Tag: Eric Musselman Live

Mitchell thriving, despite separation from his twin brother

Other than the two minutes that lapsed between when Makhi Mitchell entered the world on Jan. 31, 2000, followed shortly by the arrival his “younger” brother, Makhel, the identical twins were virtually inseparable for the first 22 years of their …

Other than the two minutes that lapsed between when Makhi Mitchell entered the world on Jan. 31, 2000, followed shortly by the arrival his “younger” brother, Makhel, the identical twins were virtually inseparable for the first 22 years of their lives.

The Washington, D.C., area natives, knew from an early age that their enormous size gave them an advantage on the basketball court. They began playing organized sports at the age of 6, and always remained on the same teams.

“We’ve always been on the same team, we’ve always been to camps together, and we pretty much did everything together,” said Makhi, the 6-foot-10 forward for the Arkansas basketball team, who was a guest on the Eric Musselman Live radio show Tuesday night at Sassy’s BBQ & Grille.

After developing their skills around the courts of the nation’s capital, the twins honed their talents at Woodrow Wilson High School, where they became 4-star prospects, and were rated as the No. 2 and No. 3 players in the region in 2018 by 247 Sports.

After signing together and playing their freshman seasons at Maryland, the duo transferred to Rhode Island for the following two years. Last season, they were plucked out of the transfer portal by Eric Musselman, looking to add some needed size to the Arkansas front court.

The Mitchells helped catapult the Razorbacks to their third straight Sweet 16 appearance, as Makhi started 31 of the Hogs’ 36 games, averaging 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds a game, while shooting a team-leading 66 percent from the floor. Makhel logged nine starts, averaging 3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per contest.

After the season, the 23-year-old brothers had to make one of the toughest decisions of their lives, ultimately deciding to move in different directions. Makhi chose to remain at Arkansas for his final season, but Makhel thought it was best to transfer, deciding to spent his final season at Little Rock.

“You know, it was a business decision,” Makhi said. “But I think we are both at that point, that we can handle ourselves and handle our own things. He’s at a good spot. I’m at a good spot. I’m happy for him and proud of him, and I know he is proud of me.”

Makhi has averaged 6.7 points and 5.0 rebounds through the Razorbacks’ first three games this season, but shined brightest in an 86-77 victory over Old Dominion on Monday night, tallying a double-double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The twins still talk at least once a day by phone and try to meet up, either in Fayetteville or Little Rock, when time permits.

“I’ve been down to Little Rock a few times to visit and hangout,” Makhi said. “He loves the city and loves the campus down there, so he is happy.”

With their school schedules and practice schedules usually somewhat in sync, the Mitchells get to continue their brotherly competitiveness with each other via online video games, where they battle it out on a regular basis.

“We still get to spend a lot of time together, talking on the phone or playing games, so it’s working out good,” Makhi added. “That’s my brother, man, and I love him so much.”

Musselman likes how veteran-led Razorbacks responded in first tilt

Razorbacks basketball coach Eric Musselman discussed the advantages of having a veteran team at his radio show Monday evening.

Arkansas basketball coach Eric Musselman seems to have operating the transfer portal down to a science.

Since he arrived in Fayetteville five seasons ago, the longtime NBA and college head coach has dipped into the portal quite often to land some key pieces for his program.

None more so than this year, with the addition of seven new faces from the portal. In addition to three holdovers from last year, 10 of the Razorbacks’ current 16-man roster has been plucked from other college programs.

During his “Eric Musselman Live” radio show Monday night at Sassy’s Red House, he addressed the advanced maturity of this year’s team, over past seasons.

“This group was equipped to play this early, a team like Purdue,” he said, referencing the Hogs’ 81-77 exhibition win over the No. 3 Boilermakers on Saturday. “The thing that I was most impressed with was our players’ ability to take things from the practice floor to in-game situations, this early.”

The overall learning curve has drastically lessened this year with eight seniors or graduates on the roster, all of whom have previously played at a high level of college basketball. Arkansas had only four seniors and no graduates on the team last season.

Musselman did bring in two impact freshman this year, with forward Baye Fall and guard Layden Blocker, who are already showing their presence. And although last season’s freshman class was arguably the most talented in Razorback history – two getting drafted in the first round and another in the second round of the NBA Draft – that lack of experience reared its ugly head at times during the season.

The coach also addressed the pros and cons of having a veteran team versus a young team on Monday. Advantage to the veterans, off the court, with their general maturity in handling life. Many of the transfers made their initial visits alone, as opposed to freshman, who usually arrive with their parents in tow.

“With the freshman, the coaching staff is not only moving you in, but then making sure you have an adjustment for the first month, month and a half, on campus – it’s all new for them,” Musselman said. “It can be difficult with transfers, too, because some of them have habits that are different from the habits that we have, especially in practice, because we are pretty demanding in practice.

“So, sometimes there’s an advantage with freshmen, because they don’t have those built-in habits. There is a little bit of positives, both ways, but I do think that this year’s group is equipped to play this early. But we will see how we respond after this win.”

In his inaugural year at Arkansas, in 2019-20, Musselman brought in starters Jimmy Whitt and JD Notae from the portal, before landing two more starters the following season, with Justin Smith and Jalen Tate.

He then welcome a portal haul in 2021-22 that included starters and rotation guys, like Stanley Umude, Trey Wade, Au’Diese Toney and Chris Lykes.

Last season, Musselman veered more toward a youth movement with six highly touted freshman, including three McDonald’s All-Americans. He still found some gems in the portal with Ricky Council IV, Trevon Brazile, Makhi Mitchell and Jalen Graham – the latter three still on the team this season.

“We have a lot of guys that played a lot of college basketball and played at a lot of different places,” said El Ellis, a graduate-transfer from Louisville, who was a guest on the radio show, “So I feel like that’s what’s helped us and I feel like that’s why our guys were so confident in that overtime game because we were older, and a lot of guys have been there before. So I feel like that’s gonna go a long way.”

In addition to Ellis, this year’s portal additions include: Graduate Khalif Battle (Temple), graduate Denijay Harris (Southern Miss), graduate Chandler Lawson (Memphis), graduate Jeremiah Davenport (Cincinnati), junior Tramon Mark (Houston) and sophomore Keyon Menifield Jr. (Washington), who will redshirt this season.