It's going to be John Pelphrey taking over a semi-troubled Arkansas basketball program, although I'm not so sure it isn't the athletic department itself that isn't borked more than the average bear. Er, hog.The story is that South Alabama coach John Pelphrey will be introduced as Arkansas' newest head coach at 3:00 PM ET on Monday.
This certainly makes for some tangled and interesting SEC storylines. Pelphrey, one of Kentucky's senior "Unforgettables" from the 1992 squad (yes, he played in that infernal Duke game with Christian Laettner), is also a Billy Donovan disciple. Pelphrey was an assistant to Donovan at Marshall and Florida prior to taking over the South Alabama program in 2002 -- and is also Donovan's best friend. Pelphrey was Donovan's best man when he married Christine Donovan, and also named his daughter in honor of Donovan (using Donovan as one of her middle names.)
So in the SEC, you now have a former Wildcat who will attempt to beat his alma mater and best friend/former employer at least once per year each. It's nice to see a Florida assistant do well, and I wish Pelphrey all the best.
I can't help but wonder, between Frank Broyles, Houston Nutt, and that whole Malzahn/Mustain controversy what in the heck they're putting in the water out there in Fayetteville.
Previously at Fanhouse:
Arkansas May Finally Have a Coach
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-08-2007 @ 10:57PM
d1nonlyhogfan said...
Regarding your final statement, look no further than the following link to answer all of your questions.
http://www.thevegetable.net/VoxPopped.pdf
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4-09-2007 @ 9:28AM
Gamecock Man said...
Pelphrey's been a fine coach at U South Alabama. Although it remains to be seen if he can translate that into big-time hoops success, don't be surprised if he does well at UArk.
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4-09-2007 @ 8:06AM
SharpTusk said...
Maybe Pelphrey will be an execellent coach. Arkansans will be kind enough to give him the chance, and if he does well, he'll escape his own hiring circumstances. The Arkansas Administration has fired a coach with a better record in a tougher conference with 2 NCAA births and hired someone with less credentials. Arkansans were told that the target was a "big name coach with a proven record of winning." Pelphrey now wears the label that he's neither. He's got to win and recruit well in 2008 (7 scholarships available at least) or fans know this program is sunk for the next 5 years.
It's 266 days until Broyles leaves. Never overtly, he's placed everyone in impossible positions. Hire Malzahn; experts (Broyles) say the spread offense won't work in the SEC; hire another offensive coordinator; Gillespie's our man so we'll fire Heath; passing the ball can have three results and two of them are bad. It's not the water, Ryan; it's the god.
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