The Hog Pod with Bo Mattingly

Alexis Tolefree was told she was too small to play in the SEC. Now, she's one of the best shooters in the league. We get to know the senior standout, and talk about her love for collecting sneakers (3:15), as well as how she developed her work ethic and wouldn't let her size define her (7:57). She tells us about her relationship with her mom and the sacrifices that went into having her basketball career (17:00). We hear the story of how she lost a ping-pong game to Mike Neighbors that helped seal her commitment to the Razorbacks (26:10), and the difficulties of transferring from a JUCO and adjusting to major college life (31:25). Finally, we get into what defines her and who she wants to be (35:17).

It's a special bonus episode of The Hog Pod previewing the 2020 Arkansas baseball season with Dave Van Horn! You heard some of our conversation with DVH earlier this week, but went long and are bringing you the best way to preview the Razorbacks as they look for a third straight trip to Omaha.

Dave Van Horn wants to win a national championship for his alma mater. In this episode, we go inside the mind of the Razorbacks head coach. We talk about building a winning culture (5:00), how he runs practice (18:44) and his relationship with umpires (23:38). DVH tells us about the role of analytics in his program (28:59) and how he game plans for an SEC series (30:44). Finally, we get into how he's changed in his time at Arkansas and his desire to bring home a national title (38:43).

Barry Odom is regarded as one of the best defensive minds in college football. So we sit down with him to tell his story, starting with how he found himself being the new defensive coordinator at Arkansas (2:13). We talk about what makes a good defense in today's game (11:11), and about how he got into coaching and what his time at Missouri was like (17:00). Finally, he tells us what his vision is for building a defense at Arkansas (25:55).

Jimmy Whitt Jr. is not your typical college basketball player. We sit down with him to talk about everything from his play on the court to his journey off it, starting with how he ended up at Arkansas and what led to him transferring (2:13). He tells us how he ended up transferring back to the Razorbacks (7:55), and about his unique play on the court (15:00). We talk about what it's like to play for Eric Musselman (19:14) and how he thinks his teammates would describe him (26:30). Finally, we get some thoughts from him on this year's squad (28:05).

Sidney Moncrief is a Basketball Hall of Famer and a member of the legendary "Triplets" who led Arkansas to the 1978 Final Four. We start our conversation with the five-time NBA All-Star about what he's most proud of in his career (3:25), what growing up in Arkansas was like and how he started playing basketball. We talk about how he ended up at Arkansas with Eddie Sutton (16:06), and how Sutton helped unlock the Triplets' potential (23:40). Moncrief tells us what made him a great defensive player (37:35) and even shares a hilarious Michael Jordan story (40:16). Finally, we talk about what it was like to get the call that he was heading to the Hall of Fame (46:50).

Matt Zimmerman is all-Razorback, no matter what. We sit down with the current radio color analyst for men's basketball games to talk about his life and career, starting with growing up in Arkansas and the difficulty of transitioning to his new role (5:56). We talk about how he became a student manager with the Razorback basketball team (20:09) and his role in the "Strollin' with Nolan" game (28:34). He tells us about his time in the Army and becoming a high school coach, and how he ended up on Mike Anderson's staff at UAB, Missouri and Arkansas (35:35). We get into his transition into his new role as radio analyst (47:38), and finally, he shares a must-listen story about finding a lucky penny (56:14).

Isaiah Joe is one of the best shooters in college basketball, and we sat down with him to help Hog fans get to know one of the Razorbacks' stars. We begin our conversation with him always wanting to be a Razorback (2:04) and putting the work in to continually get better (7:30). He talks about what it's like to play for Eric Musselman (11:52), and why he wants to be known as more than just a shooter (14:21). We get to know Isaiah a little better, talking about everything from favorite TV shows and movies to who he thinks is the best basketball player of all time (19:45). Finally, we get his thoughts on where he sees his future in basketball (26:53).

Mike Neighbors' dream has always been to be the head coach of Arkansas' women's basketball team. We start our conversation with how getting cut from the Razorback baseball team spurred him on to try coaching (2:49). We talk about why he's eliminated "goals" from the program (7:50) and how he started his coaching career at the high school level (13:54). Neighbors tells us about how having his first heart attack changed everything for him (16:45), and how that journey led to him getting his first head coaching job at Washington (26:11). Finally, we get into how playing guitar helps him decompress (42:00), and how he'd describe himself as a coach (43:29).

Sam Pittman was recently introduced as Arkansas' new football coach, and we sat down with the Head Hog to tell his story. We start with how he fell in love with the Razorbacks as a teenager (4:00), and how getting offered the head coaching job is one of the highlights of his life (9:10). We talk about what he looks like as a head coach (21:31), and how he plans to recruit at Arkansas (27:36). Finally, we get into how he wants to build a staff (36:07) and how he plans on making this his final coaching stop (39:29).