Eric Musselman addresses Trevon Brazile injury, him returning vs. Oklahoma
Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile limped off the court in the Razorbacks’ 97-83 win over Furman on Dec. 4 with an ankle injury. Despite only having five days to heal, Brazile hit the hardwood again in Arkansas’ Saturday matchup against Oklahoma.
His courageous return effort was in vain. Arkansas fell 79-70 to Oklahoma, and head coach Eric Musselman was ejected in the process. After the game, the Arkansas head coach was brutally honest about the decision to play Brazile.
“[We made the decision] literally right before tip-off,” Musselman said. “I met with the doctors I think whenever I had to turn in the starting lineup. Then, based on conversations really with [assistant coach] Keith Smart and I — as a player, if you warm up, you don’t want to sit and let it [tighten].”
Brazile wasn’t able to provide his typical services. He only played 15 minutes and failed to score while recording just one rebound. For reference, Brazile is averaging 10.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 29.2 minutes per game this season.
Musselman did not blame Brazile for the team’s loss. In fact, he praised Brazile’s willingness to step back on the court.
“He did everything he could,” Musselman said. “He was he was rehabbing all hours of the day. He and the trainer did a great job. Obviously, he wasn’t his normal self, but he sacrificed for the team and tried to give us some minutes.
“It’s not why we lost. He played on a bum ankle for the betterment of the team, which is — you want guys to be that team-oriented.”
Arkansas suffers in the BOK Center
Brazile provided one of the few positive takeaways for Arkansas from the game. The two teams combined for six technical fouls in the contest, including two on Musselman that resulted in an automatic ejection.
Musselman exploded after Arkansas was called for four fouls in the first four minutes of the second half. The calls boosted Oklahoma to an 11-2 run to stretch their lead to 48-33. Musselman had seen enough.
The 59-year-old coach ran on the court and had to be restrained by his fellow coaches. After the game, Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser wasn’t interested in discussing Musselman’s outburst.
“I’m not gonna comment on it. He’s a competitor. I’ll stand and coach, and it is what it is,” Moser said. “All I’ve got are positive comments.”
Musselman was similarly short-breathed about his ejection.
“I have no comments about the refs at all,” Musselman said.
Musselman has only been ejected three times in his 146 games as Arkansas’ head coach. Two of those games were against Oklahoma at the BOK Center. There’s something about those Sooners.