Arkansas basketball: Eric Musselman seeks offensive improvements as practice begins
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas basketball began preseason practices Monday, and coach Eric Musselman has plenty he wants his team to fix.
The Razorbacks' four-game foreign tour in Spain and Italy in August revealed a lack of perimeter shooting, turnover troubles and struggles getting to the free-throw line.
The Razorbacks have yet to release their full 2022-23 schedule, but they have about five weeks before the season begins to iron out some of their offensive issues.
Arkansas didn't take a lot of 3-pointers in Europe, instead showing off impressive play above the rim. Freshman Nick Smith Jr. was Arkansas' highest-volume perimeter shooter and went 9-for-23. Teammates didn't fare quite so well from beyond the arc.
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"Coach would tell us stories all the time of players he coached in the past who would go 0-for-20 or 0-for-15 over summer foreign tours," said guard Ricky Council, a transfer from Wichita State. "But during the season, they'd have a top 3-point percentage in the country. ... From my experience playing at another college, I know sometimes in the summer my shot wouldn't be good, and then during the season it'd be the opposite."
Musselman also wants the Razorbacks to be more aggressive offensively. Getting to the free-throw line was one of Arkansas' strengths during last season's Elite 8 run.
In Europe, the Razorbacks didn't take — or make — as many free throws as they might have hoped. Some of that is due to differences in officiating, but the point remains: Arkansas needs to replace players like Jaylin Williams and Au'Diese Toney, who got to free-throw line frequently.
Turnovers plagued Arkansas in Europe. The Razorbacks coughed up an average of more than 21 turnovers per game, with a high of 30 and a low of 14. Part of that, Musselman said, is youth.
"Younger players, whether you've only played one year in college or whether you've played two years in college or are coming from high school, valuing the ball and understanding how each possession matters," Musselman said. "That's something we're learning now, and we have a lot of growth in that area."
With a team as young as the 2022-23 Razorbacks, that growth can take a while. Arkansas' six freshmen and five transfers have to learn the team's ways and break old habits. But that's what these practices are for, and Musselman's expectations haven't changed.
"We find ourselves repeating ourselves a lot in practice," Musselman said. "We can’t keep staying where we are, and with that, when something gets taught, we’ve got to take it from the chalkboard to the practice to the drills to live action. ... We’ve got to grow."
Christina Long covers the Arkansas Razorbacks for the Southwest Times Record and USA Today Network. You can follow her on Twitter @christinalong00 or email her at clong@swtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas basketball: What Eric Musselman wants to see in preseason
