Evan Daniels of 247 Sports interviewed Eric Musselman, the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Musselman fielded a lot of questions from Daniels, including which team was the best in the country this season? The Arkansas head coach believes John Calipari had the best team in college basketball.
Here is what Musselman told Daniels in the 247 Sports story you can read at the bottom of the article.
“I think Coach Cal’s team, I love what he does, I love how they get better, I love how hard they cut,” Musselman said. “I would say from teams that we play, I would say that’s the team that I was most excited to watch. I think what Kentucky brings to college basketball when they come into your building, it’s the Yankees or the Lakers. They have that. They bring a certain excitement with the student body and the crowd.
Back on January 18th, Calipari was ejected during the second half of the Wildcats win vs. the Razorbacks. I can say out of all the arenas I’ve covered Kentucky in the last three years, Bud Walton Arena was the loudest at that point. It didn’t take Musselman long to realize the impact of Kentucky traveling to town.
“Then just the way Coach Cal is able to get his guys to focus on the road in that environment every night. Now that I am in the SEC and saw the impact when Kentucky came here, I just admire so much of what he is able to do especially with a young group of guys. It’s really hard. We only experienced it the last two years at Nevada when you’re the biggest crowd every night and have a target on your back. We had all seniors and he’s got all freshmen. To me, that dynamic is incredible.
Musselman’s praise for Calipari continued, calling him the “greatest thing for our league.”
I watch a lot of press conferences and some coaches just don’t get it. It’s embarrassing some of them not being able to give credit to other coaches and what Calipari does, to me he is the greatest thing for our league. He finds a way to compliment every opposing team and every coach. It’s an incredible characteristic that does nothing but enhance the college game. Whether he is playing a game in conference or out of conference, he just gets it and he’s trying to do what’s best for the college game and the coaching profession. There are other people that have zero feel for what that looks like and they should study what he does.”
You can read the full question and answer with Musselman at the link below.
Q&A: Eric Musselman on his first year in Fayetteville
