FAYETTEVILLE — If Hogs had feathers, there would be ruffling among a segment of loyal Arkansas faithful.
New Razorbacks basketball Coach Eric Musselman did not retain assistant coach Scotty Thurman.
Thurman bordered on Razorbacks legend just by helping Nolan Richardson’s Razorbacks reach the 1994 Final Four. Then he etched himself into Arkansas’ forever file by shooting the biggest of Arkansas’ big shots, the 3-point dagger into Duke to win the ’94 national championship.
He helped Arkansas achieve 1995 national runner-up for an encore.
To Razorbacks fans, “Scotty” is one name identifiable like Sidney, Corliss, Nolan and Eddie prefacing last names Moncrief, Williamson, Richardson and Sutton.
Scotty remained a legend upon his 2010 UA return in student development on former Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey’s staff, and then Mike Anderson’s staffs, including the last three years as an assistant coach.
So Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek confirming, “Coach Musselman has come to an agreement that he’s going to give him (Thurman) his 90-day termination letter” isn’t easy for many in Arkansas to swallow, especially on a staff currently without Arkansas links.
Nevertheless, Yurachek could have worsened it. He could have interceded on Thurman’s behalf. That could have turned today’s PR problem - potentially eased by time - into a storm raining throughout Musselman’s reign.
The latter portion of Frank Broyles’ mostly greater-than-outstanding 50 years serving Arkansas teaches that a head coach not free to have the staff he wants should advise his boss to go find a new head coach.
As Arkansas’ 1958-76 head football coach and 1973-2007 athletic director, Broyles mostly was the master of hiring coaches serving Arkansas well and finding comparable, or even better, jobs for those he thought time to move on, while keeping those he knew were vital.
Example: Upon hiring Sutton, Broyles convinced his new coach to retain Pat Foster from predecessor Lanny Van Eman’s staff.
An outstanding two-sport UA grad known throughout Arkansas as a great high school coach, Foster provided pivotal input while recruiting Moncrief, Ron Brewer, Marvin Delph and U.S. Reed, among others.
Upon turning the football reins from himself to Lou Holtz, Broyles convinced Holtz to retain Harold Horton, Jesse Branch and Ken Turner, all instrumental in Holtz’s 30-5-1 totaling his first three seasons.
Broyles and Ken Hatfield divergently viewing some on Hatfield’s football staff, the offensive philosophy Broyles imposed on Danny Ford’s final season and the chasm created by staff hirings thrust upon Houston Nutt wrought more discord than good.
So even with the world of respect this column space has for Scotty and its unchanged opinion that now St. John’s coach Anderson should not have been dismissed by Arkansas, Eric Musselman is Arkansas’ head basketball coach.
As long as he’s the coach, his staff must be his choosing. Even if it means deleting a legend off Arkansas’ coaching bench, though never deleted from its history.