Tag: Corliss Williamson

Razorback Rewind: This week in January 1994

Arkansas basketball was annihilating opponents left and right during this time in early 1994, but the rigors of the SEC road were coming.

Arkansas was entering its fourth straight week as the No. 1 team in the country this week in 1994.

The Razorbacks easily dispatched former SWC opponent SMU in the nonconference finale, 96-70.

Ole Miss invaded Bud Walton Arena for the SEC opener and Corliss Williamson’s 25 points and 10 rebounds helped catapult the top-ranked Hogs to another comfortable 26-point win.

To this point, the average margin of victory was 32.4 points per game and only one of the 10 victories had come by a possession or less, with every other win by double digits.

This left Arkansas 10-0 and it would leave them No. 1 for yet a fifth straight week as the team loaded up for its first league road game at Alabama.

Razorback Rewind: This week in December 1993

Arkansas got a scare from Tulsa this week in December 1993 but managed to hold on to its No. 1 ranking.

Arkansas was going on its second week of being ranked No. 1 in the country and handled Jackson State with relative ease to improve to 6-0 before a pre-Christmas showdown with Tulsa.

The Golden Hurricane, of course, was where Nolan Richardson spent five years coaching before taking the Arkansas job in the spring of 1985. It was a special place to Richardson and he agreed to a four-year rotating home-and-home with them in the spring of 1991 to be played every year before Christmas.

This year’s game was at Tulsa and Arkansas lost both starters Dwight Stewart and Corey Beck in the first half as they fouled out after playing a combined 14 minutes.

Arkansas had to rally from a five-point halftime deficit and were actually down six points late before Scotty Thurman and Corliss Williamson helped them eventually force overtime and win by two, 93-91. Williamson’s 27 points led all Hog scorers.

It was a preview of a game that would eventually be a rematch in the Sweet 16 later that year as Tulsa, a 12 seed, would upset the 5 and 4 seeds in its bracket to face the Razorbacks.

 

Arkansas Basketball: The All-90s Team

Arkansas basketball was the winningest program of the 1990s. The players on those teams are some of the biggest legends in school history.

Arkansas basketball was the TEAM of the 1990s.

Three Final Fours, six Sweet 16s and back-to-back trips to the national championship game, the first of which resulting in the school’s only undisputed title in a major sport.

Nolan Richardson’s efforts in attracting top talent to Fayetteville was the biggest part in that success.

Today we will look back at those players who brought Arkansas basketball to the pinnacle and others who paved the way for it.

Former Hogs great Corliss Williamson heading back to coach in NBA

Corliss Williamson is headed to the NBA after a few years at Arkansas. Sounds like 1995 again.

Corliss Williamson is leaving Arkansas for the NBA.

Again.

The former Arkansas basketball great was hired as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Previously, Williamson had been an assistant for the Sacramento Kings (2013-16) and Orlando Magic (2016-18).

Williamson had been coaching Little Rock Christian Academy in Arkansas high school basketball. He had been coaching his son Creed at that level, but with Creed Williamson moving on Little Rock, formerly UALR, to play college basketball, Williamson is heading back to the NBA.

Williamson played 12 years in the NBA from 1995-2007 after leaving Arkansas after his junior season for the professional ranks. With the Razorbacks, he was named an All-American and SEC Player of the Year twice. He also led the Hogs to the 1994 national title and the 1995 national-title game.

Williamson started coaching  in 2007 at Arkansas Baptist College, then head coaching at Central Arkansas from 2010-13. After his time with the Bears, he moved to the NBA, then back to the Natural State when Creed Williamson entered high school.

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Arkansas men’s basketball all-time roster: Razorback Legends

The three best Arkansas basketball players in history are fairly easy to pick. But a whole starting lineup and reserves? That sounds like a blast.

Corliss. Sidney. Todd.

Just about any Arkansas basketball fan alive today, if you were to ask them, would rattle off those three first names when asked for the best three players in Razorbacks history.

Sidney Moncrief. Corliss Williamson. Todd Day. Arguments could be for others, certainly, and some folks may want to make them. It’s a good thing we aren’t doing that, exactly.

