USC hires former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman as men's basketball coach
The USC Trojans have hired Eric Musselman as their next head men's basketball coach, the school announced Thursday. Musselman, who arrives in Los Angeles after five seasons in the same role at Arkansas, replaces Andy Enfield, who left for SMU earlier this week.
Musselman, like his predecessor Enfield, had a successful tenure at his last stop, but his team disappointed this past season. Musselman revitalized the Razorbacks en route to back-to-back runs to the NCAA Men's Tournament Elite Eight in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and a Sweet 16 the following year. It was Arkansas' best stretch since the Razorbacks won the national title in 1994 and finished as runners-up the following year.
Arkansas also pulled off multiple March Madness upsets in Musselman's tenure, knocking off No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga in 2022 and No. 1 seed and defending champion Kansas in 2023. But the Razorbacks missed this year's NCAA Tournament for the first time in Musselman's tenure, finishing 16-17 overall and 6-12 in the SEC.
Prior to Arkansas, Musselman had a successful four-year tenure at Nevada, where the longtime NBA coach and former head coach of the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings reinvented himself as an exuberant college basketball personality known for shirtless celebrations after big wins. He also earned the nickname "Muss Bus" while leading Nevada to three Mountain West regular-season titles, a Mountain West Tournament title and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Trojans are turning the page after a disheartening season of their own. USC finished 15-18 overall and went 8-12 in the Pac-12, despite bringing in one of the nation's best recruiting classes the year prior, which featured top recruit Isaiah Collier and fellow guard Bronny James, eldest son of NBA superstar LeBron James. Musselman's first task will be sorting out whether the younger James enters the transfer portal — something LeBron told reporters was a possibility after Tuesday's Los Angeles Lakers game — or stays at USC under the new coach.
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