DANA ALTMAN ERA BEGINS AT ARKANSAS : No fly-by-night coach
Posted on Tuesday, April 3, 2007
FAYETTEVILLE — Sonny Weems smiled and Gary Ervin muffled a laugh as the small crowd gathered inside Walton Arena on Monday afternoon broke into a spontaneous ovation.
Newly hired Arkansas Coach Dana Altman had offered just six words in response to a question about his preferred style of play, but it was more than enough to prompt a moment of giddiness among the fans on hand.
“We press 40 minutes a game,” Altman said before being stopped by the applause.
“I was just laughing because that’s what the fans have been waiting to hear, to have a coach that’s going to press and get up and down [the court ],” Ervin said.
The fans’ reaction wasn’t too different from the ones the players had in a brief meeting with Altman, most recently of Creighton, before he was formally introduced as Stan Heath’s successor. Stefan Welsh said he noticed Ervin and Patrick Beverley smiling when Altman told the team he prefers an in-your-face brand of defense and an attacking offense.
Welsh said the players were “licking their chops thinking, ‘This is the way we want to play.’”
Altman tempered his promises in relation to an up-tempo playing style with a warning that he’ll first assess each player’s strengths and weaknesses. That process will begin with individual workouts sometime this week.
“We’ll watch a little film, but I don’t want to have too many preconceived notions,” Altman said. “I’ll make my own opinion about what each of these players can do.”
Altman’s philosophy appears to mesh personnelwise with an Arkansas team that returns a handful of slashing perimeter players along with a group of agile and athletic big men. The Razorbacks were at their best last season when their transition game was in high gear.
“We showed that some throughout the season; now we’re going to show it for 40 minutes,” Ervin said.
Altman also stressed the importance of having a reliable halfcourt offense, particularly as a season progresses, and said Arkansas’ returning big men won’t be forgotten options. Altman said he prefers “a high-post offense that creates a lot of driving lanes to the basket, and we have traditionally taken a lot of threes.”
Said Beverley: “That’s right up my alley.”
Wichita State Coach Mark Turgeon, who has coached against Altman in the Missouri Valley Conference for the past seven seasons, said Creighton’s offense somewhat resembled recent West Virginia teams.
“Whoever his best players are, are going to get a chance to be successful,” Turgeon said.
Among Altman’s most wellknown players at Creighton were second-team All-American Kyle Korver, now in his fourth season with the Philadelphia 76 ers, and NBA journeyman Rodney Buford. Last season, Creighton was paced by 6-3 guard Nate Funk, who led the MVC in scoring (17. 7 points per game ), and 6-9 center Anthony Tolliver, who ranked among the top 10 in scoring (13. 4 ), rebounding (6. 7 ), and blocks (1. 7 ).
Turgeon said Altman’s defensive schemes, however, have been the cornerstones of his success. He credited Altman for being a clever tactician who often changes between a variety of pressure defenses — from full-court pressing to half-court trapping schemes — within the course of a single game.
“He’s got a very creative mind defensively,” Turgeon said. “He does a great job of disguising his defenses and really keeping offenses off-balance.”
Creighton appeared in the NCAA Tournament this season and ranked second among MVC teams in scoring defense (60. 9 points per game ) and field-goal defense (41. 6 percent ).
“Fans will get excited about a team that plays hard, fans will get excited about a team that competes... and that’s what we intend to do,” Altman said.
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