Hognobbing

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FAYETTEVILLE – If you’ve kept up with the many college basketball transfer updates on Twitter lately, you might have noticed Arkansas seems to be among the first to contact most players on the move. 

That’s not a coincidence, according to Arkansas Director of Recruiting Michael Musselman.

The head coach’s son explained the Razorbacks’ transfer-monitoring process during an interview with HawgSports.com on Tuesday, saying designated staff members are in place to keep eyes on the portal nearly 24 hours a day.

“The way the portal works, it’s just a database where basically you just have to refresh the web page,” Musselman said. “There are people on Twitter who are saying this person’s transferring from here, here are his stats, sit one, play two – but really, we’re just sitting there refreshing the portal. There’s four or five of us who are on it literally all day. As soon as a name goes in, within a minute or two we’re working on getting a phone number on the player, their contact, their parents, AAU coaches, stuff of that nature.

“Then, we’re digging in the background with everyone in their camp and everyone that’s come in contact with them. There’s four or five of us in here that monitor it on a daily basis. Names go in late at night, names go in early in the morning, so we’re just staying on top of it. We kind of pride ourselves on being one of those first schools that always reaches out to everyone.”

The Razorbacks have already at least made contact with over 30 potential transfer targets in the last couple of weeks, and many have already made decisions on where they’ll finish their college careers.

Musselman, who was officially hired by his father, Eric Musselman, as Arkansas’ director of recruiting last summer, said the Hogs’ wish list of transfer targets is being updated sometimes by the minute. 

“You always have a priority. The transfer stuff happens so fast that your list is constantly changing,” Musselman said. “Our list probably changed four or five times yesterday alone, just based on guys committing, people shifting around, you’re constantly getting background intel on guys and crossing people off and adding people. It happens really quickly. This year, especially. Usually, guys kind of trickle into the transfer portal at season’s end. Well, everyone’s season essentially ended within a few days and most of them within 24 hours when they started shutting down all of the conference tournaments, and obviously canceling March Madness. So, there was an influx of names the last three or four days and it’s been pretty chaotic, but that’s just part of the transfer game.”

With the NCAA still in a recruiting dead period until at least April 16, coaches have to rely on technology to reach their most wanted recruits and potential transfers. 

Eric Musselman has created a social media buzz with creative videos in recent weeks, but is still making time for serious conversations with prospective recruits across the country.

“It’s interesting times for everyone. It’s unprecedented, but obviously everyone is dealing with it in their own way,” Michael Musselman said. “It’s kind of an arm’s race to see who can have a leg up technology-wise. As far as communication, it’s the same. It’s texting, phone calls, and a lot more FaceTime and Zoom. Then, just your regular DM-ing on social media, social media posts, stuff of that nature.”

Arkansas has two scholarships left to fill for next year’s roster and could have more in the weeks ahead.