In the wake of Andy Enfield leaving USC for the SMU job, the Trojans are reportedly setting their sights on a new leader for their program. According to Scott Schrader of On3sports, USC is set to interview Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman for its vacant head coaching position.
The 59-year-old coach has spent the last five years in Fayetteville. During this time, the Razorbacks have gone 111-59. This included two-straight Elite 8 appearances and a Sweet 16 appearance. This past year, Arkansas struggled immensely with roster turnover and inconsistency. The team finished 16-17 overall — including 6-12 in SEC conference play. Musselman was previous at Nevada, where he led the Wolf Pack to four-straight 20-win seasons.
With ties to both the NBA and the West Coast, poaching him from Arkansas would be a massive move for USC ahead of its transition to the Big Ten. Musselman’s teams are known to be active and aggressive. Schematically, they’re predicated on positional versatility and up tempo play.
Whereas there’s a bit of a ceiling at Arkansas, the same limitations don’t necessarily exist at USC. The basketball program has been a relatively successful entity over the last decade. There’s a ton of talent in Los Angeles and in neighboring big cities (Phoenix, Las Vegas, Seattle).
While USC will always be considered the ‘other’ basketball program in Los Angeles with UCLA’s unparalleled history, the fit between USC and Musselman seems like a good one. He should be able to recruit at a high level, and also draw transfers to a program currently in desperate need of bodies.
