Arkansas Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Razorbacks

It was just two seasons ago that Eric Musselman took over an Arkansas Basketball program that hadn’t seen much success since Nolan Richardson’s 1994 national championship. But, in that short period of time, he has energized the fanbase to a fever pitch with his interactions and enthusiasm. Last season everyone saw all of that pay off with a trip to the Elite Eight and now the question is what can Musselman do for an encore?

After the run to the Elite Eight, Arkansas got hit hard by the graduation of Justin Smith, Jalen Tate, and Vance Jackson. Then leading scorer, freshman Moses Moody turned pro and Desi Sills transferred to Arkansas State. That left guards Davonte Davis and JD Notae as the only ones returning from the Razorbacks’ top-six point-getters from a year ago.

The Muss bus was undeterred however and kept rolling straight into the transfer portal where he grabbed six transfers of his own, where five of the six players being brought in finished either first or second on their team in scoring or rebounding the last time they played for their former team. Ever since Musselman arrived in Fayetteville, he has been one of the most active coaches in the country when it comes to the transfer portal so integrating these new faces shouldn’t be an issue.

With a roster filled with the experience of five seniors who should be in the rotation and four key sophomores, despite losing so many key pieces, Arkansas should once again be an extremely tough out in the SEC.

After a run to the elite eight, the Razorbacks lost a bunch of talent, from Moses Moody and Justin Smith to Desi Sills. The Muss bus rolled into the transfer portal, picking up six passengers, three of which are likely to start alongside two potential breakout stars in sophomores Davis and Jaylin Williams.