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Mike Anderson’s streak of seasons without a losing record is in serious jeopardy.
With an 11-point loss to Villanova on Wednesday, the former Arkansas coach fell to 14-14 in his first season at St. John’s.
As the year winds to a close, the Red Storm need to win two of their final three games to ensure Anderson finishes at least .500 for the 18th straight season. He is one of only five active Division I head coaches with at least 15 years of experience and no losing seasons.
Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim non-losing records, while North Carolina’s Roy Williams will almost assuredly fall off the list because the Tar Heels are 11-17 with three regular-season games and the ACC Tournament left.
Despite an 11-2 start, it seems like Anderson is on his way to joining Williams in picking up his first losing season. St. John’s is just 3-12 in Big East play and it has three challenging games left: vs. No. 10 Creighton, at Butler and vs. Marquette.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Red Storm are underdogs in all three matchups and have just a 22.6 percent chance of winning at least two of them.
If it wins only one of those three games, which is the most likely scenario at 46.7 percent, St. John’s would enter the Big East Tournament at 15-16 and - assuming it was one of the bottom four seeds - need to reach the semifinals to finish at least .500.
If the Red Storm lose all three games, which has a 30.8 percent chance of happening, they would have to win the tournament just to get to 18-17.
Meanwhile, fellow former Arkansas coach John Pelphrey is 9-20 in his first season as the head coach at Tennessee Tech. The coach before him, Stan Heath, is 20-17 with the Lakeland Magic, which is good for fifth place out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference of the NBA G League.
Here is a look at how several of Arkansas’ former players are doing at their new schools…
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Ibrahim Ali - Tulane
At Arkansas: Despite a 6-foot-10, 244-pound frame, Ali averaged just 4.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks as a senior at Maumelle. The Nigeria native originally signed with Baylor, but was released from his NLI and became a late addition to Arkansas’ 2018 class. Ali never appeared in a game while redshirting for the Razorbacks last season.
At Tulane: One of several transfers for the Green Wave, Ali received a waiver for immediate eligibility this season. He played two minutes in the season opener, but went down with a foot injury that caused him to miss several weeks. The return was short-lived, though, as he appeared in only three games before suffering a knee injury in practice that is expected to keep him out the rest of the season.
2019-20 stats: 4 games/0 starts, 2.4 min., 1.0 pts., 0.3 reb., 0.5 blk., 0.3 stl.
Keyshawn Embery-Simpson - Tulsa
At Arkansas: One of the Razorbacks’ top freshmen last year, Embery-Simpson was a four-star prospect and the No. 117 overall player in the Class of 2018, according to Rivals. He was a key contributor off the bench, averaging 4.1 points in 14.6 minutes. The high point of his time in Fayetteville came when he scored 16 points in a road upset of LSU and made the go-ahead three-pointer with 14.8 seconds left to beat Vanderbilt in back-to-back games.
At Tulsa: Just two days after Mike Anderson was fired, Embery-Simpson entered the NCAA transfer portal and he ultimately moved back home to play at Tulsa. However, unlike Ali, his waiver for immediate eligibility was denied, so he is redshirting this season.
2019-20 stats: N/A
R.J. Glasper - Arkansas Tech
At Arkansas: Known as a prolific scorer at Forrest City, Glasper turned down scholarships to smaller schools to walk-on at Arkansas. Unfortunately, he had to have shoulder surgery that forced him to redshirt in 2016-17 and he never suited up for the Razorbacks.
At Arkansas Tech: Instead, Glasper opted to move down a level by transferring to Arkansas Tech, a Division II program in Russellville. With a listed height of 6 feet, two inches taller than he was listed at Arkansas, he has become one of the top scorers in the GAC. Although it’s the worst average of his three seasons with the Wonder Boys, Glasper is still scoring 17.7 points per game, which ranks seventh in the conference. He’s also third in the league with 5.9 assists per game. For his career, Glasper is two points shy of the 1,500-point mark and just recently became the sixth player in Arkansas Tech history to eclipse 400 assists. He ranks seventh in school history with 188 career three-pointers, as well.
