Harton Hears a ?Wooo-Pig-Sooie?

Greg Harton, executive editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette‘s Fayetteville section (aka the Northwest Arkansas Times), took University of Arkansas basketball fans to task Dec. 2. His column boohooed about their early exodus Dec. 1 from Walton Arena during the Razorbacks’ 69-54 loss to the University of Oklahoma.

Our question is, where the heck has Harton been?

Razorbacks fans have been leaving early in droves since 1997, about the time it became apparent that the program’s negligent emphasis on fundamentals would exceed its ability to attract marquee players. The only thing worse than the Hogs’ basketball team these days is the program’s graduation rate — 0 percent for the 1994-95 season, the last year for which a nationwide NCAA study was available.

We’ve heard Coach Nolan Richardson’s speeches about why this is irrelevant, so we already know that we don’t know what he knows because he’s reminded us all so often. Although for the 12th highest paid basketball coach in America and a vocal supporter of self empowerment, Richardson’s program should probably be a lot closer to the other end of the academic spectrum.

But that’s not why fans are leaving early. Arkansas’ supporters are bailing because the product they’ve paid a premium to see is not very good right now. In the business world, when a company produces a crummy product, people stop buying it. It’s that simple.

Harton’s column read like a high school principal’s cry for pep rally enthusiasm, but at least he’s not one of the sports writers who’s charged with objectively covering the team. That would obviously pose him a considerable problem.

We’d lay 2-1 odds that Harton wrote his column while wearing feeted Razorbacks pajamas. And we’d lay even money that the UA basketball team’s graduation rate and free throw shooting percentage will vie for the program’s most embarrassing statistic.