Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball

Top 2023 prospect Baye Fall announced Tuesday that he will play for Arkansas next season.

"I chose Arkansas because me and my family feel it's the best place for me to accomplish what I want to accomplish," Fall told On3's Joe Tipton. "It's the best place that can get me to the next level in the best way possible. Going on the two visits to Arkansas opened our eyes. Their play style fits me well. There are great coaches out there. I think I go there and get better and win at the highest level."

Ball committed to Arkansas over Auburn, Seton Hall and Rutgers.

The 5-star player is considered the third-best center in his class and No. 14 overall in the country, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

"He's 6-11, but he jumps like he's 6-2 and moves like he's 6-6," former high school coach Bill Brandsma said in 2020, per Kendra Andrews of The Athletic.

Fall moved from Senegal to Lutheran High School in Parker, Colorado, before eventually transferring to Denver Prep Academy. At every stop, the big man showcased impressive athleticism and natural ability for his size that allowed him to be successful on both ends of the court.

The center already has excellent instincts on the defensive end to be an elite shot-blocker, while his ability to run the floor will allow him to be productive offensively. If he can further develop his offensive game, Fall will be nearly unstoppable.

Arkansas will give him the chance to do that as he tries to reach his potential before making the leap to the NBA.

Fall should still be an impact player while in college, likely starring defensively while helping everyone around him on that end of the court. He should play significant minutes from the start while challenging to be an all-conference player even as a freshman.

Anthony Black, a 5-star combo guard out of Duncanville (Texas) High School, has committed to play college ball for Arkansas on Monday.

"I believe in coach [Eric Musselman], and he knows what it takes to make it to the NBA," he said to ESPN's Paul Biancardi.

Musselman appeared to react to the news on social media:

Black is the third-highest rated Texan, the third-highest rated point guard and the No. 22 overall prospect in the class of 2022, per 247Sports' composite.

Brandon Jenkins, 247Sports' recruiting analyst, provided the following scouting report for Black on December 2, 2021.

A former dual-sport athlete (three-star wide receiver), Black is a big playmaking guard who is excellent in transition and can play and guard all three perimeter positions. He is smart with his decision-making and has a great understanding of how to play. He can play with the ball in his hands is a very reliable decision-maker. Black is very disruptive on the defensive end with quick and active hands and alert instincts.

He provides length, elite athletic ability, and the game comes naturally to him on the offensive end of the floor. An average shooter, Black could use some improvement on the consistency of his deep ball. But he is a versatile talent with great long-term tools who is only just beginning to tap into his upside.

Jenkins called him a future Power Five conference starter and compared him to retired point guard Shaun Livingston. 

Black joins a loaded recruiting class for the Razorbacks. Prior to his commitment, Arkansas was second on 247Sports' team composite rankings for 2022. Musselman already has letters of intent from a pair of 5-star talents, combo guard Nick Smith and small forward Jordan Walsh.

Arkansas lost to Duke in the NCAA tournament on Saturday, but reaching the Elite Eight was a sign of the progress being made. Now the program is poised for big things next year.

Down goes No. 1! The top-ranked Auburn men's basketball team suffered a 80-76 upset loss to Arkansas in overtime Tuesday night.

The Tigers fell to 22-2 after their first SEC loss and had their 19-game win streak come to an end. 

Razorbacks senior guard JD Notae led the way with a game-high 28 points to help the team improve to 19-5 and 8-3 in the in conference play. 

In addition to Notae's scoring outburst, he played some hounding defense and stuffed the stat sheet by adding five rebounds, three assists, three steals and four blocks. Au'Diese Toney added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Jaylin Williams finished with 13 points and 11 boards for Arkansas.

"They danced on our logo before the game, we watched that," Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said in his post-game interview. "What a great win for this program, it's so awesome."

It's the Razorbacks' second win over an AP No. 1 team in program history, last accomplishing the feat in 1984 against the Michael Jordan-led North Carolina Tar Heels.

Auburn was led by star freshman Jabari Smith, who finished with 20 points and nine rebounds. Wendell Green Jr. added 19 points and Walker Kessler had a monster game with 16 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks, but he fouled out of the game with 1:03 remaining in overtime.

The Tigers played an uncharacteristically sloppy game and struggled with their shooting. They connected on just 37.5 percent of their shots and 25 percent of their three-pointers. Auburn also shot an abysmal 8-of-17 from the free-throw line and turned the ball over 19 times, well above their season average of 11.4 entering Tuesday.

