USC Hires Eric Musselman to Succeed Andy Enfield as the New Head Coach of the Trojans

Eric Musselman’s Background

59-year-old Eric Musselman is the son of the late former NBA coach Bill Musselman.

Eric Musselman played college basketball at the University of San Diego. He was a member of the 1986-87 USD Toreros team which made it into the NCAA Tournament.

He began his coaching career shortly after graduating from college.

He started out in 1989 as head coach for the Rapid City Thrillers, a team in the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association (CBA). The following year, he became an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves; his father was the team’s head coach at the time. Then, in 1991, he returned to the CBA, where, for the next six years, he coached the Thrillers and the Florida Sharks.

Between 1998 and 2002, he held assistant coaching positions with the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks.

In 2002, he was hired as head coach of the Golden State Warriors. He was let go after two seasons with the Warriors, and then was hired on as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies. After two years as an assistant coach with the Grizzlies, Musselman was hired as the head coach of the Sacramento Kings. He was fired after one season with the Kings.

Musselman then spent a couple years coaching in the NBA D-League. After than stint, he took on assistant coaching positions with Arizona State and LSU.

In 2015, he was hired as the head coach at the University of Nevada. He has been a head coach at the college level ever since — at Nevada from 2015 to 2019 and at the University of Arkansas from 2019 to 2024.

USC Moved Quickly to Replace Andy Enfield

SMU hired former USC coach Andy Enfield on April 1, 2024.

Just three days later, on April 4, 2024, USC released the following announcement on its website regarding the hiring of Musselman:

“Eric Musselman has been named the USC Men’s Basketball Head Coach, Charles Griffin Cale Director of Athletics Jennifer Cohen announced today (April 4). Musselman will be formally introduced to the USC Family and members of the media on Friday, April 5th at 10:30 am in the Centofante Hall of Fame at Galen Center….

“Musselman comes to Los Angeles after a successful thirty-year career as a college, professional and international head and assistant coach. Most recently, in five seasons as the head coach at the University of Arkansas, Musselman led the Razorbacks to three NCAA Tournaments, including two Elite Eight runs and three Sweet Sixteen berths in his five seasons. Arkansas was ranked as high as No. 6 (USA Today Coaches Poll) during his tenure. He completed his tenure in Fayetteville with a 111-59 overall record and had at least one player selected in each of the last five NBA Drafts, the third-best active streak among NCAA coaches.”

With Musselman at the helm, the Trojans look to build upon the success they achieved during Enfield’s decade-long tenure.

CBS Sports reported on the significance of the new Trojan hire and some of the reasoning for Musselman’s decision to leave Arkansas for Los Angeles:

“The Trojans poaching Musselman from Arkansas is a sport-shaking move. Once upon a time, the idea of a coach leaving the hoops hotbed of Arkansas for USC was borderline unthinkable, but these are different times. Circumstances matter a lot as well. Musselman was heavily swayed by the location….

Musselman was receiving an annual salary of $4.2 million at Arkansas, and is expected to be paid at a similar rate at USC.

Bronny James’ Status — Does the Musselman Hire Impact His Decision Making?

Could the Trojans’ hiring of Musselman result in Bronny James, son of LeBron James, staying on the Trojans’ roster for another year?

Only time will tell.

For continued reporting on USC Men’s Basketball under the stewardship of Eric Musselman, stay tuned to Hardwood Heroics.

For more sports-related news, focused primarily on the USC Trojans, SMU Mustangs, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Rams, please follow me at @vshjah_Victor.