Mike Anderson keeps the Arkansas recruiting class intact

Mike Anderson has handled his first challenge at his new job with relative ease.

The new Arkansas head coach was walking into a bit of a difficult situation. John Pelphrey had landed one of the best recruiting classes in the country, but with the head coaching change, the question that many in the Natural State -- and a number of other coaching staffs -- were asking was whether Anderson would be able to keep those kids committed.

According to Andy Katz, he has. And it was probably an easier task than you or I expected.

Guard Ky Madden and forwards Aaron Ross and Hunter Mickelson, who are all ranked in the top 25 at their position, are Arkansas natives. Their commitments likely had a lot to do with playing for their home-state Razorbacks. Point guard BJ Young and forward Devonte Abron were recruited by Anderson when he was still at Missouri, meaning that both had a previous relationship with Anderson. This wasn't a complete stranger taking over the program.

With a top ten recruiting class coming in and a decent amount of talent returning -- headlined by Rotnei Clarke and Marshon Powell -- Arkansas looks like they have a chance to make some noise in the SEC next season. The biggest issue will be how well the roster adapts to Mike Anderson's "40 minutes of hell" style of play. Anderson will have some athleticism at his disposal, which will make this a fun team to watch.

Success isn't guaranteed, however.

If you remember, last spring Jeff Bzdelik took over Wake Forest when Dino Gaudio was fired. He managed to keep Gaudio's impressive fine-man recruiting class intact and got a couple of Wake's returnees to stay on campus. All that resulted from Bzdelik's inaugural season in Winston-Salem was one of the worst teams in recent ACC memory.