Arkansas Coach Likes What He Sees In Italy

ESPN.com

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8290566/arkansas-razorbacks-men-basketball-coach-mike-anderson-pleased-powell-newcomers

Mike Anderson was every bit as excited to see Arkansas on the court during a recent trip to Italy as he was the sights.

The Razorbacks coach liked what he saw on both accounts, most notably from a talented group of newcomers and the progress of junior Marshawn Powell — who missed most of last season after tearing a ligament in his right knee last November.

Arkansas was undefeated during its four-game series against teams from Italy and Lithuania, winning by an average of 22.3 points per game.

Anderson, 18-14 in his first season with the Razorbacks, is counting on the early work to pay off when the team returns for preseason work in October — particularly for the seven newcomers on the roster.

“What the trip does to me is we’ve identified, we’ve seen some of these guys on display, and they’ve practiced, Anderson said. So, now when we get to the individual workouts and October, hopefully, we can bypass some of the things we would normally do and really get into it.”

Anderson was especially interested to see Powell take the court in a game for the first time since injuring his knee in practice last season. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 19.5 points in two games last season before his injury and admittedly was fatigued during practice during Arkansas’ preparation for its European adventure.

Powell saw limited action in three of the Razorbacks’ four games on the trip, scoring six points in the first two games before sitting out the third. He then closed with a 10-point effort in the last game against an Italian all-star team.

“It was good to have Marshawn out on the floor, Anderson said. I kind of thought he got the cobwebs out.

“Mentally, getting him back on the floor, I thought that was huge for our basketball team. Our guys actually fed off of that.”

Powell wasn’t available to talk Tuesday, but sophomore BJ Young — who led Arkansas with 15.3 points per game last season — said he showed flashes of scoring ability as well as the ability to run the offense through him.

Arkansas Coach Likes What He Sees In Italy

ESPN.com

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8290566/arkansas-razorbacks-men-basketball-coach-mike-anderson-pleased-powell-newcomers

Mike Anderson was every bit as excited to see Arkansas on the court during a recent trip to Italy as he was the sights.

The Razorbacks coach liked what he saw on both accounts, most notably from a talented group of newcomers and the progress of junior Marshawn Powell — who missed most of last season after tearing a ligament in his right knee last November.

Arkansas was undefeated during its four-game series against teams from Italy and Lithuania, winning by an average of 22.3 points per game.

Anderson, 18-14 in his first season with the Razorbacks, is counting on the early work to pay off when the team returns for preseason work in October — particularly for the seven newcomers on the roster.

“What the trip does to me is we’ve identified, we’ve seen some of these guys on display, and they’ve practiced, Anderson said. So, now when we get to the individual workouts and October, hopefully, we can bypass some of the things we would normally do and really get into it.”

Anderson was especially interested to see Powell take the court in a game for the first time since injuring his knee in practice last season. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 19.5 points in two games last season before his injury and admittedly was fatigued during practice during Arkansas’ preparation for its European adventure.

Powell saw limited action in three of the Razorbacks’ four games on the trip, scoring six points in the first two games before sitting out the third. He then closed with a 10-point effort in the last game against an Italian all-star team.

“It was good to have Marshawn out on the floor, Anderson said. I kind of thought he got the cobwebs out.

“Mentally, getting him back on the floor, I thought that was huge for our basketball team. Our guys actually fed off of that.”

Powell wasn’t available to talk Tuesday, but sophomore BJ Young — who led Arkansas with 15.3 points per game last season — said he showed flashes of scoring ability as well as the ability to run the offense through him.