Struggling Arkansas prepares for confident Illinois

Posted 6:32AM on Friday 6th December 2002 ( 22 years ago )

LITTLE ROCK - New Arkansas coach Stan Heath's search for a leader will take time. The Razorbacks (1-3) have had successful moments in Heath's new system. However, the mixture of five freshmen learning how to play in college and upperclassmen trying to understand a new scheme has led to some frustrating moments, including a 74-66 loss to Troy State on Tuesday. ``We knew we would have growing pains early on,'' Heath said. ``We just have been inconsistent. We have spurts when we play well, but we've had some times ... where we've struggled.'' Arkansas will attempt to solve some of those difficulties against a tough opponent Saturday. The Razorbacks face No. 25 Illinois at 11:30 a.m. at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, fresh off the Illini's 92-65 victory over No. 12 North Carolina on Tuesday. The game was originally scheduled for 6 p.m., but was moved forward to accommodate a request by Arkansas because its football team plays Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship at 5 p.m. The Fighting Illini (4-0) have won back-to-back Big Ten championships under Bill Self, who won two Western Athletic Conference titles at Tulsa before moving to Illinois. Like Arkansas, the Fighting Illini have five freshmen playing, including one at point guard. Dee Brown leads Illinois in minutes as does Arkansas' freshman point guard Eric Ferguson. Brown has averaged 11.8 points and he's second in the Big Ten with 22 assists. But Brown and freshman guard Deron Williams have experienced senior support in 6-foot-10 forward Brian Cook and guard Sean Harrington. ``The difference is that Cook and Harrington have been in the program with Self,'' Heath said. ``They know the system and they have been a part of championship teams. My seniors haven't had that experience, so it's hard to expect them to do what Cook and Harrington have done.'' Cook sat out the first two games as an NCAA penalty for playing in an unsanctioned summer basketball tournament, but he has led Illinois in scoring its last two victories. He scored 22 on 8-of-12 shooting with eight rebounds in the victory over North Carolina, which was the Fighting Illini's largest margin of victory over a Top 15 team since beating Notre Dame 91-57 in 1969. Harrington came off the bench to score 20 points against the Tar Heels. Arkansas has picked up Heath's focus on defense and rebounding, setting a school record with 77 rebounds in the season-opening win over Jackson State. However, defensive lapses and an inability to generate anything consistently on offense has contributed to losses against Oral Roberts, No. 19 Tulsa and Troy State. Freshman guard Kendrick Davis leads Arkansas in scoring at 12.8 points per game, while Ferguson and another freshman guard Jonathan Modica average 12.2 and 9.2 points. The Razorbacks shot a season-high 41.8 percent against Troy State, but they were never in the game after falling behind by 10 at the half. This after hanging tough with Tulsa the entire game before losing 61-60 last Saturday. Even with the problems, Self said he expects a test for his team's first road game of the season. ``I think Arkansas will be fired up,'' Self said. ``We're going to get the best from the Razorbacks and I think their best is pretty good.''

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