“Arkansas has talent, not much else in the recipe to be true Razorbacks.”

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – Anyone who has watched one of these singing competitions has seen someone take the stage and sing a song technically well but not impress anyone.

This is because, despite all the talent in the world, the young man or woman cannot connect with the song and therefore the emotion is missing. The passion, the love and the pain are all missing, so it’s just singing and that’s it.

That’s where Arkansas (6-2) appears to be on the basketball court after defeating the ACC’s worst sub-.500 Hurricanes team (76-73) on Tuesday night in Miami (3-5). Technically there is a lot of talent, but it’s really hard to see passion.

There is no Dawg on the floor, or in this case Hawg. Aside from a few outbursts from Adou Thiero, there was no hint of emotional turmoil from any of these players except in the most minimal of stakes.

At some point, one of these Razorbacks has to become an evil man who decides that he will not only silence people, but also make his opponent’s life hell. He must become so relentless that players wish they had never stepped on the pitch instead of just trying to exploit their talent.

Every stop, every grimace from an opponent should fuel the fire further. On the other hand, there must be a decision to be unstoppable.

When it comes to the ball, there must be a deep desire to run past or through anyone standing in the way of the goal. People should be upset with how hard he plays while drawing foul after foul.

Someone should want to punish him for blocking too hard every time the ball goes up, and it should feel inevitable that the rebound will come to him.

Even on the bench, he is likely to attract the attention of opponents. Every time a big play takes place, he should join in the celebration and the intensity should be loud and clear in his voice.

Think of Ricky Council and Davonte Davis against Kansas in the NCAA tournament. Look at Mason Jones and Jaylin Williams almost every time they took the floor in their final years as Razorbacks.

These are men who set their sights on greatness. None of them had the natural talent that most of John Calipari’s current players have, but not a single Razorback in his current state could compete with any of these four men in the situation described above.

That’s because intensity, desire, passion, and mental toughness almost always trump simple talent. It’s almost impossible to beat someone who doesn’t want to give up, who always stays in your mind and refuses to lose.

If this team wants the magic of Bud Walton in the winter, then these players should find their fire. Arkansas won’t fully support this team if they don’t show heart or desire.

This is a fan base made up of Sydney Moncrief, Todd Day, Lee Mayberry, Darrell Walker, Scotty Thurman, Corey Beck, Joe Johnson, Clint McDaniel and Corliss Williamson. They were all men of talent, but they burned through their opponents and inspired generations of fans and players through relentless intimidation with non-stop fire on the ground.

Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic have shown there is a touch of Hawg in them and there are a moment or two where it is possible to turn on the tape and see the kind of open defensive display that Billy Richmond needs. Meanwhile, Boogie Fland showed for two minutes against Miami that he could be a hawg if he actually wanted to be, but overall the talent is just being held back too much for Arkansas.

This team has the rest of this month to decide if they are truly Razorbacks. Either they hit the switch that makes teams feel like they’re in hell for 40 minutes, or they make back-to-back teams that come in with plenty of hype, talent and a preseason win over the No. 1 team without that internal fire required to meet the standard.

Be a legend or be forgotten. It’s up to you. Arkansas fans tend not to care about anyone signing an NBA contract if they didn’t love the game and the program enough to leave it on the floor when they were here.

Talent is not enough. Arkansas needs hawgs, and right now there just aren’t any.

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