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Eric Musselman bringing Arkansas staffers with him to the USC Trojans

Erik-McKinneyby:Erik McKinney•04/15/24•

ErikTMcKinney

New USC head coach Eric Musselman speaks to the media at his introductory press conference
New USC head coach Eric Musselman speaks to the media at his introductory press conference (Screenshot from USC video)

Eric Musselman will be surrounded by some familiar faces as he opens his tenure with the USC Trojans. There has been no official announcement yet, but the USC Athletics staff directory has been updated to reflect the additions of Michael Musselman, Anthony Ruta and Todd Lee as men’s basketball assistant coaches, as well as Caleb Cline as a men’s basketball operations staffer. All four will follow Musselman from Arkansas to USC.

Here are some notes from the Arkansas bios of the new additions:

Michael Musselman

Musselman was hired by Arkansas as the director of recruiting ahead of the 2019 season. He became the assistant director of basketball operations the following year and the director of basketball operations ahead of the 2022 season. Last summer, Musselman Musselman served on the staff for the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA summer league team. Musselman led a standout recruiting effort for Arkansas, which landed the No. 2 recruiting class in 2022 and signed two outstanding 2023 prospects, including McDonald’s All-American Baye Fall.

Anthony Ruta

Ruta landed at Arkansas as the Director of Scouting and Assistant to the Head Coach prior to the 2022 season after serving as the head coach at the University of South Dakota. Lee and Musselman have a 30-year history together. Lee, a two-time conference Coach of the Year and finalist for national Coach of the Year, spent four seasons as head coach at the University of South Dakota and has 12 years of collegiate head coaching experience to his credit.

Anthony Ruta

Ruta spent three years as an assistant coach for the Razorbacks after serving three years as the men’s basketball director of operations. Ruta began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Arizona State, his Alma Mater. He and Musselman coached together at Nevada from 2015-2019.

Caleb Cline

Cline began at Arkansas as a graduate assistant in 2020 and then spent the past two seasons as assistant director of operations. He played for Lee at South Dakota.

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