2019-20 stats: 26 games/25 starts, 35.9 min., 17.7 pts. (40.4 FG%, 35.6 3PT%, 83.3 FT%), 3.1 reb., 5.9 ast., 1.3 stl.
Darious Hall - DePaul
At Arkansas: Hall was a significant contributor as a freshman in 2017-18, starting five games and playing 14.8 minutes per game. His numbers weren’t great, averaging just 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds, but he was a good defensive player and likely would have been a starter the following year had he stuck around.
At DePaul: In a surprising move, Hall decided to transfer and landed at DePaul, where he had to sit out last season because of NCAA transfer rules. Now eligible, he hasn’t started a single game, but has been the Blue Devils’ sixth man. Hall has scored 11 points twice this season - losses at St. John’s and Creighton. DePaul started the season 12-1, but has struggled to a 2-13 mark in Big East play.
2019-20 stats: 28 games/0 starts, 17.7 min., 4.5 pts. (40.7 FG%, 52.2 FT%), 4.1 reb.
Brachen Hazen - Ball State
At Arkansas: Originally a signee at Central Florida, Hazen got out of his NLI because of a coaching change. He ended up being a late addition to Arkansas’ 2016 class, but he played sparingly for the Razorbacks. In his lone season, Hazen appeared in 14 games and had just three points and 12 rebounds in 42 total minutes.
At Ball State: Follow his NCAA-mandated redshirt year, the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 5.7 points on 57.6 percent shooting and 4.1 rebounds in a sophomore season marred by a back injury that sidelined him for 15 games. Now healthy, Hazen is a key contributor off the bench for the Cardinals. Earlier this month, he had a 7-point, 9-rebound performance in a win over Northern Illinois, the team Ball State trails by a game in the MAC West division. A week earlier than that, Hazen pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds in a win at Kent State.
2019-20 stats: 27 games/2 starts, 16.0 min., 4.1 pts. (42.2 FG%, 75.0 FT%), 4.0 reb., 1.0 last.
Justice Hill - Salt Lake C.C.
At Arkansas: A two-sport standout at Little Rock Christian, Hill was actually named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Arkansas for football after leading the Warriors to a state championship. However, in an unusual move, he decided to skip his senior season of basketball and join the Razorbacks a semester early to practice with his future teammates. There were talks that he might play both sports at Arkansas, but not only did Hill - the Razorbacks’ lone 2019 signee - never suit up for the football team, he also never appeared in a basketball game. During the summer, a couple of months after Arkansas made a coaching change, Hill opted to go the JUCO route.
At Salt Lake C.C.: Hill went west to find his new home, ending up in Utah. The 5-foot-11 point guard has started all but one game this season, helping the Bruins to a 24-4 overall record and the first perfect 10-0 conference record in school history. That has earned them a No. 7 national ranking heading into Region 18 tournament. Hill leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) and assists (4.3 apg).
2019-20 stats: 28 games/27 starts, 13.6 pts. (43.4 FG%, 34.5 3PT%, 66.3 FT%), 3.0 reb., 4.3 ast., 1.1 stl.
Lorenzo Jenkins - Grand Canyon
At Arkansas: Jenkins was a late addition to Arkansas’ 2015 signing class and appeared in only one game during his lone season in Fayetteville. He knocked down a three-pointer and had two rebounds in seven minutes in a blowout win over Northwestern State.
At Grand Canyon: Following his freshman season, Jenkins transferred to Colorado State and sat out a year before playing two seasons. He got a couple of cracks at his former team while with the Rams, but failed to score in 22 total minutes in a pair of losing efforts. Entering the transfer portal again, this time as a graduate, Jenkins landed at Grand Canyon and has been a key contributor. He’s already scored more points at his new school (214) than he did in three total seasons at his previous two schools combined (192). Jenkins’ 12 double-figure performances are highlighted by a pair of 20-point efforts, against Montana State and California Baptist.
