Time for tip-off
Razorbacks host SE Louisiana in season-opener
Bart Pohlman
Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: Sports
With plenty of new faces adorning Arkansas' basketball roster this season, it might be tough to have such a young team fully prepared to play at the start of the season.
Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said his team isn't quite ready to compete.
"We're not ready yet," Pelphrey said. "We're still working at it. I probably won't know on game day if we're truly ready because I haven't seen a lot of these guys perform under the gun."
Ready or not, however, the new-look Razorbacks open the season tonight at 7:05 p.m. against Southeastern Louisiana at Bud Walton Arena.
Despite the fact that this Arkansas team is young and inexperienced - the players have a combined 32 career starts - Pelphrey said there is plenty of reason to be optimistic as the Razorbacks open the season.
"There's a lot of optimism," Pelphrey said. "We're excited about opening day, the start of basketball season and having the chance to play in front of our fans."
Although Pelphrey said the Razorbacks aren't ready, freshman guard Rotnei Clarke said the team is anxious to get the season started.
"I think we've been ready for a while now," Clarke said. "We have a lot of expectations for ourselves and hopefully we can come out and perform for the fans."
Clarke thinks inexperience might be a factor for the team this year, but said the Razorbacks will play hard every night.
"We have to play as hard as we can at every point and every minute of every game to get a win because we're so young and we have a lot of inexperienced guys," Clarke said. "We just have to play our hearts out and be focused every single game."
Southeastern Louisiana will be making a trip to Bud Walton Arena for the third time in program history. In 1984, Arkansas defeated the Lions 65-62, and in 1998, the Razorbacks thumped Southeastern Louisiana 95-57.
The Lions went 17-13 last season, including 9-7 in Southland Conference games, and were picked to finish third in the conference's East Division this season.
Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said his team isn't quite ready to compete.
"We're not ready yet," Pelphrey said. "We're still working at it. I probably won't know on game day if we're truly ready because I haven't seen a lot of these guys perform under the gun."
Ready or not, however, the new-look Razorbacks open the season tonight at 7:05 p.m. against Southeastern Louisiana at Bud Walton Arena.
Despite the fact that this Arkansas team is young and inexperienced - the players have a combined 32 career starts - Pelphrey said there is plenty of reason to be optimistic as the Razorbacks open the season.
"There's a lot of optimism," Pelphrey said. "We're excited about opening day, the start of basketball season and having the chance to play in front of our fans."
Although Pelphrey said the Razorbacks aren't ready, freshman guard Rotnei Clarke said the team is anxious to get the season started.
"I think we've been ready for a while now," Clarke said. "We have a lot of expectations for ourselves and hopefully we can come out and perform for the fans."
Clarke thinks inexperience might be a factor for the team this year, but said the Razorbacks will play hard every night.
"We have to play as hard as we can at every point and every minute of every game to get a win because we're so young and we have a lot of inexperienced guys," Clarke said. "We just have to play our hearts out and be focused every single game."
Southeastern Louisiana will be making a trip to Bud Walton Arena for the third time in program history. In 1984, Arkansas defeated the Lions 65-62, and in 1998, the Razorbacks thumped Southeastern Louisiana 95-57.
The Lions went 17-13 last season, including 9-7 in Southland Conference games, and were picked to finish third in the conference's East Division this season.
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