Musselman excited about Moore, Mawein fitting into scheme
Eric Musselman's haul for the 2021 class may not be as flashy as the four 4-star class of 2020, but it gets the job done.
The Razorbacks signed 6-foot-5 small forward Chance Moore and 6-foot-9 forward Akol Mawein on the 11th, the first day of the early signing period, and according to Musselman, that's a wrap as far as non-transfer additions go.
"I think from a high school standpoint, that’s our class," Musselman told the media Wednesday. "It’s going to be Chance. Then from a junior college perspective, I’m pretty sure it’s just going to be AK. Then I think the way we’ll build out our roster moving forward will be with transfers. There’s not going to be an surprises over the next three or four weeks. This is kind of where we are and we’ll have patience moving forward with how we build the roster out from this moment on.
"I'm real excited about both guys because Chance fits what we want on the wing, so to speak, and obviously AK with his versatility up front. Both guys can make threes and also beat people of the dribble. I think from a scheme standpoint, they fit in what we’re trying to do."
Moore, a Rivals 3-star ranked No. 121 nationally, signed his NLI Wednesday morning with his family in Georgia. The versatile guard/forward is likely to play his way back into 4-star status if his 26-point average this fall is any indication.
"Number one, he's a great athlete. I think he's going to continue to get better as a three-point shooter," Musselman said. "He's got length and athleticism to play the way we want on the defensive end, meaning he can switch. He's got enough strength to battle people down low. He's got quickness on the perimeter to be able to defend someone. I think he fits in really well with a transition offensive team that likes to get out and try to score baskets in the flow of the game. All those reasons have us really excited."
Despite having played high school ball in the Natural State at Southwest Christian Academy, Sudanese forward Mawein wasn't on the Hogs' radar until Musselman added David Patrick to the coaching staff. The Australia transplant was committed to Patrick at UC-Riverside and decided to stick with Patrick as he moved to Arkansas.
Musselman doesn't have much of a history with junior college players but he took the Navarro C.C. standout with pleasure. Mawein scored 13.5 points per game and five boards in his first season and he should have three seasons to play on the Hill even after this season due to NJCAA COVID-19 legislation.
"You talk about a 6-foot-10, 240-pound (listed as 205) player who’s got really, really good versatility playing inside and out," Musselman said. "I think he’s ranked as the No. 1 power forward by a couple different outlets as far as junior college goes. He’s got the local ties, as well, having played here in the past."
The Razorbacks still have another spot they could fill (and likely more with natural attrition) for next year's roster. Musselman isn't counting on this year's seniors to return–even though they technically could if they wanted to. Biggest need will probably be revealed during the season.
"I think what you’ll see across the board is very few men’s basketball players coming back, especially guys at a high level. We certainly feel like our three guys that we have now are guys that are going to have an opportunity to play for money beyond college. That’s really not a factor in how we’re building out our roster."
Stay locked on HawgBeat Thursday night for coverage of the Razorbacks' Red-White Game at 7 p.m.
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