Eric Musselman details how European Tour practices benefit Arkansas moving forward

Eric Musselman’s Arkansas Razorbacks are a little over a week away from their first game on their foreign tour. The Hogs will leave August 6th and play a total of four games during their 10 day stay in Spain. It’s what it means for Arkansas when they get back to the states though that has Musselman excited.

Musselman talked about the trip’s impact on his roster in a press conference leading up to the work vacation. He says the 10 NCAA-allowed practices for this trip is what will have this team ready when they’re stateside again because of how hard they go.

“I think just from a time perspective, we’re obviously allowed to go longer. That’s the biggest thing but I think the pace of practice, the intensity. When we’re in our four hours, it’s pretty intense,” said Musselman. “We’re able to have longer practices which sometimes can lead to a bit sloppier practices as well.”

The extra time is exactly what the Razorbacks need. Not because they aren’t or won’t be ready for the bright lights they’ll be under this year. It’s because they brought in a class of 11 newcomers to Fayetteville from high school or the transfer portal. They should all be impact players, but the extra time will help the long gelling process they were due for. From there, Musselman says it will be about setting the standard of how Arkansas does things as the season approaches.

“You’re with your guys for a lot longer time for these ten practices and it kind of sets them up for what practices will be like in October. I think it’s good, especially for a new team. They probably don’t know how intense the expectations are,” Musselman said. “I think they’ve gotten to feel the last three days and we have some guys that are really tired right now.”

Eric Musselman’s program has made two straight Elite Eights and brings in the second best class in On3’s 2022 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings. While a great time overseas would be great for the team, it’s the foundation they build and what they bring back that will help the Razorbacks be in the conversation this upcoming season.