Can Musselman Handle Heat of the Spotlight?
Arkansas head basketball coach Eric Musselman has always been the little guy, and no, that's not a joke about his height.
All his life, he's been associated with programs that had to scratch and claw for minimal respect.
Now, after a lifetime of playing the scrappy underdog, Musselman has to play a role he's never portrayed — leader of a team that, thanks to its recent early No. 1 ranking by ESPN — is now the hunted on a national level.
Nelson Chenault - USA TODAY sports
That's the burden that comes with hauling in a recruiting class that ranks as what can only be described as 1B in the nation with an essential tie with Duke.
It becomes more of a burden as leaders who are established in the current Razorback culture exit out the back door of the Muss Bus.
Fans will have to be patient with Musselman as he navigates these new waters.
There's nothing in his background that indicates experience in the white hot heat that comes with expectations of ultimate greatness on a widespread scale, which means Musselman will be learning to cope on the fly.
Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports
But then again, overcoming the odds is kind of his thing.
In the mid-80s Musselman played at San Diego where in 1987 the Dons compiled a 24-6 record, the best in school history.
Along with Scott Thompson, a 7-foot center who later signed with the Washington Bullets, Musselman and his teammates entered the tournament as a 9-seed, losing by a single point to Auburn in the opening round.
Had the Dons hit a single shot more, Musselman would have gone head-to-head with assistant Keith Smart, who would hit the infamous shot weeks later in New Orleans to deliver the Indiana Hoosiers a national championship.
Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports
Even though he was drafted by the CBA, Musselman instead focused his career in leadership in the league.
He became a general manager at 23 of the Rapid City Thrillers. The following year he took over as head coach.
During his time he put more players in the NBA than any other CBA team during that same stretch.
At age 28, he became the youngest CBA coach to ever reach 100 years, and built the highest winning percentage in CBA history, second only to legendary coach George Karl.
Sandwiched in the middle of his CBA run was a sting in the USBL, where he coached the Florida Sharks to back-to-back championships and a 55-3 record.
This is the closest thing in his background equal to being the hunted, but clearly doesn't come with the pressure of the spotlight that comes with being in a similar situation at Arkansas.
After years of bouncing around as an NBA assistant, Musselman got his big break with the hapless Golden State Warriors in 2002. The Warriors averaged 19 wins in five seasons prior to his arrival.
Musselman doubled that total in his first year which led to a runner-up NBA coach of the year finish to future NBA Hall of Famer, San Antonio Spurs head coach Greg Popovich. Despite proving the previous season wasn't a fluke by winning just one game less, a change in management meant Musselman was out.
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Perched almost dead in the middle of a 12-year span, Musselman's two seasons featured the franchise's most wins.
He became head coach at nearby Sacramento a few years later in 2006, and produced the third most wins the franchise has experienced since.
The downside for Musselman was those wins came immediately after the greatest seven-year stretch in franchise history.
What followed was a journeyman's tour through the NBA D-League where he was named Coach of the Year and a string of NCAA assistant coaching gigs, including a year at LSU under Johnny Jones.
He finally found his calling in college as he used the transfer portal to perfection to turn a 9-win Nevada program into a mid-major juggernaut that cracked the Top 5 while setting attendance records.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
It wasn't long until Hunter Yuracheck came calling. After nearly a quarter of a century of good, but not great performances, Musselman was asked to return the Razorbacks to blue blood status.
His three seasons have included an Elite 8 appearance in the only two years teams could compete in the NCAA tournament.
Despite this, the Razorbacks played the underdog role most of the year as the team was consistently underrated, and spent the season with a chip on its shoulder trying to prove it belonged.
The disrespect card is Musselman's greatest weapon. He even pointed out its power in the postgame interview against Gonzaga.
This will be Musselman's prove-it season. This is his chance to show he can coach a team to handle the pressure of having another Arkansas on the sideline across from him hoping to prove its own point.
If he succeeds, it could be the start of a long run that could land Musselman among the greats of college basketball coaches.
However, if being the hunted is too much, it could mean a quick trip back down to being that scrappy team that wows everyone with upsets while maxing out in the Elite 8 every few years.
The Elite 8 is an amazing accomplishment, especially considering where Arkansas has been for a while, but the line of greatness is making the Elite 8 the floor, not the ceiling, and Musselman is looking to add an extra floor to this program.
The burden is fully his to carry now. We'll see in roughly six months how he handles it.
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