Instead, let’s examine, in a way, the 10 best Arkansas basketball players in history. Rather, let’s create a starting lineup of a reserve unit along with a coach and assistant coach to create the ultimate Hogs All-Time Basketball Team.

Because once Corliss, Sidney and Todd are off the board, things get interesting. Take a look at how we picked the team below.

Every player in Philadelphia 76ers history who has worn No. 14

Here is a list of all 34 players who have worn the No. 14 in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers.

It’s summertime in the NBA, so it’s time to learn some history. The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the older franchises in the NBA. Their history dates to the 1949-50 season.

With that longevity, the team has had hundreds of players come through the City of Brotherly Love. Sixers Wire looks at the No. 14, which has been worn by a whopping 34 of those players in the history of the franchise.

This running series will go through all of the uniform numbers worn in franchise history. The previous edition of this series was a list compiling the seven players who have worn the No. 15.

Here is the list of the 34 who have worn No. 14 in Sixers history:

Look who is No. 1: Arkansas basketball freshman is the nation’s best

Corliss Williamson was the last player for Arkansas to do what Nick Smith did earlier this week.

[autotag]Nick Smith[/autotag] at one point during the winter was projected to be a potential No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. The 2023 NBA draft.

Smith has yet to play a possession of college basketball, but Arkansas’ top recruit in the Class of 2022 has skills that have the professional ranks drooling. He was already a five-star when coach [autotag]Eric Musselman[/autotag] recruited him and he committed. Now, 247Sports named Smith the No. 1 recruit in the country.

The site released its final individual player rankings for the class earlier this week. Musselman was happy on Wednesday to see it.

Smith is the second Arkansas signee to be ranked as the top player in his class. Russellville native and Razorbacks legend [autotag]Corliss Williamson[/autotag] was the same in 1992.

ESPN still has Smith ranked No. 3 and Rivals has him ranked No. 2. He joins fellow five-star recruits [autotag]Anthony Black[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Walsh[/autotag] on campus next year. Guard Derrian Ford and swingmen Joseph Pinion and Barry Dunning round out the recruiting class, also as Top 100 prospects.

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ESPN picks, then ranks, Arkansas’ “all-time starting five”

Where does ESPN’s pick of an “all-time” Arkansas squad compare to other “all-time” teams in the Sweet 16?

Arkansas Basketball has seen its share of success this season thanks to sharp-shooting by JD Notae, smooth all-around efforts by Jaylin Williams, and incredible coaching by Eric Musselman.

As the Razorbacks prepare for their second straight appearance in the Sweet 16, ESPN’s Myron Medcalf has selected an all-time starting five for Arkansas, as well as every remaining team in the NCAA Tournament, and has ranked them according to collegiate production.

Based on the all-time team that the staff at ESPN put together, the Razorbacks would be the 10th best team in this year’s field. 

College Basketball’s “blue bloods” such as UCLA, North Carolina, Kansas, and Duke are ranked No. 1 through No. 4 respectively, while the Razorbacks beat out the all-time teams of Providence, Iowa State, Miami, Texas Tech, St. Peters, and Thursday’s Sweet 16 opponent, Gonzaga.

Here’s a look at what ESPN calls a “tough opponent.”

  • G Sidney Moncrief: AP All-America first team (1979); averaged 16.9 PPG and 8.3 RPG in four seasons at Arkansas; Southwest Conference player of the year (1979); led team to Final Four (1978)
  • G Todd Day: AP All-America second team (1991); averaged 19.5 PPG for Final Four team in 1990; Southwest Conference player of the year (1991)
  • F Joe Johnson: SEC freshman of the year (2000); averaged 15.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 41% from 3 in two seasons at Arkansas
  • F Corliss Williamson: AP All-America second team (1994, 1995); led the team to the 1994 national title; 1995 SEC player of the year; averaged 19.0 PPG and 7.1 RPG in three years at Arkansas
  • C Joe Kleine: Averaged 18.1 PPG and 8.3 RPG in three years at Arkansas (1982-85)
  • Coach: Nolan Richardson (coached team to 1994 national title)