Eric Musselman downplays impact of draft picks on Arkansas' recruiting success

Arkansas became a hotbed for elite future pro talent under head coach Eric Musselman, especially in the last few years. Last offseason, the Hogs landed a trio of five-star freshmen in Anthony Black, Nick Smith and Jordan Walsh — and Muss got ’em all drafted in the first 40 picks last Thursday. Black went the highest at No. 6 and he joins Moses Moody as the only other lottery pick of the Musselman era.

Such an impressive showing at last week’s draft must be good news for the Razorbacks recruiting efforts, right? Well, Musselman was asked that exact question in his post-draft press conference. Here was his response:

“Yeah I think that’s a great question. I mean, I don’t think you have to sell it. I mean, you know, you would hope that people are paying attention and, organically, there becomes a heightened interest in playing here because of that, you know,” Musselman said. “So I don’t think we, you know, necessarily have to sell it. We’ve had four one-and-dones and two lottery picks, a first rounder, an early second rounder. And I think that, you know, those guys got drafted because they’re really really talented coming into the door, and then obviously, you know, walking out as well. So, I’m happy for them, happy for their families.”

Musselman doesn’t have to go out and actively pitch the team’s success at getting players drafted. That’s just something these kids notice and definitely makes a difference.

On that point, Musselman was asked if the draft success raises the profile of the entire school and athletic department. He’s not sure what the value of such exposure is on a national scale but did say it’s definitely a positive.

“I mean on that particular day, I don’t know if there’s a value to the university when there’s a limited number of sporting events happening on that particular day in this juncture of of the sporting season” Musselman said. “Arkansas’ name was really mentioned a lot, so I don’t know what the what the add value is for Arkansas, but I promise you there is value from a national standpoint.

“The value on the entire university or sports program at Arkansas may be a bit overstated, but for the basketball program, draft nights such as last Thursday are enormous. Now, Eric Musselman can walk into a five-star recruit’s home, slam a picture of Anthony Black and Adam Silver on the counter and ask: “You next?”