Familiarity helped Musselman, Hogs land pair of graduate transfers

Eric Musselman doesn’t need to wait until Vance Jackson and Jalen Tate suit up for the first time at Arkansas to know what he has in the two graduate transfers.

The Razorbacks’ second-year coach scouted both players and even got a first-hand look at Jackson long before either entered the portal.

That’s why, when the season ended and Musselman started exploring the transfer market, Arkansas quickly zeroed in on Jackson and Tate to fill out its 2020-21 roster.

“Just as an NBA team when they evaluate for the draft, they would much prefer to watch a guy live,” Musselman said. “Live eyeballs tell a lot more of the story, certainly, than watching on tape.”

Nevada was undefeated and ranked No. 6 nationally when Musselman led it into Albuquerque for a matchup with New Mexico on Jan. 5, 2019.

Even though the Lobos were just a game over .500 and Jackson was coming off the bench at the time, the 6-foot-9 guard/forward was a major concern heading into the game.

“We felt like with his versatility, he was the only player in the conference at the time that could match our guys’ versatility,” Musselman said. “We had four guys that could play four positions and Vance kind of negated that.”

Those concerns proved to be legitimate, as Jackson nearly notched a triple-double in a dominant 85-58 upset win over the Wolf Pack.

He came off the bench and scored 18 points on 7 of 11 field goals - including 3 of 7 beyond the arc - while also adding 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. According to Sports-Reference’s Play Index, Jackson is the only player to reach those numbers off the bench in a single game over the last decade.

Even though he was limited to just five points, five rebounds and four assists when they met in Reno later that season, his performance made a lasting impression on Nevada’s players.

“He stepped up against a ranked team and dominated the game,” Musselman said. “When he verbally committed [to Arkansas], I would say seven to eight of the guys off the Nevada team had texted me that particular day because our guys had tremendous respect for him.”