Hogs dig for every edge with in-depth scouting reports

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman directs his players Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, during practice in the Eddie Sutton Gymnasium inside the Basketball Performance Center in Fayetteville. Musselman and the basketball staff give Razorback players detailed scouting reports before each game.

FAYETTEVILLE -- A couple of days after Eric Musselman was hired as the University of Arkansas basketball coach in April, he met with the players and told them how he would run the program.

Musselman -- a former NBA head coach with Golden State and Sacramento who led Nevada to a 110-34 record the previous four seasons -- emphasized scouting the opponents.

"One thing that's going to be a little bit of a culture shock to you guys is our in-depth scouting reports," Musselman told the players in a video posted by the UA. "I want to start educating you guys on how pro players prepare for a game.

"Because our preparation is going to be different, for sure. It was different for all of our guys at Nevada. You guys are going to know what the opposition does. What their strengths and weaknesses are. You're going to know them inside and out.

"We're not going to sit there and watch film for two hours at a time, but we're going to do segments. Ten minutes out on the floor, maybe go back to the video for five minutes, then back to the floor. It's going to be fun, but you are going to be expected to know your scouting report."

So far, so good.

The Razorbacks, 11-1 going into their SEC opener against Texas A&M on Saturday night in Walton Arena, have credited much of their success to how they prepare. In many cases in the locker room after games, the coaching staff will begin going over information on the next opponent.

"I like it because Coach Muss treats us like pros," junior guard Mason Jones said. "That's what he said he used to do in the NBA. He goes to the next game so we'll be ready."

Musselman said Arkansas' scouting reports actually contain more information than what he and his NBA coaching staffs used to put together.

"They're more in-depth, because we have more time between games," he said.

Musselman said the Razorbacks have absorbed scouting information much faster than he believed was possible.

"I've been stunned and shocked at their ability to execute detailed game plans," he said. "At Nevada, it kind of built up over time."

Musselman said the Razorbacks have run lots of sets offensively and schemes on defense -- where they play strictly man-to-man -- since early in the season.

"I thought it would take until maybe a year into this thing when they really started understanding our terminology and stuff, but they've been locked in," he said. "In the summer, we practiced instead of just doing skill development. I think that helped."

Arkansas had a three-day holiday break from Dec. 22-24 before resuming practice on Christmas Day for last Sunday's game at Indiana, but Musselman texted the players video of the Hoosiers for scouting purposes.

"We're all buying in," sophomore guard Desi Sills said when the Razorbacks returned to campus. "We know we have a big game against Indiana. We all know what they're going to do."

Arkansas became the first visiting team to win at Indiana this season when they beat the Hoosiers 71-64 in Assembly Hall.

"Coach loves to win," senior forward Adrio Bailey said before the game. "He makes sure his players love to win, too. He sent us all the shots [the Hoosiers] like to take, how they move and operate on offense, all the details."

Assistant coaches Chris Crutchfield, Corey Williams and Clay Moser divide up the scouting reports. Then Musselman and the rest of the staff -- Anthony Ruta (director of operations), Hays Myers (special assistant to the head coach), Michael Musselman (director of recruiting) and Pat Ackerman (recruiting coordinator) -- meet and discuss the scouting report with the assistant coach responsible for each game.

"We kind of huddle up, and the scout coach puts together a game plan ... and we alter little things that maybe we've done in the past and try to come up with a theme every game," Musselman said. "It's usually something funny.

"It was a race car one game because we talked about how slow North Texas played, so Coach Moser showed a speed-racing video just to try to get their minds on, 'This is what we want to do. We want to play fast, we want to play with speed this game.'

"Then each opposing player usually gets a nickname or gets a cartoon character or something to try to help our guys understand who that particular player is. One night it could be Batman and Robin, another guy could be the Energizer Bunny because he moves around and gets loose balls. Another guy might be Elmer's Glue because he's got sticky fingers and won't pass the ball. We try to come up with little catchphrases to help our guys remember opposing players as easy as possible."

South Dakota Coach Todd Lee -- whose Coyotes lost at Arkansas 77-56 earlier this season -- was an assistant coach for Musselman in the CBA with the Rapid City (S.D.) Thrillers during the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons.

"One of my responsibilities was doing scouting reports, so I know how detailed Eric is about those," Lee said. "You think you've got everything written up for the report, and then he comes to you with some stat or detail and you're thinking, 'Wow, how did he come up with that?'

"His mind never stops. He's constantly thinking and reading and looking at stats and analytics to try to figure out one little thing that'll give his team an extra edge."

Arkansas also has detailed postgame reports to which every staff member contributes notes on categories such as individual matchups; timing and selection of shots; how turnovers were committed; the success rate of play calls; charges taken and attempted; deflections; plus and minus rebounding at each position; times players didn't sprint back on defense; how pick-and-rolls were defended; and how many passes were made by each player.

One recent postgame report was more than 40 pages.

"The players don't get all of this information," Musselman said. "We take bits and pieces and send it to them.

"What I keep telling the staff is the real edge to these reports is when we're playing a team for a second time, to already have all this information. When you play in a conference tournament on a one-day turnaround, it's especially helpful.

"It doesn't mean you're going to win, but it's going to help you be better prepared."

Up next

ARKANSAS MEN VS. TEXAS A&M

WHEN 6 p.m. Saturday

WHERE Walton Arena, Fayetteville

RECORDS Arkansas 11-1, Texas A&M 6-5

RADIO Razorback Sports Network

TELEVISION SEC Network

Sports on 01/02/2020