Arkansas track and field/cross country is the best sport at the university. Arkansas baseball is the the best of the three big sports at the university. But it’s Arkansas basketball that has become the most talked about program across the board at the university.
A lot of that has to do with coach Eric Musselman.
The Razorbacks head man is set to begin his fifth season at the helm and on Monday he joined assembled media to talk about the Hogs’ offseason. Arkansas lost three players to the NBA Draft and another who signed professionally on a two-way contract.
Incoming, however, are two Top-25 freshmen recruits and six players from the transfer portal, all of whom are established rotational guys on the college level already. Getting them in-town isn’t actually that hard, Musselman said, relatively.
“I don’t think you have to sell it,” Musselman said. “You would hope that people are paying attention, and organically there becomes a heightened interest in playing here because of that. We’ve had four one-and-dones, and two lottery picks, a first-round, an early-second rounder … Those guys got drafted because they’re really, really talented coming in through the door, and then obviously walking out as well.”
Arkansas has gone to three straight Sweet 16s, the best run the program has had since Nolan Richardson went to four straight – including two appearances in the national title game (with one win) – from 1993 to 1996.
Don’t expect the dynamite run to just suddenly stop, either.
“I think nationally we are in a really good spot,” Musselman said. “When you have four players that are potential draft picks, that’s a lot of phone conversations and dialogue and other people in the NBA might want to ask about other players in the league.”
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