Arkansas Razorback basketball fans should trust in Muss

The Arkansas basketball team’s 2021–22 campaign came to a close on Saturday night with a 78-69 loss to Duke in the Elite Eight, but no Hog fan should sag their head. Head coach Eric Musselman has the basketball program headed in the right direction.

In fact, when the dust settles, this season may go down as one of the best-coached seasons of Musselman’s illustrious career.

Arkansas Basketball head coach Eric Musselman bested NBA talent and college coaching legends on the way to a second-straight Elite Eight appearance.

While no one would argue that this Razorback squad had heart, grit, and whatever other cliched sports phrase you want to throw out there— on paper they were not as talented as some of the teams they beat this year.

The team entered the year having lost four of their six top scorers from Musselman’s first Elite Eight run at Arkansas. On top of that, the roster he fielded this season was not loaded down with projected NBA talent. Bleacher Report‘s most recent two-round mock draft does not have a single Hog being drafted.

However, the projected lottery is littered with players who lost to the Razorbacks this year. This Razorback team beat players like Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, and TyTy Washington. In fact, the Hogs actually outlasted eight of the top ten projected draft picks in the NCAA Tournament.

The only two who are still playing? Duke teammates Paolo Banchero and A.J. Griffin. That’s right. It took two potential top-ten draft picks to beat the heart, grit, and team defense that Musselman fostered in his team.

The Hogs didn’t just beat top talent, they also bested some of the best coaches in college basketball. Just take a look at the list of names Musselman won games against this year: Rick Barnes, John Calipari, Tom Crean, Mark Few, Ben Howland, Bob Huggins, Frank Martin, Bruce Pearl, Bruce Weber, and Buzz Williams. The number of career wins, Final Four trips, and National Titles on that list is substantial.

If this is what Musselman was able to do with a rotation on Saturday night that consisted just two Top-100 players coming out of high school, imagine what he might be capable of with the number two recruiting class in the country. A class that still has the chance to add 5-star guard Anthony Black.

Hog fans have long preached that this basketball program was a sleeping giant, a dormant blue blood. Musselman seems to be the coach who is proving them right.