Not a subscriber? Subscribe for free for 30 days w/code HAWGS30
NEW USERS | RETURNING USERS
FAYETTEVILLE — Eric Musselman’s effort to “embrace the past” continues Sunday when he coaches his first exhibition game against UALR.
Before the 3 p.m. tip, Arkansas will unveil its new court, which is named after legendary coach Nolan Richardson, with several former players in attendance.
Adding even more intrigue to the exhibition is it’s the first time the Razorbacks have willingly played an in-state opponent in men’s basketball since beating Arkansas Tech to open the 1950-51 season. (They played Arkansas State in 1987, but the two schools were matched up in the NIT.)
All proceeds from the game - which is not part of the season-ticket package and has $10 general admission tickets - will be donated to help Arkansans impacted by flooding earlier this year.
Needless to say, it’s not the typical exhibition game against a regional Division II team like Central Oklahoma or Southwest Baptist.
“Really, really a special day and much more meaningful than just what would be a normal exhibition game,” head coach Eric Musselman said. “This kind of takes on a life of its own and I think it’s going to be a great game for all the people involved.”
The exhibition comes about two weeks after the Razorbacks’ annual Red-White Game, which was played inside Barnhill Arena and honored Richardson and fellow legendary coach Eddie Sutton.
That gave fans a preview of Musselman’s first team at Arkansas, but Sunday’s game will be the first time anyone - fans, coaches and media alike - have seen him face an actual opponent.
“Since I’ve been here, which is about six and a half months, we really haven’t competed against anybody other than ourselves,” Musselman said. “It’s very, very much needed, for sure, to play somebody outside of our own internal practices that we’ve had.”
UALR is led by second-year coach Darrell Walker, who scored 1,325 points during a three-year career with the Razorbacks in the early-1980s. His 230 career steals still rank fourth in UA history, while his 302 career assists are just outside the top 10 list.
Walker was a first-round pick and spent a decade in the NBA before breaking into the coaching ranks, where he has crossed paths with Musselman several times. He actually took the Trojans to Reno, Nev., to play Musselman’s Wolf Pack team last season and attended one of Arkansas’ practices earlier this fall.
Because of that regular-season matchup early last season, which Nevada won 87-59, Musselman said he is familiar with UALR’s personnel. However, none of his players have ever faced the Trojans, so they spent Thursday’s practice scouting them from a personnel perspective and will use Friday to implement their game plan.
Specifically, Musselman remembered that forward Kamani Johnson was a “really good rebounder,” guard Markquis Nowell could “really shoot” and that 6-foot-10 forward Nikola Maric was a big man capable to shooting beyond the arc.
That trio was among a group of seven different players who started at least 15 games last season. Only one of those starters are no longer on the team, as the Trojans return 58.3 percent of their scoring from a team that went 10-21 in Walker’s first season. They also added five transfers, highlighted by former UNLV guard Ben Coupet Jr.
“We know they’re a team that causes a lot of turnovers, so that’ll be something we need to do a good job of taking care of the basketball,” Musselman said. “On the flip side, last year they turned the ball over a little bit, so we’ve got to try to be able to create some offense through our defense, as well.”
Winning is important, but Musselman said one of his primary goals for this game is to get a look at various lineup combinations. That assessment will continue into non-conference play, as well.
“We’re trying to still figure out who we are, what our identity is, rotations, who’s starters,” Musselman said. “All those types of things are things that kind of philosophically you’re thinking about as a coaching staff.”
The Razorbacks will have another couple of weeks - and an exhibition against Division II Southwestern Oklahoma State on Oct. 25 - before the Nov. 5 opener against Rice.
Between now and then - and likely throughout the season - they will continue harping on a few areas of their game in particular. It’s no secret that Arkansas’ lack of size could make rebounding difficult and Musselman has joked that it keeps him up at night.
“A lot of the areas we want to improve in are probably a lot of the same things we’ll talk about Monday: We want to take care of the basketball and we’ve got to continue to defensive rebound,” Musselman said. “All of you will probably get sick of that theme because it’s kind of a recurring thing for us, for sure.”
Considering the football team’s struggles and with a new coach at the helm, excitement for Arkansas basketball is higher than in recent years. Sunday’s exhibition and everything surrounding it should only stoke the fire.
The Razorbacks have won 30 consecutive exhibition games dating back to a 76-71 loss to the EA Sports Midwest All-Stars in 2003. However, Musselman said he’s already talked to his team about these games not being guaranteed victories.
He mentioned that UTEP beat a Texas Tech team coming off a national runner-up finish by 10 points just last week and Division II Le Moyne shocked nationally-ranked Syracuse a decade ago.
“There's a litany of examples,” Musselman said. “In any game you play, you have to come and give your best effort or else the results aren't going to be what you like.”
Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Sunday and fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 2:30 p.m. for the pregame ceremony. The game itself starts at 3 p.m. and will be streamed on SEC Network-plus, meaning it can be seen on WatchESPN/SEC Network Online.
