Arkansas Has Talent, Not Much Else in Recipe to Be True Razorbacks

So far Calipari's Hogs like talented singer who is unable to actually feel song

Arkansas Razorbacks guard D.J. Wagner (21) protects the basketball from Miami Hurricanes guard Matthew Cleveland (0) during the first half at Watsco Center. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Anyone who has watched one of those singing competitions has seen someone step up on stage and sing a song technically well, but fail to wow anyone.

It's because despite all the talent in the world, the young man or woman doesn't connect to the song so the emotion is missing. The passion, love and pain are all missing, so it's nothing more than singing, and that's it.

That's where Arkansas (6-2) appears to be on the basketball court after squeaking past a sub-.500 ACC worst Hurricanes team, 76-73, at Miami (3-5) Tuesday night. There's technically a lot of talent, but it's really hard to see any passion.

There's no dawg on the floor, or in this case Hawg. Other than a few flashes from Adou Thiero, there's been no flash of emotional uprising from any of these players except in the most minimal of stints.

At some point, one of these Razorbacks has to become a bad man who decides for himself he's not only going to shut people down, but that he is going to make life miserable for his opponent. He has to become so relentless that players wish they had never stepped on the court rather than just trying to coast on talent.

Every stop, every grimace from an opponent should fuel the fire. On the other end, there has to be a decision to be unstoppable.

If it's with the ball, there has to be a deep desire to run past or through anyone who gets in the way of scoring. People should be annoyed at how hard he plays while drawing foul after foul.

Someone should want to punish him for blocking out too hard every time the ball goes up and it should feel inevitable that the rebound is coming down to him.

Even on the bench he should be drawing attention from the opposition. Every time a big play happens, he should be up celebrating and the intensity should easily and loudly be heard in his voice.

Think Ricky Council and Davonte Davis against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. Look to Mason Jones and Jaylin Williams pretty much every time they stepped on the floor their final years as Razorbacks.

These are men who willed themselves to greatness. Not one of them had the natural talent most of John Calipari's current players have, but not one Razorback in their current state could hang with any of those four men in the situation in which they are described above.

That's because intensity, desire, passion and mental toughness will surpass simple talent almost every time. It's nearly impossible to beat someone who won't go away, is always in your face and mind, and refuses to lose.

If this team wants the magic that is Bud Walton in winter, then these players better find their fire. Arkansas won't fully get behind this team if it shows no heart or desire.

This is a fan base raised on Sydney Moncrief, Todd Day, Lee Mayberry, Darrell Walker, Scotty Thurman, Corey Beck, Joe Johnson, Clint McDaniel and Corliss Williamson. They were all men with talent, but they burned through opponents and inspired generations of fans and players through a relentless intimidation with non-stop fire on the floor.

Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic have shown there's a hint of Hawg in them and there's a time or two where it's possible to turn on the tape and see the kind of in-your-face defensive effort needed from Billy Richmond. Meanwhile, Boogie Fland showed for two minutes against Miami that he could be a Hawg if he actually wanted, but overall for Arkansas, there's just too much coasting on talent.

This team has the rest of this month to decide if they are truly Razorbacks. Either they turn on the switch that makes teams feel like they're in Hell for 40 minutes, or they make it back-to-back teams that came in with a lot of hype, talent and a preseason win over the No. 1 team without the internal fire needed to meet the standard.

Be legends or be forgotten. It's up to them. Arkansas fans tend to not care about someone signing an NBA contract when they didn't love the game and the program enough to leave it on the floor when they were here.

Talent isn't enough. Arkansas needs Hawgs, and right now, there just aren't any.

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