Key to Eric Musselman's Building Sounds Like Top Football Coaches

After spending time visiting various football programs, Eric Musselman has figured it out

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Mar 23, 2023 11:24 AM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It was interesting to see the amount of questions at Arkansas coach Eric Musselman's media session had nothing to do with tonight's game.

Someone asked about the quick turnaround he's done with the Razorbacks. The response was great, especially if you compare it with some of the top college football programs like Alabama and Georgia.

"You've got to worry about two things," he said in Las Vegas before tonight's game with UConn. "Obviously the most important thing is UConn. But there is still recruiting going on right now as well."

It's that last phrase that got my attention.

That's what he's turned up with the basketball program probably more than any other program on campus. At least it's been more visible on social media ... and constant.

"From an image standpoint, I want it to be a program that people think wins," he said, which is the absolute bottom line on everything.

There are some folks that want their heroes to be good guys, friendly and always doing the right thing. Their deep, dark secret is they'll silently overlook just about anything to win games.

Getting the players to implement the plan is key, though. More and more these days that's coming through working the transfer portal.

Musselman and his staff are experts at that.

"Like any program you go in with a plan, a short-term plan and a long-term plan and then you try to think about how you can have sustainability in today's college landscape," he said. "Whether it's a football program or a women's basketball program, you can build quickly because of the portal."

He's only four years into what he's building with the Hogs and that's not going to live and die with this year's game. Every year a goal is the championship.

"The key is how can you have sustainability," he said. "You've got to have a short-term plan and a long-term plan. Obviously, the most important thing right now is to get ready for UConn."

But recruiting players is the most important thing.

"I would be lying to say that we're not also recruiting today and didn't recruit last night and didn't recruit this morning and won't recruit tonight," he said on Wednesday.

And the reason is very simple.

"The portal is open while teams are still playing," Musselman said.

The comparison with what coaches like Nick Saban and Kirby Smart do is very interesting. They've made calls immediately after championship games to key recruits.

That's how you build that sustainability thing he keeps talking about.

Tipoff for the game with UConn tonight is 6:15 p.m. on CBS. You can hear the game with Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman on ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.