Musselman hires old colleague

UC Riverside coach David Patrick calls a play during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

FAYETTEVILLE -- Eric Musselman and David Patrick are coaching basketball together again in the SEC.

This time it's at the University of Arkansas.

Musselman, who went 20-12 in his first season as the Razorbacks' head coach, hired Patrick as his top assistant coach on Wednesday.

Previously, Musselman and Patrick were assistant coaches at LSU during the 2014-15 season for Coach Johnny Jones when the Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Patrick, 44, was at LSU from 2012-16 and persuaded Musselman to join the staff.

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This time it was Musselman -- who became Nevada's coach after one season at LSU -- doing the persuading with Patrick, who is returning to the SEC after being an assistant coach at TCU for two seasons and the head coach at the University of California-Riverside for two seasons.

Patrick was named the Razorbacks' associate head coach, the same title Chris Crutchfield had last season.

Crutchfield, who came to Arkansas from Oklahoma, resigned June 1 to become the head coach at East Central, an NCAA Division II school in Ada, Okla.

"When we had an opening and [Patrick] was the first guy that I thought would really be good and fit in with our current, entire staff, and knows me," Musselman said.

"I am honored to be reuniting with Coach Musselman at the University of Arkansas," Patrick said in a news release.

Patrick thanked the UC-Riverside administration and his players.

"The chance to help lead the historic Arkansas program, be close to home, and return to SEC basketball was one that my family and I could not turn down," Patrick, who went to high school in Baton Rouge, said in the release. "We cannot wait to get down to Fayetteville and I cannot wait to get to work to continue pushing the Razorback program forward."

Patrick was born in Bermuda but raised in Melbourne, Australia. He played at Syracuse and Louisiana-Lafayette, then played for pro teams in Australia, England and Spain. He was the godfather of Australian native and Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft who he recruited to LSU.

"I loved [Patrick's] background of being a player at a high level," Musselman said. "Obviously, his connections to Australia. I've seen him work as a recruiter."

Patrick was 27-38 at UC-Riverside, but the Highlanders improved from 10-23 in his first season to 17-15 last season.

"He was building it on the upward swing," Musselman said. "Probably going in the direction of being something that was really special in the Big West."

Musselman said he enlisted two mutual friends -- Jones, who is now the coach at Texas Southern; and Brendan Suhr, a former LSU assistant and longtime NBA assistant who is now at Stetson -- to help persuade Patrick to come to Arkansas.

"A lot of interconnecting pieces that I talked to and asked that they could also talk to Coach Patrick," Musselman said. "It wasn't just one phone call. It was a lot of back and forth.

"And it was hard for Coach Patrick to leave a head coaching job. I can tell you that wasn't an easy decision for him."

The two met in 2008 when Patrick was an assistant coach at Saint Mary's College, which is located in Moraga, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay area. Musselman was between coaching jobs -- working as an NBA radio analyst -- and used to watch Saint Mary's practices and bring his sons to shoot and rebound afterward.

"We loved sitting around talking basketball," Musselman said of how he and Patrick became good friends. "He's a guy that's just a basketball junkie. Very good on the practice floor.

"He is known as an incredible recruiter, but he's really, really good on the floor. He's a guy that loves individual player development. He's just as well-rounded a coach as I've been around, from the recruiting aspect to the X's and O's to game preps, practicing and individual skill development."

Patrick left Saint Mary's to become a scout for the Houston Rockets from 2010-12, then went to LSU. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Nicholls State in 2005.

"Couldn't be more excited to have him join us," Musselman said. "He obviously has recruiting ties having worked in the SEC and also being at TCU. He's also someone that has NBA experience as well, having worked with the Houston Rockets."

Working at TCU for Coach Jamie Dixon, Patrick helped the Horned Forgs win an NIT championship and play in the NCAA Tournament.

Patrick also has international coaching experience as a current assistant coach for the Australian National Team, which he helped lead to a fourth-place finish in the 2019 FIBA World Championships, including a 98-94 victory over Team USA.

Patrick also coached NBA champions and Australian National Team guards Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova during their collegiate careers at Saint Mary's College.

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DAVID PATRICK AT A GLANCE

JOB University of Arkansas basketball assistant coach

AGE 44 (born Feb. 21, 1976)

FAMILY Wife Cassie, daughters Bailee and Madison

HOMETOWN Melbourne, Australia

HIGH SCHOOL Baton Rouge Chapel Trafton

COLLEGE PLAYING EXPERIENCE Syracuse 1995-96, Louisiana-Lafayette 1996-2000

PRO PLAYING CAREER Canberra Cannons (Australia’s National Basketball League) 2000-01; Chester Jets (British Basketball League) 2001-03; Amics del Bàsquet Castello (Spanish Basketball Federation) 2003-05

COACHING EXPERIENCE Nicholls State assistant coach 2005-06; Saint Mary’s assistant coach 2006-10; Houston Rockets scout 2010-12; LSU assistant coach 2012-16; TCU assistant coach 2016-18; UC-Riverside head coach 2018-20; Australian National Team assistant coach 2019-present