Arkansas will go for its 10th straight win on Saturday in a road matchup against Alabama. The Tigers will return to action that same day when they host Texas A&M.

Jordan Walsh, a 5-star class of 2022 small forward prospect out of Link Academy, has announced his commitment to Arkansas:

The 247Sports composite list has Walsh ranked No. 27 overall, second among Texans and seventh in the small forward group.

Link Academy is a brand-new basketball program located on the campus of Camp Kanakuk in Branson, Missouri.

Walsh, a DeSoto, Texas, native, arrived after originally committing to Southern California Academy. Walsh's previous prep stop was Oak Cliff Faith Family Academy.

Walsh had 20 offers and made visits to Arkansas, Texas, Arizona State, Kansas and TCU.

Brandon Jenkins, 247Sports' recruiting analyst, offered this scouting report on April 17.

Walsh is a very long and active dual forward prospect who projects as a wing long-term but right now his offensive game is more that of a hybrid four. He has the upside to be a versatile asset at the high major level. He has good bounce and fluid strides to add to his lengthy frame. Walsh's calling card may be on the defensive end where he is disruptive guarding the ball and contesting shots.

He has a nose for the ball and looks to control the glass when motivated and he can lead the break after securing a defensive rebound but lacks the natural acumen to make the right decisions consistently in offensive structure. He has a good looking jumper but it is not totally reliable. Improving his decision making and becoming more of a threat when open from behind the arc are his main areas of focus.

ESPN has Walsh ranked seventh overall in his class and second at his position with a grade of 93 out of 100.

Now Walsh joins an Arkansas team on the rise under head coach Eric Musselman, who guided the Razorbacks to the Elite Eight last year.

The class of 2022 now has five members on 247Sports' composite top-100 list, including 5-star combo guard Nick Smith.

Five-star guard Nick Smith Jr. announced his commitment to Arkansas on Wednesday.

Smith chose the Razorbacks over Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas Pine-Bluff.

A 6'4" combo guard out of North Little Rock (Arkansas) High School, he is the No. 9 overall prospect in the 2022 class and third-ranked combo guard, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.

Smith was one of the biggest breakout players of the summer, rocketing up recruiting boards after an excellent performance at the Nike Peach Jam in July. He scored 31 points in the finals of the tournament in front of a crowd packed with top recruiters.

"Before Peach Jam, schools really weren't sure," he said, per Jason Jordan of Sports Illustrated. "Then they saw what I did, not even being at 100 percent, and it went from there. I always knew where I stood as a player. I'm just taking my time and taking it all in."

Kentucky, Memphis and Tennessee all came through with offers in July, but Smith held his decision close to the vest.

"I'm not like everyone else," he said. "I really don't care about name; I'll go to a low Division I school if that's the best situation."

In the end, Smith chose to go the Power Five route with Arkansas. He is the fourth recruit of the 2022 class for the Razorbacks, who are well on their way to a top-10 class for head coach Eric Musselman.

The Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1995 during the 2021 Big Dance, and head coach Eric Musselman reportedly received a contract extension as a result.

On Wednesday, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported Musselman and the SEC program finalized a deal that will pay the coach more than $4 million per year and runs through the 2025-26 campaign.

The Associated Press (h/t ESPN) reported the pact also features two one-year automatic agreement clauses that could extend the contract through the 2027-28 season. They vest if Arkansas receives bids to the NCAA men's tournament during the new extension.

"Coach Musselman earned this opportunity based on the tremendous progress that he and his coaching staff have made in the past two seasons, culminating with the most exciting season in the recent history of Razorback basketball," athletic director Hunter Yurachek said.

In Musselman's first two seasons with the Razorbacks, he went 20-12 in 2019-20 and 25-7 in 2020-21.

That he found such success wasn't surprising given his accomplishments in four years at Nevada. Musselman led the Wolf Pack to three Mountain West regular-season titles, one Mountain West tournament title and three NCAA tournaments.

Nevada also made the Big Dance in 2017 after nine straight seasons without an appearance and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2018.

Arkansas appears primed to continue its success.

It checked in at No. 15 in Bleacher Report's Top 25 for the 2021-22 season and No. 12 and No. 5 in the Top 25s of ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Stadium's Jeff Goodman.

Arkansas is finalizing a multiyear contract with men's basketball coach Eric Musselman, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium.

The Razorbacks went 20-12 in Musselman's first season before winning 25 games and reaching the Elite Eight for the first time since 1995 in 2020-21.

