Australian native Akol Mawein is the first junior college signee in the Eric Musselman era at Arkansas, and for good reason. The 6-foot-9 forward brings a versatile skillset to the Razorbacks.
Mawein initially committed to Coach David Patrick when he was head coach at UC-Riverside, but when Patrick took a job at Arkansas, Mawein followed.
“As soon as he moved over there [to Arkansas] and it was out in the public, he told me I was one of the first people he called,” Mawein said of Patrick. “It really meant a lot coming from him.”
When asked if he had to think too much about his decision to commit to Arkansas, Mawein said, “Not really.”
“He’s really been watching me since I was fourteen years-old,” Mawein said. “I really put all my trust into David Patrick. He’s somebody that I really look up to. As a coach, he’s always in my ear wanting what’s best for me, so it wasn’t one of those decisions I had to think about twice.”
The relationship between Coach Patrick and Mawein extends years, schools, and countries.
“I transferred to Montverde Academy and he offered me at TCU,” Mawein said. “He’d keep in touch with me through the recruiting process and we built a relationship through that. Ever since then it’s been real close. And we also have the Australian connection, so, even more of a reason to go where he’s at.”
Coach Patrick had a heavy hand in Mawein committing to Arkansas, but the JUCO prospect also talked with Head Coach Eric Musselman a great deal before committing and ultimately signing.
Mawein said, “I loved his energy as a coach. He’s for the players, and that’s really hard to find, the type of person he is. He’s an amazing guy. He’s a great coach.”
On top of Musselman’s energy and passion on the court, his social media presence is making a big impact with recruits, especially now when visits aren't permitted.
“It really has a huge impact as a recruit,” Mawein said. “Not only is he keeping in touch with me on the phone, but it’s almost like I’m right there with him. It’s like getting an inside view of the school, almost like a reality tv show where you can see everything. For a recruit that’s really important because you don’t want to go somewhere where you don’t see enough.”
As always, Coach Musselman and staff scouted Mawein and talked to him about how his game would fit and what areas he needed to improve.
“Coach Muss wants me to be more of a stretch four. He wants me to use my versatility more on both ends. Just coming in there and being a big impact on the team,” Mawein said. “You want someone who can really guard almost all over the floor.”
Mawein still has complete another season at Navarro Junior College in Texas before enrolling in Fayetteville, and plenty he wants to accomplish.
“I just want to be able to be more vocal, be more of a leader on the floor,” Mawein said. “Another thing will be fixing up old habits, something that will help me transition to that level. I want to be able to focus this year on next year which is really just getting ready to try and transition and go to a big program and make an impact.”
