By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Mississippi Valley State coach Sean Woods came to John Pelphrey’s defense Saturday, saying Arkansas needs to remain patient with its coach as the Razorbacks work through a rocky season.
Woods spoke highly of Pelphrey, who he called one of his best friends, after Arkansas’ 91-54 win against the Delta Devils in Bud Walton Arena. He said Pelphrey is the right coach for the job, but needs more time to get his players in place to turn the Razorbacks around.
“I want you guys to really stick with him because the guy knows what he’s doing,” Woods said. “You guys got the right guy, but as you can see, sometimes you can’t make chicken salad out of chicken you know what.
“You can have the best X’s and O’s, but if you don’t have Jims and Joes you don’t have anything.”
Woods may be a little biased, but does have experience in difficult situations. He and Pelphrey played together at Kentucky and were part of the 1991-92 senior class remembered by the program as the “Unforgettables.”
Pelphrey and Woods remain close, but that wasn’t the reason the Delta Devils coach spoke out Saturday. Woods said he has watched Pelphrey work and knows the coach has what it takes to get Arkansas’ program rolling.
“He’s heading in the right direction,” Woods said. “He’s made of the right stuff. His guys are still competing. That’s how you can judge a coach under adversity. Do his guys still come to work every day? Do they still give it for him? That’s what they’re doing.”
Woods is dealing with his own problems. He is in his second season at Mississippi Valley State and is now 8-24 during that stretch. The Delta Devils fell to 1-7 this season with Saturday’s loss in Bud Walton Arena.
But Woods remained confident he will be able to lead Mississippi Valley State to success. And he remained confident that Pelphrey will do the same at Arkansas.
“You guys got the right guy,” Woods said. “Rome wasn’t built in a day. But he needs his players. He needs players to be successful to implement his system and I think he’ll do that if you guys just give him time and let him have a total nucleus of what he’s trying to do.”
Washington 50 percent
Center Michael Washington returned to the court after missing two games with a sprained back.
Pelphrey said the big man was only “50 percent” Saturday, but scored 8 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 18 minutes. Pelphrey said he decided to start Washington after he participated in Friday’s practice, but the senior was limited to five minutes after the break.
“I was surprised he was able to do as much as he did,” Pelphrey said. “I was glad to be able to not have to use him as much in the second half.”
Tired Clarke
Arkansas guard Rotnei Clarke turned in his worst performance of the season, scoring 5 points on 2 of 5 shooting. The sophomore, who entered the game averaging 24.4 points, also had 5 rebounds and 4 turnovers.
Clarke scored all five of his points in the first half and played only eight minutes after the break. Pelphrey attributed Clarke’s struggles to fatigue after the guard averaged 37.7 minutes in Arkansas first seven games.
“Rotnei was a shell of himself,” Pelphrey said. “He’s exhausted. He plays every second in practice. He plays every second in the game.”
