Corliss Williamson made his Razorback debut on Dec. 2, 1992, and appeared for the last time in an Arkansas uniform on April 3, 1995. In between, Big Nasty and Co. treated Hog fans to the most outstanding and exciting era in the basketball program’s history.

In Part 1 of our tribute to the recently-retired Williamson, John provided a top-notch overview of Corliss’ college and pro careers. In part 2, I’ll nerd out a little bit and look at some of Big Nasty’s most memorable games as a Hog. This is a topic that I could go on about for far too long and bore many people to tears. To keep the post somewhat manageable, I’ve decided to focus on three games from each of Corliss’ three seasons on the Hill.

Let’s get this party started, shall we?

1992-93

* Arkansas 81, Memphis State 76; Dec. 2, 1992; Fayetteville - Darrell Hawkins (20 points) and Roger Crawford (18 points) received most of the credit for this rousing, come-from-way-behind upset of the No. 8 ranked Tigers, but Corliss, in his first game in a Razorback uniform, showed that he was more than capable of living up to the considerable hype that accompanied his arrival on campus. Before having to leave the game in the second half with a broken foot, Corliss scored 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds to help the unranked Hogs, who trailed by as much as 20 points in the first half and 14 points at halftime, get the post-Day-Mayberry-Miller era off to an unexpectedly good start.

* Arkansas 101, Kentucky 94; Feb. 10, 1993; Fayetteville - In his sixth game back since returning from his foot injury, Corliss scored a then-career high 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help No. 14 Arkansas defeat the No. 2-ranked Wildcats. The Hogs held a 13-point lead with just less than five minutes to go, but Kentucky came back to narrow the deficit to within four with more than a minute remaining. However, Big Nasty hit some key free throws and threw down one monster slam dunk over Jamal Mashburn to help the Razorbacks hold on for their last victory over a ranked opponent in Barnhill Arena.

(Read on …)

Bring on UT-Chattanooga!!!

I’ve been following this whole banner story all week, and I have to say that I’m just having a really hard time imagining the thought process that would lead a bunch of grown men (and women?) to be so outraged about a college football coach that they spend their own time and money organizing an anti-coach banner to be flown over a football game. I just can’t do it.

From where I sit (which, admittedly, is pretty far from Fayetteville), it just seems like an incredibly silly thing to do. I mean, what’s the point? Is this really going to be the final straw that convinces the Powers That Be to depose the hated Houston Nutt? Doubtful. Is it going to make Arkansas look ridiculous (again) in the eyes of the rest of the country? Absolutely. Is it going to make the school look like an appealing opportunity to some hot coaching candidate who’s in the running for the job when it inevitably becomes open at the season? Almost certainly not. Is it going to make some stud recruit spurn all other offers to sign that letter of intent from the Hogs? Again, not likely. Is it going to make the people behind it feel better about things? Maybe for a minute, but then they’ll surely soon move on to other Razorback-related outrages.

Keep in mind that I say this as a pretty huge Arkansas fan. I’ve had days made by wins and weekends ruined by losses ever since I was a little kid in the late 70s. I mean, I love the team enough to spend what little free time I have writing about the Hogs on this blog. I’m certainly frustrated by the way the season has gone and feel like a change of leadership is the best thing for all involved.

But a banner? Really?? It just doesn’t help anyone. And rather than organizing flyovers, the folks behind it might be best off if they took a break for just one weekend and made other plans for this afternoon. Go take a stroll in the nice fall weather or something, I don’t know. There’s a whole wide world out there beyond the Razorbacks, and my advice is that it’s best to keep at least one foot firmly planted in it.

Update: The Hog Blogger reports that technical difficulties have grounded the banner for today. So far, no one has been able to verify reports of Houston Nutt lurking around a grassy knoll near the airfield.

 In case you need any extra help getting fired up, we’ll be providing a handy pre-game cheat sheet detailing why you should hate each one of the Razorbacks’ opponents this fall. Some weeks will be easier than others…

1. It’s Where Pat Boone, Don Henley and Dr. Phil Went to School. In the interest of full disclosure, some pretty cool people graduated from there as well, but, hey, you trying finding five reasons to hate a Sun Belt football team.

2. They’re Not ASU. If we’re going to play a Sun Belt team (and, to be exact, we play three this year), it should be the one that would actually interest the fans.

3. They Could Stick Around Awhile. The Mean Green lead the Sun Belt Conference in passing, averaging 378 yards a game through the air, and employ a four wide-receiver set. Combine that with the Hogs’ porous pass defense, and maybe this game won’t be the rout many are expecting and hoping for.

4. They Go Bowling in New Orleans. In 2001, they got to go to a bowl game (the New Orleans Bowl) despite posting a losing record in the regular season. Under the bright lights of the Louisiana Superdome, the Mean Green proceeded to get pounded 45-20 by Colorado State. Good thing North Texas wasn’t matched up against the Hogs in a bowl game; the Mean Green surely would have won.

