I keep both eyes on my man. The basket hasn’t moved on me yet. Julius Erving
During 56 years on this rock, I’ve attended more than 125 Razorback basketball games – beginning Eddie Sutton and the Triplets back in the late ‘70s until today. Most of my run fell during the early to mid-‘90s, when we were Rollin’ with Nolan. Yet ever since a midseason, knee-jerk firing of Richardson more than 20 years ago, things just haven’t been the same in Fayettenam.
Stan Heath, John Pelphrey and Mike Anderson – all tried in vain to fill the big man’s big boots, but each fell woefully short of his standards, and even shyer of the expectations of an always-intense and ever-impatient fan base.
From the penthouse to the outhouse in three fleeting decades.
Enter Eric Musselman, an elite basketball coach. As the son of legendary college and NBA skipper, Bill Musselman, he has coached in pretty much every division, from the bottom to the top and all over the world. He also comes equipped with a tireless work ethic, a basketball contacts list to die for, and an emphasis on recruiting quality individuals. He and his staff also invest extra time in prioritizing and sharpening their social media presence – something currently crucial to communicating with student athletes.
In a short amount of time, Coach Muss has transformed a once-proud basketball program, mired in decades of mediocrity, back into the monster it once was, can and shall be; all the while reigniting an apathetic fan base dying for success, selling out the 20K+ seats in Bud Walton Arena on the reg, and firmly re-establishing it as one of the loudest gyms in the country.
True to form, the 2024 version of the Muss Bus is reloaded and as talented as any squad since Richardson’s All-Star regiments back in the ‘90s. Once they learn to play and win together, the next step could be a Natty. Considering it’s been 30 years since Scotty Thurman launched his title winning three-pointer over the outstretched hand of Duke’s Antonio Lang, it’s definitely due.
So cheer up!
There are loads of hoops left to be played in 2024. Ample time for the outlier to right the ship, deliver this team back to the promised land of the Final Four and maybe, just maybe, bring another title home to the Ozark Mountains.
Until then, Go Hogs…