SEC Basketball Preview: Eric Musselman Gives KSR+ a Look His Arkansas Razorbacks

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Exhibition games are underway and basketball season is starting back up again. Here at KSR+ we’re previewing all the SEC teams and we’ve got another one on the way Wednesday. 

We’ve already previewed Ole Miss, LSU, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Auburn, and Mississippi State. We’ve already talked to one head coach in Bruce Pearl. Now, it’s time to talk to another. 

Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman broke down his 2023-24 Arkansas Razorbacks roster in an interview with KSR+. 

“We had a great summer and a really good offseason and it was a good leadup through the two exhibition games,” Musselman said. “We’re still trying to figure out an identity, both offensively and defensively. I’m sure we’ll be much like the past teams where we’ll be evolving throughout the course of the season.” 

Making Up for Some Departures

Arkansas had a good season in 2022-23, going 22-14. They upset No. 1 seed Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, before falling to the eventual champion UConn Huskies in the Sweet 16. A big part of the team’s success was the emergence of the three one-and-done freshmen: Nick Smith Jr., Anthony Black, and Jordan Walsh. 

“We expected and were hopeful that the three freshmen would be one-and-dones,” Musselman said. “We’re happy that all three guys got drafted — a lottery pick, a first-rounder, and a second-rounder.” 

Black was drafted No. 6 overall to the Orlando Magic. Smith went No. 27 overall to the Charlotte Hornets. Walsh went No. 38 overall to the Sacramento Kings. 

“When we looked at short-term, long-term roster management, we had planned for those three guys to be here for a year and then pursue their NBA situations,” Musselman said. “They all made good decisions to go pro based on where they were getting drafted. There was no surprise with the three guys that were able to go to the NBA.” 

In addition to the three draftees, Ricky Council was picked up by the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-way deal after going undrafted. 

“I’m happy for the guys that have moved on,” Musselman said. “We’ve added talent because we needed to because we lost a lot of talent.” 

A Very Experienced Arkansas Roster

By returning several key players in Davonte ‘Devo’ Davis, Trevon Brazile, Makhi Mitchell, Jalen Graham, and Joseph Pinion, Arkansas comes into the 2023-24 campaign with a very experienced roster. 

“We’re able to put in a little bit more schemes on both sides of the ball,” Musselman said. “Davonte ‘Devo’ Davis and Brazile understand what the system is. They understand the style of play that we want to have.”

Brazile was recently named to the Karl Malone Award preseason watchlist for the nation’s top power forward.

“Makhi Mitchell was a starter for us last year. Jalen Graham gave us really good minutes as well. Those two guys up front give us depth as returning players.” 

Musselman also said that Pinion had a “really good offseason” after averaging 2.4 points in 5.7 minutes per game last season. The team also brings back a couple of walk-on players in Cade Arbogast and Lawson Blake.

“They understand the pace that we want to practice with,” Musselman said. 

The experience also comes in the form of transfers, something Musselman has become well-known for at the college level. 

“It’s a good blend or good mix of veterans, two freshmen, along with the returning group,” he said. “There are three pods of players we’re trying to blend into one.” 

The incoming transfers include Khalif Battle (Temple), Chandler Lawson (Memphis), Tramon Mark (Houston), and El Ellis (Louisville), as well as Keyon Menifield (Washington), Jeremiah Davenport (Cincinnati), and Denijay Harris (Southern Miss). 

Ellis, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound combo guard, averaged 17.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists on 41 percent from the field in his sophomore year at Louisville last season. 

“El Ellis has played really well for us in both exhibition games,” Musselman said. 

Battle fought through a leg injury over the summer to prepare for the season. The 6-foot-5, 180-pound combo guard averaged 17.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 41 percent from the field in his senior season at Temple last season.

“Khalif Battle had some injuries in the summer, so he’s just rounding back into shape,” Musselman said. “He’s a dynamic scorer.” 

Lawson, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound power forward, averaged 5.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game while starting 24 games at Memphis last season. 

“Chandler Lawson is a guy that provides steadiness and really, really follows the game plan really well,” Musselman said. 