5. They’re From Texas. Any questions?

As you’ve almost certainly seen by now, Corliss “Big Nasty” Williamson retired from the NBA yesterday. He won’t be far from the basketball court, though, having already joined Arkansas Baptist as an assistant coach.

For anyone who followed college basketball in the 90s, the name Big Nasty conjures up images of low post dominance, clutch plays and most of all, many, many wins by the Razorbacks. Corliss was an all-everything high school player coming out of Russellville in 1992 (skip to 1:10 in this clip), and when he signed with the Hogs he seemed like the perfect piece to continue the winning ways of the Day/Mayberry/Miller era. Little did we know what was in store…

Although he missed a good chunk of his freshman year due to an injury, he quickly made his presence felt, meshing with fellow newcomers like Scotty Thurman, Corey Beck and Dwight Stewart, plus cagey vets like Darrell Hawkins, to make Arkansas the surprise of the SEC that year. In what was expected to be a rebuilding season, the Hogs went 22-9 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, where they lost to the eventual champs, North Carolina.

Every Razorback fan knows what happened the following season: The Hogs as a team, and Corliss in particular, were unstoppable, going 31-3 and beating Duke for our only undisputed major sport national title. Of course none of that would have happened without Big Nasty, who made the leap from young player with promise to dominant national star. Nolan Richardson’s teams had always been known for great guard play, but he’d never had a low post weapon of Corliss’ caliber before and it made all the difference - simply put, when Corliss got the ball near the basket, he was going to score. End of story.

Returning all five starters, the Hogs were a marked team the next year, but they were almost as good, going 32-7 and advancing again to the Final Four, where they beat North Carolina and then lost to UCLA in the championship game (a loss that still burns me to this day). Following his Razorback days, Big Nasty went on to a solid but not-quite-spectacular NBA career. Being a 6′6″ power forward in the pros is a tough gig, so he completely rebuilt his game from the ground up to become a basket-facing small forward - a very impressive achievement (and tribute to his work ethic) that he never got enough credit for. Following this reinvention, he didn’t do too shabbily - winning the Sixth Man Award in 2002, earning a championship ring in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons and posting a career scoring average in the double digits.

I’ll go on record as saying that Corliss is my all-time favorite Razorback in any sport. He was a home-grown Arkansas kid who led the Hogs to unprecedented national success. He was all ferocious intensity on the court and all class off it. Plus, it didn’t hurt that his era coincided with the peak of my own Razorback fandom…Stephen and I certainly spent many hours in college nerdily discussing and dissecting the Hogs during those days. Lots of good times and good memories there. So Corliss, thanks for everything and best of luck at Arkansas Baptist and beyond.

(coming up in part 2: Stephen looks back at some of Big Nasty’s greatest games)

Very upsetting news out of Memphis tonight - Corey Beck and a friend were shot during an attempted robbery. He’s currently recovering in the hospital, where he’s listed as being in fair condition (updated from critical condition earlier - certainly a positive trend).

The AP update as of Wednesday night reads:

“Beck was shot in the hand and face but managed to drive his car to a fire station. He was taken to The Regional Medical Center in critical condition, but had been upgraded by Wednesday.”

Corey Beck was the heart & soul of those great mid-90s basketball teams and remains one of our all-time favorite Razorbacks. Please join us in keeping a good thought for him and wishing him a speedy recovery.

Three games into the 2007 football season, we now know that the Razorbacks’ defense isn’t very good, our passing game is even worse, and depending solely on two all-world running backs isn’t a winning strategy in the SEC (maybe the Sun Belt). Plus, Houston Nutt has probably hired a private security force to guard his house against the angry pitchfork- and torch-wielding masses.

Given all that, it feels like time to reset our expectations. So, we put our team of statisticians, researchers and interns to the task, and together we came up with the following best-case and worst-case scenarios for the rest of the season:

(Read on …)

The more I think about the upcoming basketball season, the more excited I get. And sophomore Patrick Beverley is a big reason why. The Sept. 22 print edition of Hawgs Illustrated features an article about Beverley’s experiences playing for the United States’ entry in the Under-19 FIBA World Championship, held this past summer in Serbia. The team took home the silver medal, and Beverley led the squad in scoring (13 points per game), steals, assists and minutes played. The 6-1 guard even finished second in rebounding, averaging 5.3 boards a game.

“He was our most valuable player,” DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright, who coached the USA squad, told Hawgs Illustrated. “I think it’d be hard to find another player in the country whose motor runs like Patrick Beverley. He didn’t take even one practice rep off, ever, and that rubbed off on every player. His competitive spirit is unlike most players I’ve been around.”

With Beverley, Sonny Weems and crew playing in John Pelphrey’s uptempo style, I think Arkansas’ NCAA Tournament victory drought will finally be washed away this March.

We’ll have plenty more to say about the football situation later this week, but in the interest of keeping things from getting too dark and depressing I wanted to share this video. In it, Corliss is apparently being interviewed as part of some local UALR-affiliated charity bowling tournament. It’s awesome on at least four or five different levels.

If the Hogs can eke out a win against North Texas on Saturday, we’ll be tied for first place in the Sun Belt Conference.