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FAYETTEVILLE — Since the beginning of time, coaches have preached to their players about having a “next-man-up mentality.” In the pandemic year of 2020, that philosophy has extended to coaches themselves.
Arkansas experienced that Tuesday, as head coach Eric Musselman had to miss the Razorbacks’ game against Abilene Christian because of COVID-19 protocols. Although he hadn’t tested positive, he had been in close contact with a staff member who did.
The staff found out that news around 10 a.m., about six hours before tip off. Associate head coach David Patrick filled in as the interim coach and had to quickly adjust to his new role.
“When you find out you’re going to be the head coach, I had to get caught up on Abilene Christian real quick offensively,” Patrick said. “I knew what we were going to do defensively, but I had to figure out how we were going to score offensively in case we needed to, so it was a heck a day but I'm glad we came out with a win.”
Luckily for Patrick, being a head coach was nothing new. Before arriving in Fayetteville this summer, he was actually the head coach at UC Riverside for two seasons, so - in his words - he “wasn’t a rookie.”
It also helped that Patrick has faced Abilene Christian before, so he was familiar with the Wildcats and their head coach, Joe Golding. Two years ago, the Wildcats beat Patrick and his UC Riverside squad 60-48 in a Thanksgiving week tournament hosted by Pacific.
“That’s what Joe was teasing me about when the game finished,” Patrick said. “It was kind of like a knockdown, drag-out fight, which they came and got the better of us. I went back to my notes and kind of knew how they played, but definitely having some familiarity with their team helped, at least from my standpoint having competed against them before.”
Patrick got his revenge Tuesday night, as the Razorbacks jumped out to a big early lead and held off a late rally to beat Abilene Christian 85-72 and remain undefeated. For the second straight year, they are 8-0.
“I think he did a great job just stepping into that position and orchestrating everything,” Moses Moody said. “He has been a head coach before, so it wasn’t anything new for him being back on the sideline. It was a comfortable position, so I think he did a great job.”
It was a really cool experience for Patrick. Even though attendance is restricted this year because of the pandemic, Bud Walton Arena has always been the toughest place to play in the SEC to him, based on his time as an assistant at LSU.
“I’m blessed to have been a head coach before, so I wasn’t a rookie, so to speak,” Patrick said. “But to be able to be the head coach here at Arkansas was blessing — just for the day, obviously.”
Luckily for the Razorbacks, it doesn’t sound like they’ll be without their head coach for any more games. They have an eight-day break before traveling to Auburn for their SEC opener on Dec. 30.
Although the SEC originally required a 14-day quarantine for those caught up in contact tracing, the league has since adjusted its protocols to align with the CDC’s new recommendations.
As long as there is adequate testing available, Musselman will be able to return after just seven days of quarantine if he tests negative on Day 5, 6 or 7. That would allow him to be on the sideline at Auburn, but he’d miss most of the practices leading up to the game.
“Coach talked to us that we've got to be nimble,” Patrick said. “This year has been very challenging as we all know, but he'll be back for the Auburn game. We'll probably have to handle practice until he gets back.”
The Razorbacks will get three days off for Christmas before returning to Fayetteville for practice Saturday. Tip off against the Tigers is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT next Wednesday and will be televised on ESPN2.