Arkansas originally gave Musselman a five-year contract in April 2019. He received a $2.5 million annual salary, which was reduced to $2.33 million amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That put him 49th in Division I, per USA Today.

While Musselman hasn't been in Fayetteville for very long, his success at Arkansas and Nevada—the Wolf Pack made the Sweet 16 in 2018—has catapulted his stock skyward.

USA Today's Paul Myerberg argued in March the 56-year-old would be a good target for Indiana before the Hoosiers hired Mike Woodson. Mike Fisher of Longhorns Country reported he was among the fallbacks for Texas if the school was unable to land Chris Beard. The Arizona Daily Star's Bruce Pascoe reported he had also "generated interest" from Arizona.

It doesn't seem as though Arkansas was in imminent danger of losing Musselman, but the school couldn't afford to take any chances. Officials may have felt pressed to act after Alabama handed Nate Oats an extension through 2026-27 worth $3.2 million per season.

Nolan Richardson made the Razorbacks nationally relevant in the 1990s, delivering a national title in 1994 and a runner-up finish in 1995. For the most part, the program languished in mediocrity following Richardson's firing in 2002.

Expecting Musselman to deliver a national championship is probably asking a bit too much, but he clearly has things going in the right direction.

The Arkansas Razorbacks have their next men's basketball coach.

On Sunday, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek announced his school hired Eric Musselman for the position that was vacant after the Razorbacks fired Mike Anderson:

Musselman was the head coach of the Nevada Wolf Pack for the last four seasons and helped them reach the last three NCAA tournaments. They notably reached the Sweet 16 in 2018 and won the Mountain West Conference's regular-season crown in each of the last three years.

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports noted the school began conversations with Musselman "early last week."

Arkansas' new coach went 110-34 at Nevada during a tenure that featured an immediate turnaround. It won nine games the year before he was hired only to win 24 in his first season and become a regular in the Big Dance. It had missed the tournament eight straight years prior to his arrival.

Last year's Sweet 16 appearance was Nevada's first since 2004.

The Razorbacks are looking for a similar turnaround after missing the tournament this season. They also haven't been to the Sweet 16 since 1996 and made the Big Dance just three times in Anderson's eight seasons.

Musselman will compete against a loaded SEC that features strong programs in Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee and LSU, among others, which will be a challenge after thriving in the Mountain West.

The Arkansas Razorbacks finished the 2018-19 men's basketball season with an 18-16 record that resulted in the firing of eight-year head coach Mike Anderson. 

Former UCLA head coach Steve Alford might be patrolling the Arkansas sideline in his place, as Stadium's Jeff Goodman reported Tuesday evening that Alford's name is in the mix.

Earlier Tuesday, Goodman also relayed that Nevada head coach Eric Musselman as a "serious candidate" for the Razorbacks' vacancy. 

Under Anderson, the Razorbacks made three NCAA tournament trips but never beyond the second round. Overall, Anderson posted a 169-102 record since 2011. 

By comparison, Alford registered a 124-63 record before UCLA fired him 13 games into the 2018-19 season after a 15-point loss to Liberty on Dec. 29. The 54-year-old had led the Bruins since 2013, helping the team appear in three Sweet Sixteens but losing all three times. 

It marked the first time in program history UCLA has fired a coach in-season, per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.

However, Alford's statistics are not fully responsible for his ousting in Westwood. Bolch depicted the program's dysfunction under Alford the day after his firing and described the program's environment as "poisonous."

An excerpt: 

"Alford also struggled to develop his players. UCLA’s inability this season to maximize a young roster stacked with four- and five-star recruits triggered criticism from notable former alumni, including Darrick Martin, Andy Hill, Kris Johnson and Matt Barnes. ... 

"After holding himself accountable for a home loss to Belmont earlier this month, Alford increasingly blamed his players for the team’s shortcomings. He suggested that they needed to spend more of their free time in the gym after a 29-point loss to Cincinnati and seemed baffled after the loss to Liberty that his players were unable to execute what they had been taught in practice."

It was ugly on the outside, too. Fans paid to fly a banner over the UCLA campus calling for Alford's firing, fueled by the team's failure to advance into the 2018 NCAA tournament with a loss in the First Four game.

Prior to UCLA, Alford has coached collegiately since 1995 with stints at Missouri State, Iowa and New Mexico. Each of his tenures finished with overall winning percentages above .500. 

If reports are true, Arkansas must have full belief that a change of scenery can make all the difference.