USC hires Arkansas’ Eric Musselman to replace Andy Enfield

USC has employed Arkansas’ Eric Musselman as its subsequent coach, the college introduced Thursday.

Musselman replaces Andy Enfield, who left USC after 11 seasons to change into the coach at SMU.

“My household and I could not be extra excited for this unbelievable alternative at USC,” Musselman, who can be launched Friday at a information convention, mentioned in an announcement. “We can be dedicated to the event of our student-athletes and upholding the values that make the Trojan Household so particular. We’ll hit the bottom operating and work tirelessly to make our nice alumni, followers and all of Los Angeles proud.”

Musselman, 59, is coming off his worst season since arriving in Fayetteville in 2019. The Razorbacks completed 16-17 total and 6-12 within the SEC, however he had led this system to back-to-back Elite Eights and a Candy 16 look the earlier three seasons. In 2020-21, Arkansas received 11 of its closing 12 video games to finish the common season after which superior to the regional closing earlier than falling to eventual nationwide champion Baylor.

Regardless of a revamped roster the next season, the Razorbacks received 14 of 16 to finish the common season and reached the Elite Eight, the place they misplaced to Duke. Final season, Arkansas struggled down the stretch of the season, however earned an 8-seed within the NCAA event. After beating Illinois within the first spherical, the Razorbacks beat top-seed Kansas within the second spherical to as soon as once more advance to the second weekend. Earlier than Musselman’s arrival, Arkansas hadn’t superior to the Candy 16 since 1996.

In 5 seasons at Arkansas, Musselman was 111-59.

USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen mentioned Musselman has a observe file of constructing profitable applications and has a dedication to making a tradition of excellence.

“Eric shows coronary heart, boldness, resiliency and every little thing that it means to be a Trojan,” Cohen mentioned. “He conjures up togetherness and can assist construct and develop this system’s connectivity throughout the Trojan neighborhood. As we transfer to the Massive Ten and enter a brand new chapter for USC Males’s Basketball, there isn’t any higher match than Eric Musselman to launch our program to new heights.”

Previous to taking up at Arkansas, Musselman was the top coach at Nevada for 4 seasons, main the Wolf Pack to 3 Mountain West regular-season titles and three NCAA event appearances — together with a Candy 16 look in 2017-18. They received no less than 24 video games in every of Musselman’s 4 seasons in Reno, going 110-34 throughout his time with this system.

Musselman, the son of former NBA coach Invoice Musselman, has coached at totally different ranges of the game since 1989. He was the top coach of the Golden State Warriors from 2002-04, ending as runner-up for NBA Coach of the Yr in his first 12 months, and the Sacramento Kings for one season in 2006-07. He additionally hung out within the CBA, the USBL, the D-League and coached the Dominican Republic and Venezuela nationwide groups.

USC is certainly one of 4 Pac-12 faculties becoming a member of the Massive Ten this summer time, together with UCLA, Washington and Oregon, to kind an 18-team convention.

The roster may have a unique look in 2024-25, as main scorer Boogie Ellis is out of eligibility, freshman Isaiah Collier may declare for the NBA draft and Kobe Johnson mentioned Thursday he’s transferring to UCLA. Bronny James, the son of LeBron, stays on the roster after averaging 4.8 factors in largely a reserve function as a freshman. He was initially sidelined for almost 5 months after being identified with a congenital coronary heart defect.

The Related Press contributed to this report.