Coming Full Circle: Musselman, Smart recruiting son of former player

Arkansas offered 2024 five-star point guard Jase Richardson the first day of the contact period, on June 15. The offer caught the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman product by surprise, and in a good way.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” Jase said. “It made me feel excited. Watching Arkansas this year, they were a pretty good team and made a great run in March Madness. I like the way they play, their style of play is pretty cool. They have great energy from the fans, from the players, from the coaches. It was just… happiness.”

Under head coach Eric Musselman, Arkansas has bought into the NBA model and tweaked it to fit the college game — using the transfer portal similar to free agency, being able to develop roster chemistry quickly, the style of play and even the coaches on staff.

Musselman was a long-time professional basketball coach with stints in the CBA and NBA. He spent time in the college ranks as an assistant, learning the differences and nuances between the professional and college games, and had immediate success at his first head college coaching job at Nevada.