New USC HBC Eric Musselman smiles during a game against UNC Greensboro in Fayetteville, Ark., on Nov. 17. (Michael Woods / AP)
Ryan Kartje (LA Times) — At a critical crossroads for its men’s basketball program, USC announced it has tapped Arkansas coach Eric Musselman to guide the Trojans into a new conference and a new era, after the last one ended with a thud.
Musselman interviewed with USC on Wednesday, just two days after Andy Enfield left USC for the same role at Southern Methodist after 11 seasons, five NCAA tournament appearances and 220 wins in L.A., the third-most in school history. It didn’t take long for USC and its new coach to make a decision. By Thursday morning, a plane was bound for Fayetteville from L.A. to pick up USC’s new coach and bring him west.
“We were determined to find the best coach to champion the development of our student-athletes and elevate our men’s basketball program,” USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen said. “His track record of building winning programs and his unwavering commitment to a culture of excellence make him a perfect fit for USC.”
Before Enfield steadied the program, USC hoops had toiled for years in relative obscurity, unable to find its footing. Enfield eventually caught his stride, even leading the Trojans on an Elite Eight run in 2021. But last season, the wheels came off in what was supposed to be a breakthrough campaign, leaving the program in a particularly vulnerable place, in desperate need of a fresh direction.
Few coaches have proven as capable of building programs as Musselman. He led Nevada to three consecutive NCAA tournament trips before turning Arkansas, a program that languished for two decades in the cellar of the Southeastern Conference, into a regular contender. The Razorbacks went to the Elite Eight in just his second season (2021), then followed with another Elite Eight trip in 2022 and a Sweet 16 berth in 2023 before skidding to a 16-17 mark and tying for 11th in the SEC standings in 2024.
A disappointing finish last season did little to shake interest around the sport in Musselman, though. His name was floated for several openings over the last month, from Louisville to Michigan to DePaul. Even SMU appeared to make a run at Musselman, before setting its sights on Enfield at USC.
With Musselman’s future in Fayetteville looking increasingly uncertain, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek posted a video on social media last week in an apparent effort to garner confidence in the coach’s return to campus. In the video, Yurachek steps onto a school bus and finds Musselman, whom he asks, “You’re still here?”
The video appeared to suggest Musselman was staying in Arkansas — and reportedly didn’t sit well with the coach. But a week later, Musselman was off to Southern California.
“My family and I couldn’t be more excited for this incredible opportunity at USC,” Musselman said in a statement. “We will hit the ground running and work tirelessly to make our great alumni, fans and all of Los Angeles proud.
What awaits him in L.A., however, is still very much in flux. Assuming star freshman Isaiah Collier declares for the NBA draft, as expected, USC will have to replace all five of its starters from last season. Defensive stalwart Kobe Johnson announced on Thursday that he plans to transfer to UCLA. USC’s top recruit, Harvard-Westlake’s Trent Perry reopened his recruitment this week, as did four-star Idaho guard Liam Campbell. Two key reserves from last year’s team, Oziyah Sellers and Kijani Wright, are currently in the transfer portal and, at some point, may be joined by freshman Bronny James.
As rumors swirl about his son’s future, LeBron James said Tuesday that Bronny had “some tough decisions to make.”
Musselman will have critical decisions to make in the coming months, as USC begins its Big Ten transition with little clarity on what the program will look like. He’ll have to build a team from the ground up, reacquaint himself with the Southern California hoops landscape and also help guide USC into the basketball-rich Big Ten, where the Trojans trail considerably in prestige behind Midwestern powerhouses.
He was an assistant at Arizona State and Louisiana State, before Nevada hired Musselman to turn around its program in 2015. He wasted no time in vindicating their decision, leading the Wolfpack to the NCAA tournament in three of his five seasons in Reno, before heading to Fayetteville and reaching the tournament in three of his four possible seasons.
Musselman, who has never spent more than five years at one stop, was paid accordingly for his prolonged success. His annual salary at Arkansas reached $4.245 million in 2023, 12th-most among college basketball coaches nationally. Enfield’s last known salary at USC, by comparison, was $3.8 million.
Luring Musselman to L.A. likely meant making him one of the highest-paid basketball coaches in USC’s new conference. Just two coaches in the Big Ten were paid more than Musselman last season: Michigan State’s Tom Izzo ($6.196 million) and Illinois’ Brad Underwood ($4.7 million).
