Busting Brackets
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SEC Basketball: 5 biggest questions going into 2020-21 season

By Caleb Hightower

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 12: A worker takes a cooler off of the court after the announcement of the cancellation of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament has been cancelled due to the growing concern about the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 12: A worker takes a cooler off of the court after the announcement of the cancellation of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament has been cancelled due to the growing concern about the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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FAYETTEVILLE, AR – FEBRUARY 26: Head Coach Eric Musselman of the Arkansas Razorbacks (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR – FEBRUARY 26: Head Coach Eric Musselman of the Arkansas Razorbacks (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

4. Should Musselman feel pressured to take Arkansas to the NCAA Tournament?

It is no secret that  Arkansas has the talent from top to bottom that they been lacking in recent years, which is why many people believe that the Razorbacks are undoubtedly an NCAA Tournament team this year. Of course, there is always the possibility that injuries or wildly erratic play, could help make their ultimate goal a long shot, which may change the way that people view Eric Musselman.

This is because Musselman finally has the pieces he needs to help get Arkansas back into the big dance after the Razorbacks missed out on the fun in 2018-19 (and there is a good chance that they would have been left out of the tournament last season as well). When you are coaching players that you didn’t recruit, or simply don’t believe in, you can sometimes get away with having a disappointing season.

However, when you go out on the recruiting trail, and snag players that you believe will instantly change the culture of your program, the pressure to succeed begins to intensify. At Nevada, Musselman wasn’t able to lead the Wolfpack to an NCAA Tournament berth in his first season as the head coach, but in 2016-17, he guided them to a 12 seed, after capturing the Mountain West Tournament Championship.

What happened the following two seasons? Well, after Cody And Caleb Martin (Twin brothers, who currently play for the Charlotte Hornets, and started their collegiate careers at NC State) were able to return to action.

After redshirting during the 2016-17 season, Nevada not only reached the NCAA Tournament both seasons, the Wolfpack also received the national attention, that helped them remain in the AP top 25 for all of the 2018-19 season (mainly due to their Sweet 16 appearance in the 2018 NCAA Tournament).

At Arkansas however, I am not sure if people will have the patience to deal with Musselman, if he can’t find a way to win consistently with the skilled players he currently has, and show fans why Arkansas basketball as they once knew it, is back.

I am not saying that Musselman will be relieved of his duties if he fails to live up to expectations right away, because he is a coach that will improve as time goes on, but I am certain that people will start to question if he is as good of a coach as advertised, if he fails to get the job done this season.

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