:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63368780/1137450637.jpg.0.jpg)
It’s been a little over a week of searching but the Hogs have their coach. Eric Musselman man has been in the rumor mill for most of the search but now the Hogs have their guy. Sunday morning, national media was reporting the deal was nearly done, and not long after official word came out.
Sources: Nevada's Eric Musselman is finalizing a deal to become the next head coach at Arkansas. Official announcement expected soon.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 7, 2019
I am excited to officially announce the hiring of Eric Musselman as our new Head Coach for @RazorbackMBB. And to welcome his wife Danyelle, their daughter Mariah and sons, Matthew and Michael to the Arkansas Razorback Family. #OneRazorback pic.twitter.com/ydHjNwG2UY
— Hunter Yurachek (@HunterYurachek) April 7, 2019
Musselman just finished his fourth season as the coach at Nevada. This season he lost in the first round to Florida but he had an overall record of 110-34 and led the Wolfpack to a sweet 16 appearance in 2018.
He was able to bring in a McDonalds All-American in Jordan Brown with his most recent recruiting class, but his reputation is to be very active in the transfer portal, so the Hogs could see plenty of new faces coming in quickly. Musselman just finished a season with several seniors, in fact his starting 5 had an older average age than the Phoenix Suns for most of the year.
He also has experience coaching in the NBA, with two years with the Golden State Warriors and one with the Sacramento Kings. He never made the playoffs but changes in leadership at both stops cut his time at the teams short. One connection he has with the Hogs is that with the Kings he was Corliss Williamson’s coach. which has led to some speculation that he could be a natural choice for an assistant coach role in Fayetteville.
As an assistant coach, he’s had some brief stops in SEC Country. He spent a year as an assistant with LSU, and some time as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies. His coaching experience also includes the D-League (now known as the G-League), and international coaching experience.