He’ll have the chance to earn his keep right away at USC, where a big check and a blank slate awaits.
latimes.com
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ESPN ranks the top 10 coaches in college football for 2024 When we asked our college football reporters to rank the sport’s top 10 coaches, we figured there wouldn’t be much debate about who is No. 1 — and there wasn’t. Georgia’s Kirby Smart, whose Bulldogs are 42-2 over the past three seasons, was the unanimous pick among our 10 voters. But after that, there was very little consensus. The only other coach to appear on all 10 ballots was new Alabama head man Kalen DeBoer, but his rankings ranged from second to 10th. Two coaches appeared on nine… Read more »
Lincoln Riley was obviously a no-brainer to make this top 10 list compiled by ESPN college football writers when he first came to USC. He might have even been top five. He would have even made the top 10 after his 11-3 2022 season, despite flubbing the Cotton Bowl big-time. But LR got removed from the top 10 by the writers for totally screwing up USC’s 2023 campaign even though he had generational superstar Caleb Williams QBing his team. But since January, LR has done nothing but positively address USC’s problems left and right and has been willing to completely… Read more »
Bronny James declares for the NBA Draft James — “I’ve had a year with some ups and downs but all added to growth for me as a man, student, and athlete,” 19-year-old James wrote on Instagram. “I’ve made the decision to enter the NBA Draft while maintaining my college eligibility, and will also be entering the NCAA transfer portal.–Thank you to USC for an amazing freshman year, and as always thankful for my family, friends, doctors, athletic trainers and fans for their support.” As a frosh, James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in his 19.4 minutes per… Read more »
never has there been a kid less ready for the NBA. what a joke.
I don’t think he’ll go to the NBA yet because as you say, not ready. He could easily end up at another college team where he thinks he’ll be on a better squad, but Eric Musselman would seem to provide him with exactly the right type of coaching that could help him out.
Imagine the number of people in this kid’s ear?
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I’m hoping Juju will stay at USC and set several more records. I’m not familiar with the WNBA rules on when a player would be eligible to enter the league. With two recent signings of outstanding high school players, USC Women’s Basketball has a bright future. I give Head Coach Gottlieb and her staff a lot of credit for developing these young women this past year and advancing to the Elite 8.
Start at the 19-minute mark
Welcome Eric Musselman, who also gives a big plug to the Women of Troy’s influence
It was bad news good news in the late edition of the O. C. Register this morning. USC basketball captain Kobe Johnson is now a Bruin and Eric Gentry is getting an expanded role in the USC defensive backfield.
Although I’m not sure the bad news is that bad, I am never able to grasp the concept of switching schools across town. I guess it’s down to a business decision these days.
As for the good news Gentry was under used last season, but this season, according to the article, he is going to play a bigger role on defense.
It’ll be interesting to see how D’Anton Lynn and USC’s new defensive staff use Eric Gentry (our version of The Stork) going forward. Genrtry’s always been a long 6-6 playmaker for USC, despite being supported by a less-than-stellar cast, but also inconsistent. When it comes to players switching between schools, one of my absolute fave examples of this has always been that fantastic switcher from UCLA, Rod Sherman, here shown catching that forever memorable 15-yd across-the-middle TD from Craig Fertig at the Coliseum vs Notre Dame in 1964 with a little more than. a minute left to beat the Irish… Read more »
The future is now
Have not posted in a while, because I know little of basketball. I am really impressed with both Andy Enfield and Jen Cohen. Andy might be a second tier BB coach, but he is one smart cookie. He correctly figured out that he was a zombie coach at SC and needed to leave NOW. If he returned next year and laid two eggs in a row, his career was probably over as a semi-elite BB coach. Jen Cohen figured the same thing out. I am convinced Jen was not going to fire Andy until at the end of next year… Read more »
Excited about the hire, but the superstar is Jen Cohen. She’s the home run hire.
Also credit Carol Folt, and Parker Executive Search
Jen Cohen, a passionate, accomplished, strategic and empathetic leader
Fiery Eric Musselman — all 5-foot, 7 inches of him
Dan Weber on USC’s peripatetic, worldly new coach — and his 14 coaching stops in 26 years until those last two. Weber (247Sports) — He’s a youthful 59, so he’s “been there and done that” mostly. The youngest NBA bench assistant at the age of 24. The youngest CBA coach at 23. You know he knows how much a Final Four would fill out that resume. And while a San Diego kid (though born in Ohio) would hardly consider Fayetteville his final career destination job, USC certainly could be. And while Eric stayed in Arkansas five years, the longest stay… Read more »
“Coach Musselman is a big-time coach” Dushawn London (247Sports) — 2024 three-star 6-4 shooting guard Liam Campbell reopened his recruitment following Andy Enfield’s departure. The Meridian, Idaho youngster says he’ll leave all his options open including following Enfield to SMU or staying at USC under Eric Musselman. “Coach Enfield informed me that he was taking the job at SMU and he was the biggest reason I committed to USC,” Campbell told 247Sports. “Obviously I love the school but that was a great coaching staff that had a lot of trust in me. They made me feel at home so I wanted to reopen my recruitment… Read more »
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