FAYETTEVILLE – Since taking over Arkansas’ men’s basketball program in April, Eric Musselman has proven he’s not afraid to swing for the fences. Musselman made a run at some of college basketball’s biggest names in the transfer portal this spring and landed three new additions in center Connor Vanover (Cal), forward Jeantal Cylla (UNC-Wilmington) and guard Isaiah Moss (Iowa).
He didn’t get all of the ones he wanted, but landing Cylla and Moss, two of the off-season’s more coveted transfers, turned heads around college basketball and gives the Razorbacks a much more likable roster heading into next season.
For next year’s recruiting class, Musselman has been offering the nation’s elite prospects like it’s 1995 and Arkansas is still considered a blue blood program.
In fact, five of Musselman’s new extended offers for the 2020 class have gone to five-stars while 13 more have gone to four-stars from around the country.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Musselman and the Hogs have yet to offer a prospect rated three-stars or lower in the 2020 cycle. Most coaches would write that off as a total coincidence, and then spend the next five minutes taking jabs at “recruiting experts” in an effort to save face in case one of their future signing classes doesn’t have a lot of star power.
But Musselman has a different opinion of recruiting sites and scouting services.
“I think 99 percent of coaches love to say that they don’t look at rankings,” Musselman said in an exclusive interview with HawgSports. “I look at rankings because I think you guys get to see the players more than I do because of the rules. Guys that are doing rankings, they don’t have live [recruiting] periods. Anytime the kid’s playing, they’re watching.
“I think it would be ludicrous not to pick the brains of people that are watching guys more than I can watch them. That’s why I think scouting services and guys that are in the gym, you’ve got to ask them and you’ve got to look at rankings. Nothing in this world is 100 percent foolproof, that there’s going to be no poor decisions or poor rankings, but certainly there’s a little more educated guess with guys who get in the gym.
“I’ve always been one, like I mentioned earlier, I watched Connor (Vanover) a lot on film and on live TV because I was into the Pac-12 last year. But I wanted to burn the phones up and call people that played against him to get their opinions. Just like in recruiting, you’ve got to burn the phones up and ask multiple people their opinion on guys.”
The Razorbacks have yet to receive their first commitment for the 2020 class, but they’re still in a strong position to land five-star guard Kyree Walker of Phoenix (Ariz.) Hillcrest Prep.
Due to his academic standing, Walker, 6-5, 220, still has the option of reclassifying to the 2019 class and joining a college program this fall, but he’s not likely to make a decision on that until later this summer.
Arkansas’ in-state crop for 2020 has plenty of stars, too.
West Memphis small forward Chris Moore, 6-7, 220, Fort Smith Northside forward Jaylin Williams, 6-9, 230, and Jacksonville guard Davonte Davis, 6-4, 185, are all four-star prospects who have had their Arkansas offers reaffirmed by Musselman’s staff.
The Razorbacks are also still very much in the hunt for Little Rock native and four-star guard Moses Moody, who transferred to Montverde (Fla.) Montverde Academy last year.
Moody, 6-5, 190, also holds offers from Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and many others.