2019-20 stats: 27 games/7 starts, 23.8 min., 7.9 pts. (42.6 FG%, 26.1 3PT%, 79.5 FT%), 3.1 reb.
C.J. Jones - Middle Tennessee
At Arkansas: In a career that has mirrored that of former Arkansas player Jacorey Williams - minus the off-court issues - Jones attended Central Park Christian in Birmingham, Ala., began his collegiate career at Arkansas and ultimately transferred to Middle Tennessee State. During his two seasons in Fayetteville, Jones appeared in 56 games, but never started. He averaged 6.3 points on 37.1 percent shooting from three-point range in 14.8 minutes as a sophomore.
At Middle Tennessee: Williams became the C-USA Player of the Year and earned honorable mention All-America honors with the Blue Raiders. Jones probably won’t garner the same accolades because Middle Tennessee is just 7-21, but he’s having a phenomenal redshirt junior season. His 16.4 points per game and 40.5 three-point shooting percentage rank fifth and fourth in the conference, respectively.
2019-20 stats: 27 games/27 starts, 34.1 min., 16.4 pts. (43.8 FG%, 40.5 3PT%, 87.5 FT%), 2.8 reb.
Gabe Osabuohien - West Virginia
At Arkansas: Osabuohien had an interesting two-year career with the Razorbacks. A late addition to Arkansas’ 2017 class out of Southwest Christian in Little Rock, he played sparingly as a freshman, averaging 6.8 minutes in 20 games. As a sophomore, Osabuohien saw his playing time increase, as he started eight games and averaged 15.1 minutes. He was not much of a scorer, as evidenced by his 3.1 points per game that season, but he rebounded (3.2 rpg) and did things that didn’t necessarily show up in the box score - like play solid defense, draw charges, get deflections, etc. What drove fans crazy, though, is that he tried to be a scorer at times and that wasn’t a strong point of his game. Osabuohien shot just 32.8 percent from the floor - including a career 17.7 percent from beyond the arc - and just 47.1 percent from the free throw line.
At West Virginia: Following the coaching change, Osabuohien was dismissed from the team in August for an unspecified violation of team rules. He landed at West Virginia a few days later and was granted immediate eligibility. Although he’s started only one game, Osabuohien has endeared himself to Mountaineers fans because of the way he plays, as it fits the style of Bob Huggins - which is similar to what he ran with Anderson at Arkansas. A key difference to his time with the Razorbacks, though, is it seems like he’s accepted his role as a non-shooter. Despite playing more minutes, he’s taken only four three-pointers in 25 games at West Virginia after averaging nearly one attempt per game in his last season at Arkansas.
2019-20 stats: 25 games/1 start, 18.3 min., 3.1 pts. (36.0 FG%, 53.5 3PT%), 4.0 reb., 2.0 ast., 1.2 stl.
Jordan Phillips - Texas-Arlington
At Arkansas: Coming out of Grace Prep in Arlington, Texas, Phillips was a Rivals150 prospect. The 6-foot-7 forward figured to be a key player for the Razorbacks as a freshman last season, but offseason meniscus surgery kept him off the court to begin the year. When he was finally healthy enough to play, he averaged only 5.4 minutes in seven appearances before deciding to transfer midseason.
At UT-Arlington: Phillips transferred back home, landing at Texas-Arlington. Originally set to resume playing halfway through this season, he received a waiver from the NCAA for immediate eligibility at the beginning of the season. In and out of the starting lineup during non-conference play, Phillips is firmly entrenched as a starter for the Mavericks now. He’s reached double figures seven times since the calendar flipped to 2020, highlighted by an 18-point effort at UALR last month.
2019-20 stats: 29 games/21 starts, 23.5 min., 6.8 pts. (32.1 FG%, 29.3 3PT%, 77.1 FT%), 3.7 reb., 1.4 ast.
