Arkansas coach John Pelphrey was asked an interesting question during Thursday’s press conference previewing Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt.
It was regarding the fact that every single scholarship player on Arkansas’ roster had been available for the past two games. It has been a rarity, of sorts, for the Razorbacks the past two years thanks to injuries, suspensions and other reasons that have left Arkansas on the court without its full compliment of players.
In that span, with at least one player seemingly unavailable every night, has Pelphrey ever felt like he was snakebit? Has he ever wondered why it kept happening?
The answer prompted a lengthy response. In fact, it’s just too long to run in its entirety. He started off by mentioning Eddie Sutton and the tragedy that occurred at Oklahoma State 10 years ago. He also referenced the tragedy that happened in his own family a few years back, one you can read about by clicking this link.
Don’t misunderstand: Pelphrey wasn’t saying a rash of injured or suspended players was comparable to those life-and-death matters. I think he was just using some examples of life’s challenges.
I’ll save you from all those details. Here is part of what followed:
“ … I’ve tried really, really hard not to question why something happened because I do believe there’s a reason for all of it. There’s a purpose. I’ve been very, very fortunate to be in some great situations as a player, as a coach. Very, very blessed with my family in terms of my parents and brothers and sisters. And now to have my own. I really try to count my blessings for even the tough stuff that happens to me because I think in life, it’s like a game, just like the other night in our basketball game. We played really well and were handling everything and we didn’t handle it for the last eight minutes. And you see when you’re on edge and alert how you can compete and the level you can play at. When things don’t go your way, if you don’t stay on edge and alert and focused, then you have a chance of maybe even losing a 25-point lead at home. Those things are possible. I think life is kind of the same way. It’s easy to be a leader when things are all going well. But when things aren’t, what are people going to look back and say about you? So I’m not going to ever look at those types of things (suspensions, injuries) and count them up or whatever and say why me or any of that because everybody’s got a tough road to hoe. …
“The things I try to do is stay focused on what my job is and being as good as I possibly can. I have a belief system. I know where we’re going to be. I know what I want to get done. Our team, you look at it, they deserve a lot of credit for being tough and physical and having a chance to compete and win some of these basketball games. We’ve taken a couple of licks. That’s always something that probably happens during a course of a season. But we also understand we have a chance to work and get better. I think through the tough times sometimes, those things are what really make you better. When you really get challenged and you’ve got to get down to the core of it. You’ve got to figure out what it is you believe in, who you are and then you’ve got to go out there and walk it. I think that’s the greatest challenge. When there’s not adversity, there’s not something you’ve got to deal with, I don’t know if you really get better in those situations.”
Pelphrey closed his response by saying, in short, he hadn’t thought of all the suspensions and injuries that have taken place in his tenure. But he added “those are opportunities for me to show the person I am.”
Pelphrey was asked a follow-up question along the same path. Were there more challenges than he thought there would be when he became Arkansas’ coach back in 2007?
Pelphrey said there’s challenges in every job, whether a team is enjoying success or struggling. None are a “bed of roses.” Then he got a little more specific about his current team:
“ … I knew there was going to be some challenges with this situation when I came here because any time you have that many upperclassmen, that’s not easy. Especially with not having a lot of numbers. Stability in a program is important. We’ve really been fighting hard to get there. I think we’re there. I think that the guys that we have in terms of … make no mistake about it, we’re still learning lessons every single day. We’re still growing. But I appreciate what they do every single day. Every single day we get out there and we work. We’re able to go long and hard. I appreciate the work they’re doing off the floor in the classroom. I’m excited about the work that’s been put in in recruiting and what that means. So all of a sudden there’s a continuity. When that happens, next thing it’s going to show up on the court and all those things that follow that.”
Some of this will appear in my Arkansas-Vanderbilt preview, which will run in tomorrow’s papers. But there’s no way it will all fit. So I wanted to make sure I got the bulk of his responses to those two questions up on the blog this morning.
