Another Hard Lesson Learned for Musselman

Simple case of math, incoming culture created difficult task for Arkansas Razorbacks coaching staff

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Jan 26, 2024 11:00 AM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – When last season ended in a loss to UConn, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman was left with time to reflect on what kept his Razorbacks from winning it all.

The plan the year before had been to bring in a collection of elite freshman talent and mold it into an unstoppable force. Obviously, there were some bumps in the road.

It took a while for players like Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh to mature and grow into strong SEC caliber players. Meanwhile, Nick Smith, Joseph Pinion, Derrian Ford and Barry Dunning never reached that level for varying reasons.

So, looking back over his past success and seeing players like JD Notae, Stanley Umude, Justin Smith Trey Wade, Au'Diese Toney and Ricky Council, it was easy for the man known as the Great Importer to envision putting together a super team free of the inherent problems that come with relying heavily on freshmen.

Musselman cut bait with most of his remaining freshmen and recruited as few high school players as possible, putting his entire focus on ultra-experience transfers with the idea he could simply tweak their skills and approach like he has so successfully done with transfers in the past. The amalgamation would pop out the other side a ready-built national championship team.

His plan yielded nine seniors, most of whom are in their last year of eligibility, plus a pair of non-seniors who began the year projected as NBA draft picks. Being a bit incognizant, Musselman was only capable of seeing a group of men coming together for one last possible run at an NCAA championship and a shot at improving their NBA prospects.

However, he was blinded to his lack of leverage. You see, Musselman coaches in a hard, old-school manner. He has an in your face, high demand demeanor that those 40+ wouldn't think a whole lot about. However, that's not a world familiar to most modern athletes.

If conducted in the wrong environment, it will cause players to completely shut down. Freshmen are ideal for this approach because college basketball is new for them, They know it's going to be a drastic change, so they process the approach and demand as such.

There also has to be a core of returners capable of starting who have truly reaped the rewards of taking hard coaching who also have years left. Not only can they provide a culture that lets other players know it's all worth it after an especially tough day of practice or criticism, but they have incentive to push forward also.

Two of the biggest cards in the Musselman deck is his propensity for sending players packing at season's end, plus the perceived influence he can wield over NIL if he wants. A player with another year remaining isn't going to want to be forced into the transfer portal. Instead, he wants Musselman dropping his name in praise as often as possible in press conferences because each time it happens, the next season's NIL value goes up.

That leaves room for a handful of transfers who are at the end of their eligibility to buy in via peer pressure as the majority of their fellow Razorbacks cope with the coaching style and slowly mold into an elite force through the fire. Even if seeing their teammates tough it out and buy in isn't enough, Musselman now has the leverage of simply leaving that player on the bench as Arkansas ticks off win after win.

That's simply not the case this season. When it came time for Musselman to break the new crop of players so they could be molded into the national championship machine so many thought they could become, he didn't have the leverage he needed to do it.

There are seven transfers, most of whom were expected to be counted upon heavily, who came from vastly different cultures where they were the untouchable player. In all, there are 11 Razorbacks from whom there is little Musselman can take because they are either seniors or expected to be drafted when the season began.

They perceive this as their one last season, so there's no threat of being pushed into the transfer portal and there's no money that can be diminished thorugh NIL. That's why stories have drifted out of Fayetteville of players telling Musselman he's not going to talk to them that way or coach them in that manner. It's also why word of Arkansas being stuck with one of the most uncoachable groups of players ever assembled quietly buzzes among coaching staffs in various corners of college basketball.

Look at the three players fans most often cite for the effort they show on the court – Joseph Pinion, Layden Blocker and Tramon Mark. Not only does Musselman hold leverage over Pinion and Blocker, but they are both home grown players who are invested in the program and who have seen first-hand the fruit of what happens when players push through Musselman's style of coaching.

As for Mark, he's just doing all he can to keep the rest of this team from ruining his potential as a first round draft pick. He came to sharpen himself for the NBA and the Arkansas coaching staff provides the best NBA prep in all of college basketball.

The question now becomes whether Musselman continues to learn and adjust. He will likely have to replace at least 11 players. That's a lot of transfers without much to rely upon as far as Razorbacks left behind to set the tone and expectation. If he doesn't play his cards right, Arkansas could be right back where it currently is.

In theory, the answer is to find a middle ground between last season and the current team. An assembly of talent light on freshmen, but also with only a sprinkle of seniors and graduate transfers. By relying heavily on sophomores and juniors, Musselman gets needed experience, but also required leverage.

That will be important because he be missing a core group to be the example and voice that everything will be all right when he starts getting tough on everyone. That's something that will have to be rebuilt.

It will be a tough task, but Musselman has more than proven he is equipped for the challenge. He just has to fight his way through the rest of this season without losing his mind until he can officially hit the reset button.