Arkansas coach Eric Musselman could get whistled for a technical foul faster, even if he shouldn’t.
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman and the Razorbacks are looking forward to their trip to Europe for a series of exhibition games. And even besides the culture, the team will have to deal with other changes.
Musselman talked about the rule differences between the NCAA and FIBA, the International Basketball Federation. Specifically, he talked about officiating.
“Yeah, probably more technicals in international games than normal,” he said. “They’re a little stricter on demeanor on the sideline.”
Normally that might be an issue. Musselman isn’t shy about chiding officials when he feels wronged. But considering it’s an exhibition slate in the summertime, it shouldn’t matter all that much. Anyway, Musselman has played through FIBA before as coach of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela from 2010 to 2013.
“I know all the FIBA rules inside and out,” Musselman said. “I might know the rules in FIBA better than I do in college, believe it or not, because I’ve probably coached just as many games under those rules.”
So the Razorbacks might run into some issues with a shorter short-clock and different court dimensions. But they’re moot, Musselman said. He’s more concerned about where the Hogs are when they get back stateside.
“I’m not really worried about these four games,” he said. “I’m worried about the 30 games after these four.”
Arkansas opens its four-game trip against Valencia Seleccion at 12:30 p.m. CT in Spain on Tuesday.
