Arkansas coach Eric Musselman provided insight this week in regards to his current roster, what it could mean for the 2019-20 season, and future scheduling.
On the March Madness 365 podcast with NCAA.com correspondent Andy Katz, Musselman shared that the Razorbacks, as of now, do not have a traditional center and “might not” be able to have one in his first season at Arkansas.
In breaking down his current set of players, Musselman, who was hired April 7 to replace Mike Anderson after eight seasons, said he is intrigued by the Razorbacks guards presently on campus, including point guard Jalen Harris, Isaiah Joe - who he labeled an “incredible shooter” and “next-level scorer” - Desi Sills and Mason Jones.
When assessing the forwards he has to work with, a bunch that includes rising senior Adrio Bailey, Gabe Osabuohien and Reggie Chaney, Musselman said the group is not unlike his players at Nevada in that they have the ability to play multiple positions.
Those three players combined to average 14.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game last season and shot 30 percent on mid-range jump shots, according to shot chart data collected throughout the 2018-19 season.
Ideally, Musselman prefers to play smaller, position-less lineups. Over Nevada’s final five games of 2018-19, the Wolf Pack’s most commonly used lineup (37 percent of possessions) featured five players under 6-foot-8, according to KenPom.
He expounded on potentially entering next season without a traditional big man.
“We might have to do what we did at Nevada for three years, which is play guys that are small forwards or power forwards and play them at the '5' spot,” Musselman told Katz. "What we don’t want to do is we want to try to avoid making a recruiting mistake just filling a hole and that scholarship, you know, you’re kind of stuck with a piece that might not fit longterm.
“We’ve got some work still to do on the roster, but we do have some guys we’re really, really excited about as well.”
When questioned in reference to scheduling, Musselman said Arkansas does not possess a great deal of flexibility in 2019-20 because a number of games were already under contract by the previous staff, but he plans to challenge the Razorbacks in nonconference play in future seasons.
Known nonconference games for next season are at Indiana, at Georgia Tech and at Western Kentucky, plus the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Arkansas' opponent has not been announced for the challenge.
Based on previous Big 12/SEC Challenges, games have been played during the conference schedule on the final Saturday in January.
Matchups at Indiana, Georgia Tech and Western Kentucky will serve as the back end of previously-scheduled home-and-home series. It is believed Arkansas will face the Hoosiers in the early portion of the nonconference season, and the Georgia Tech game will be played Nov. 25. The date for the Razorbacks’ road game against the Hilltoppers is unknown.
“I think it can be one nonconference game that can turn the needle one way or the other to get you in the NCAA Tournament,” Musselman said. “We still want to spend a ton of time studying what can get us in the tournament if it’s not an automatic bid.
“I think you’ve got to have that mentality because that’s something you can control, the nonconference.”