeit it was in an entirely different system under Heath.
At the same time, though, Heath seemed hesitant to play Monk, and never looked like he wanted to let him play to his full potential.
Instead, he just kept him within the boundaries of the offense, and never let him take many shots or explode to the rim.
I don't foresee Pelphrey holding Monk back.
If Monk is available to play and is in good shape, I think Pelphrey will let him loose, and Monk may prove to be an even better basketball player than he was a football player.
And that's saying something, because there's no denying Monk was a gridiron talent.
When Monk came out of high school, some people in the state were speculating that he was a better basketball player anyway, so maybe those theories will be proven true if the 6-foot-4, former all-SEC wide receiver is allowed a chance on the Hog hardwood.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Derek Oxford is a senior staff writer for The Arkansas Traveler.
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