Lastly, Mark, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound point guard, averaged 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, starting all 37 games for Houston last season.

“[Houston] is so well-coached,” Musselman said. “Defensively, he’s got great toughness. He’s a guy, offensively, we think is going to be able to have the ball in his hands in clutch moments.” 

Utilizing the Transfer Portal and Getting His Team Healthy

Eric Musselman has built a reputation for reloading his teams through the transfer portal even before his time at Arkansas, but it’s still something that requires a lot of attention entering the season. 

“The questions [heading into the season] would just be about a lot of new faces and a lot of those guys are going to play heavy minutes,” Musselman said. “You take the transfer group and the freshmen group and they’re so new. 

However, if there’s anyone prepared for getting transfers up to speed, it’s Eric Musselman. Although it wasn’t officially called the transfer portal back when he was the head coach at Nevada from 2015-19, Musselman has a great history of rebuilding teams on the fly. 

“Maybe having a minor league background or even a pro background, you’re used to changing rosters. We didn’t have any apprehension with transfers,” Musselman said. 

Musselman was the head coach of two G League teams in the past, the Reno Bighorns (2010-11) and the Los Angeles D-Fenders (2011-12). That helped prepare him for the frantic nature of today’s college basketball landscape.

“You’re used to your best player getting called up one day. Then you’ve got to go try and beat somebody else,” Musselman said. “We welcome the transfer stuff. We’ve got to try and get everybody on the same page as quickly as possible. Just because we’ve done it in the past and maybe the way my coaching journey has taken us, the transfer thing would make sense for us to dive deep into that way to build a roster.”

In addition to getting his newcomers ready for the season, Musselman is also working to make sure his team is healthy. Although the team dealt with some injuries over the summer, Musselman said the team is ready for the season. 

“We are healthy now,” he said. “We were not healthy throughout the course of the summer and we took a little bit of a step back because of that. We’re much like a lot of teams. We’ve got to get a lot better.” 

A Couple of Freshmen Fill Out Arkansas’ Roster

Although this team is heavily reliant on experience, there will be a couple of players that provide youth. Those will be freshmen Layden Blocker and Baye Fall. The pair of four-star recruits give Arkansas the No. 11-ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2023, according to On3.

“Both freshmen have really bright futures ahead of them,” Musselman said. 

Fall, a 6-foot-10, 205-pound center from Accelerated Schools (Denver, CO) Aka Family Services Found, was ranked by the On3 Industry Ranking as the No. 31 overall prospect in the nation.

“Baye Fall is really athletic,” Musselman said. “He practices and plays with great intensity. He’s a really good defender, good shot blocker, and can really run the floor. We’re working with Baye to add body weight and strength to him.” 

Blocker, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound point guard from Sunrise Christian (Wichita, KS) was ranked by the On3 Industry Ranking as the No. 46 overall prospect in the nation. 

“Layden is a really, really tough guy,” Musselman said. “He can guard and put pressure in the backcourt. He’s an underrated scorer. Offensively, he gave us a good shot in the arm against Purdue in an exhibition game.” 

‘The Best Conference in College Basketball’

Arkansas will have its work cut out for it this season from a competition perspective, especially with a loaded SEC conference. While Musselman said in previous years the SEC might’ve been underrated, now “everyone nationally understands the talent level.” 

“We know that it’s a football conference, but I think now it’s also a basketball conference,” he said. “I think it’s the best conference in college basketball when you look at all the pros that are produced, talent, coaching, and home attendance. All three of those are areas where the league is so, so strong.” 

One way that Arkansas will look to compete with the best of the SEC will be through its shooting, which Musselman said is a strength. 

“I think we’re a better shooting team than maybe we were in the past,” he said. “Defensively, we’ve got to continue to improve. With so many new faces, it’s continuity on both sides of the ball. How quickly can we gel together? That’s extremely important as well. We just have to keep doing what we’ve always done, which is try to get better each and every day.” 

For Musselman the biggest key this season is improvement. 

“I think if we practice with that same intensity level and the same enthusiasm to try and get better every day, this could be a team that’s as good as any team we’ve had in the past,” he said. “Can we improve at the same rate that past teams have?”