Eric Musselman leaves Arkansas basketball to become head coach at USC

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. —The Arkansas basketball program is on the hunt for a new head coach, with the Eric Musselman era coming to an abrupt end after a disappointing season.

An exhilarating five-year run ends with Musselman leaving the Razorbacks to be the head coach at the University of Southern California. The Trojans announced the hire Thursday afternoon.

Musselman has deep ties with the west coast, spending time there as a kid before playing college basketball at the University of San Diego from 1983-87. He's had previous coaching stops with the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings in the NBA and the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the G League.

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Musselman will replace Andy Enfield at USC. Enfield made the NCAA Tournament five times over an 11-year tenure with the Trojans.

"My family and I couldn't be more excited for this incredible opportunity at USC," Musselman said in a USC press release. "I am grateful to President Folt and Jen Cohen for the chance to lead the men's basketball program at such a world-class university with a rich tradition of success."

Musselman finishes his time in Arkansas with a record of 111-59. He arrived from Nevada in 2019 and would eventually lead the Hogs to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament three times, with back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight from 2021-22.

However, the most recent season failed to live up to expectations. Arkansas was a consensus top-15 team in the country during the preseason, but the Hogs went 16-17 and were bounced in the second round of the SEC Tournament by South Carolina. This marked the first time since 2010 Arkansas finished with a losing record. It was also the first losing season of Musselman's collegiate coaching career.

Roster turnover was a consistent theme of Musselman's tenure at Arkansas, and while the head coach thrived in his first four seasons, mistakes were made in the team's construction this year.

Offensive talents like El Ellis, Jeremiah Davenport and Khalif Battle failed to find consistency after transferring to Arkansas. Trevon Brazile and Devo Davis never found their footing this year as highly-touted returnees.

Still, Musselman returned the program to heights it had not seen since the mid-1990’s. He produced six NBA Draft picks and revitalized the fan base. Arkansas won at least 20 games in each of his first four seasons.

Prior to entering the collegiate head coaching ranks, Musselman was a head coach for seven professional teams, including two seasons with the Golden State Warriors (2002-04) and one with the Sacramento Kings (2006-07). He won over 500 games as a professional head coach with an overall winning percentage of .634 (503-291).