Hogs' Musselman Looking for Identity Ahead Of NLR Opportunity

Razorbacks make yearly trek down to state capital looking for answers to lot of questions

Author:
Daniel Shi
Publish date:
Dec 13, 2023 5:25 PM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With a 6-4 start, it's not a secret anymore Arkansas is looking for answers on both ends of the floor. This team does not know what it's about in its current form.

"We certainly don’t know our team," coach Eric Musselman said Wednesday. "Some teams in college, those guys have it figured out quicker; I don’t know."

Musselman, however, is confident that time is the healer of all things. Drawing on his vast experience at both the NBA and collegiate level, he knows that each team develops at its own pace.

"Some guys get it the last game," Musselman said. "Some guys get it after they leave here. Some guys never get it. I would love to tell you, ‘Oh yeah, it happens after 12 games.’ Chuck Daly used to say you get to know your team 50 games into an NBA 82-game season."

Musselman is hoping a change in the environment of heading down to North Little Rock will provide a temporary boost of energy that the team needs.

"We love playing there (in North Little Rock)," Musselman said. Have not played well historically ... "We need to play like we did last year, which was great energy. Great enthusiasm. Great desire to play in front of a fan base that doesn’t get to see us. There’s going to be kids going to that game that are never going to come to Bud Walton. You’ve got to understand that. You’ve got to respect that. You've got to understand that there are people that only watch games on TV, and this is their one opportunity."

The Hogs have a pesky opponent on its hands. Lipscomb's AJ McGinnis has previous experience at two schools, UNC-Greensboro and Cincinnati. Derrin Boyd, the team's leading scorer, has hit double figures in all but one of Lipscomb's 11 games.

"We just want to put on a show," forward Jalen Graham said. "We want to come and have people want to come back and watch us play back in Bud Walton. We just want to show everybody that our revamped team better basketball than what we have shown and I think we’re going to do that."

Lipscomb vs. Arkansas will tip-off inside Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, Ark. 5 p.m. Dec. 16. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.