Musselman, Hogs touch base with player who scored almost 19 a game last year

Eric Musselman will almost certainly need to rebuild his backcourt for Arkansas.

With the expected losses of Nick Smith Jr. and Anthony Black from the Arkansas backcourt, coach Eric Musselman is seeking a rebuild.

On Monday, former Rice guard Quincy Olivari said he was in contact with the Razorbacks, with Fayetteville being a potential destination via the transfer portal.

Olivari averaged 18.1 points and 5.9 rebounds last year for the Owls. As of Monday afternoon, the 6-foot-3 guard, a rising graduate player, had planned to also talk with Indiana, Cincinnati and Auburn in the coming days.

Smith and Black just finished their freshman seasons, but both are likely to be NBA lottery picks. Neither has announced a decision about his plans next year.

Musselman brought in five players from the transfer portal last offseason and six players the year before that. Arkansas does not currently have enough places on its roster for such a number again, even taking into consideration the loss of Kamani Johnson and potential losses of Smith and Black. However, some players on the roster right now are likely to head to the portal, themselves, though nothing has been announced.

Regardless, given the time of year and Musselman’s propensity for using the portal, expecte plenty of chatter in the next month or so about the shakeup of the Arkansas basketball roster for 2023-24.

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