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At a critical crossroads for its men’s basketball program, USC announced it has tapped Arkansas coach Eric Musselman to guide the Trojans into a new conference and a new era, after the last one ended with a thud.
Musselman interviewed with USC on Wednesday, just two days after Andy Enfield left USC for the same role at Southern Methodist after 11 seasons, five NCAA tournament appearances and 220 wins in L.A., the third-most in school history. It didn’t take long for USC and its new coach to make a decision. By Thursday morning, a plane was bound for Fayetteville from L.A. to pick up USC’s new coach and bring him west.
“We were determined to find the best coach to champion the development of our student athletes and elevate our men’s basketball program,” USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen said. “His track record of building winning programs and his unwavering commitment to a culture of excellence make him a perfect fit for USC.”
USC basketball coach Andy Enfield, who led the Trojans to many NCAA tournament appearances, is leaving for the same job at SMU.
Before Enfield steadied the program, USC hoops had toiled for years in relative obscurity, unable to find its footing. Enfield eventually caught his stride, even leading the Trojans on an Elite Eight run in 2021. But last season, the wheels came off in what was supposed to be a breakthrough campaign, leaving the program in a particularly vulnerable place, in desperate need of a fresh direction.
Few coaches have proven as capable of building programs as Musselman. He led Nevada to three consecutive NCAA tournament trips before turning Arkansas, a program that languished for two decades in the cellar of the Southeastern Conference, into a regular contender. The Razorbacks went to the Elite Eight in just his second season (2021), then followed with another Elite Eight trip in 2022 and a Sweet 16 berth in 2023 before skidding to a 16-17 mark and tying for 11th in the SEC standings in 2024.
A disappointing finish last season did little to shake interest around the sport in Musselman, though. His name was floated for several openings over the last month, from Louisville to Michigan to DePaul. Even SMU appeared to make a run at Musselman, before setting its sights on Enfield at USC.
With Musselman’s future in Fayetteville looking increasingly uncertain, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek posted a video on social media last week in an apparent effort to garner confidence in the coach’s return to campus. In the video, Yurachek steps onto a school bus and finds Musselman, whom he asks, “You’re still here?”
(Mike Stewart / Associated Press)
The video appeared to suggest Musselman was staying in Arkansas — and reportedly didn’t sit well with the coach. But a week later, Musselman was off to Southern California.
“My family and I couldn’t be more excited for this incredible opportunity at USC,” Musselman said in a statement. “We will hit the ground running and work tirelessly to make our great alumni, fans and all of Los Angeles proud.
What awaits him in L.A., however, is still very much in flux. Assuming star freshman Isaiah Collier declares for the NBA draft, as expected, USC will have to replace all five of its starters from last season. Defensive stalwart Kobe Johnson announced on Thursday that he plans to transfer to UCLA. USC’s top recruit, Harvard-Westlake’s Trent Perry reopened his recruitment this week, as did four-star Idaho guard Liam Campbell. Two key reserves from last year’s team, Oziyah Sellers and Kijani Wright, are currently in the transfer portal and, at some point, may be joined by freshman Bronny James.
As rumors swirl about his son’s future, LeBron James said Tuesday that Bronny had “some tough decisions to make.”
Kobe Johnson, who was a key leader for the USC men’s basketball team this past season, announced he is transferring to rival UCLA.
Musselman will have critical decisions to make in the coming months, as USC begins its Big Ten transition with little clarity on what the program will look like. He’ll have to build a team from the ground up, reacquaint himself with the Southern California hoops landscape and also help guide USC into the basketball-rich Big Ten, where the Trojans trail considerably in prestige behind Midwestern powerhouses.
But hiring a coveted coach with basketball pedigree and Southern California ties such as Musselman is a major coup at such a late juncture in the offseason carousel. A former University of San Diego basketball player, Musselman has a deep well of experience in the state, having coached for more than a decade in the NBA, including stints as head coach of the Golden State Warriors (2002-04) and Sacramento Kings (2006-07). He spent a year in Los Angeles after being fired by Sacramento, leading the L.A. Defenders of the D-League to a league title in 2011-12, before returning to the college game.
He was an assistant at Arizona State and Louisiana State, before Nevada hired Musselman to turn around its program in 2015. He wasted no time in vindicating their decision, leading the Wolfpack to the NCAA tournament in three of his five seasons in Reno, before heading to Fayetteville and reaching the tournament in three of his four possible seasons.
Erroneous reports surfaced Tuesday that USC freshman Bronny James entered the transfer portal, but LeBron James said his son still has not decided his next steps.
Musselman, who has never spent more than five years at one stop, was paid accordingly for his prolonged success. His annual salary at Arkansas reached $4.245 million in 2023, 12th-most among college basketball coaches nationally. Enfield’s last known salary at USC, by comparison, was $3.8 million.
Luring Musselman to L.A. likely meant making him one of the highest-paid basketball coaches in USC’s new conference. Just two coaches in the Big Ten were paid more than Musselman last season: Michigan State’s Tom Izzo ($6.196 million) and Illinois’ Brad Underwood ($4.7 million).
He’ll have the chance to earn his keep right away at USC, where a big check and a blank slate awaits.
