Men's Basketball
Musselman, Eric
Eric Musselman
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- uschoops@usc.edu
HIGHLIGHTS
Eric Musselman has over 30 years of coaching experience, including 10 years as a collegiate head coach. As one of the winningest active coaches in college basketball, Musselman is ready for his second season with USC Men’s Basketball, bringing in one of the best transfer portal classes in the nation and some of the most elite freshmen to build this year’s roster.
He took the role with the Trojans on April 5, 2024, creating a team from scratch with only one player from the previous team returning to the roster. With this new team built in the famous Portal House, Musselman and his staff were ready for their first season in the Big Ten. He led the Trojans to key victories, including a win in Galen over No. 7 Michigan State and on the road over No. 13 Illinois. Along with that, the Trojans took down Rutgers in a double-overtime thriller in the first round of the Big Ten Championships before falling in a tight contest to Purdue. USC went on to compete in the inaugural College Basketball Crown, taking down Tulane in the first round before falling to Villanova in a close 62-61 game. To add to those successes, he coached his first All-Big Ten honoree in Desmond Claude, who finished with honorable mention honors, and developed one of the best freshmen in the Big Ten in Wesley Yates III. Off the court, the team had the best GPA in program history, boasting a 3.264 GPA during that season.
Prior to USC, Musselman was the head coach at the University of Arkansas. In his five seasons with the Razorbacks, Musselman kept a record of 111-59 while making back-to-back Elite Eight appearances and three-straight Sweet Sixteen appearances for the first time since the mid-1990s. These winning seasons were bolstered by the talent Musselman brought into Arkansas. He had two seasons with the Top Five recruiting classes with the likes of Moses Moody, Anthony Black and Nick Smith Jr., with all three of those players being selected in the First Round of the NBA Draft. He also coached the 2020 SEC Co-Player of the Year and All-American Mason Jones along with two other All-Americans in Moody and JD Notae.
Before making his way to Fayetteville, Musselman began his collegiate head coaching career at the University of Nevada, where he led the Wolf Pack for four seasons to a 110-34 record. He won the CBI title in his first year before going to three-straight NCAA Tournaments after that, including a Sweet Sixteen run in 2018. In his first year with the program, Musselman created a new culture for the program, making the sixth-most improved program in the NCAA after their CBI win. He topped that off with the NCAA Tournament run in 2018 that earned him numerous Coach of the Year honors. Adding to that, Musselman also coached the Wolf Pack into the AP Top 25, staying in the Top 10 for 16 consecutive weeks. He also developed phenomenal talent, including two-time All-American and Mountain West Player of the Year Caleb Martin. Over those four seasons, 13 of his players earned All-Mountain West honors.
Over his 10 years as a head coach, Musselman produced four All-Americans, two conference Player of the Year honorees, three Sixth Man of the Year recipients, and 21 All-Conference players.
Before becoming a collegiate head coach, Musselman spent two seasons at Arizona State and one year as an assistant at LSU. With the Sun Devils, he helped the team make it to the second round of the NIT before earning an NCAA Tournament berth the following year. He was promoted to associate head coach after his first season, coaching an NBA second-round pick in Carrick Felix and the Pac-12 Co-Freshman of the Year in Jahii Carson. In his one season with LSU, Musselman helped develop two All-SEC selections in Jarrell Martin and Jordan Mickey.
Musselman’s career began in the professional ranks, both as an assistant and head coach across the NBA, CBA, USBL and NBADL. His teams have collected six division titles and have advanced to the postseason seven times. He coached 24 players who went on to play in the NBA. Five times he was named CBA all-star coach. In addition to mentoring players to NBA careers, three of his former assistant coaches are current NBA head coaches, including Jim Boylan (Chicago Bulls), Scotty Brooks (Washington Wizards) and David Fitzdale (New York Knicks).
Musselman’s first head coaching job came at the age of 24 when he was hired by the Rapid City Thrillers of the Continental Basketball Association in 1989. He was the youngest coach in CBA history and the fastest to win 100 games.
From there, he went on to lead the USBL’s Florida Sharks, garnering a 53-3 record in two seasons. He also guided the Sharks to a league championship, which earned him USBL Coach of the Year honors.
After working as an assistant under Doc Rivers and Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly, he was named the head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2002. He led the Warriors to 38 wins, a team-high in more than 10 years, and was runner-up in the NBA Coach of Year voting. He also coached the Warriors during the 2003-04 season.
Following a year as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies under Mike Fratello, he coached the Sacramento Kings for the 2006-07 season.
Musselman made his first stop in Reno for the 2010-11 season when he was head coach for the NBA D-League’s Bighorns and led them to their first Western Conference title in franchise history.
Musselman worked as an analyst on radio and television prior to coaching the Reno Bighorns (2010-11) and LA D-Fenders (2011-12) of the NBADL. In 2012, he earned Coach of the Year honors.
While coaching the Reno Bighorns in NBADL, he worked with Jeremy Lin, Danny Green and Steve Novak, who were called up to the NBA. Gerald Green, Malcom Thomas, Darius Morris, Jamario Moon and Courtney Fortson also earned trips to the NBA when he coached them with the D-Fenders.
Musselman also has experience coaching international basketball, serving as the head coach of the Dominican Republic National Team (2010-11), Team China and Team USA in the Adidas Global Experience (2009, 2010), and the Venezuela National Team (2011-13).
A native of Ashland, Ohio, Musselman grew up in Minneapolis and San Diego before he spent his high school years just south of Cleveland in Brecksville. After high school, he made the move back to the West Coast to play basketball at the University of San Diego. During his time as a Torero, he was a part of a team that made two NCAA Tournament appearances and boasted a 24-6 record his senior year. Off the court, Musselman earned West Coast Conference All-Academic Team honors three times.
Musselman is married to Danyelle Sargent Musselman, who worked as a broadcaster for ESPN, Fox Sports and the NFL Network. Musselman has two sons, Michael and Matthew. He and Danyelle have a daughter, Mariah.
Musselman’s father, Bill, was also an NBA head coach. They were the first father-son combo to become head coaches in the NBA.
- Eighth-best winning percentage of active college coaches
- 6 NCAA Tournament Appearances
- 2 Elite Eight Appearances
- 11 Players to the NBA since 2019
- 3 Mountain West Regular Season Championships
- 2018 Mountain West Coach of the Year
- 2012 NBA D-League Coach of the Year
- 1996 USBL Coach of the Year
Eric Musselman has over 30 years of coaching experience, including 10 years as a collegiate head coach. As one of the winningest active coaches in college basketball, Musselman is ready for his second season with USC Men’s Basketball, bringing in one of the best transfer portal classes in the nation and some of the most elite freshmen to build this year’s roster.
He took the role with the Trojans on April 5, 2024, creating a team from scratch with only one player from the previous team returning to the roster. With this new team built in the famous Portal House, Musselman and his staff were ready for their first season in the Big Ten. He led the Trojans to key victories, including a win in Galen over No. 7 Michigan State and on the road over No. 13 Illinois. Along with that, the Trojans took down Rutgers in a double-overtime thriller in the first round of the Big Ten Championships before falling in a tight contest to Purdue. USC went on to compete in the inaugural College Basketball Crown, taking down Tulane in the first round before falling to Villanova in a close 62-61 game. To add to those successes, he coached his first All-Big Ten honoree in Desmond Claude, who finished with honorable mention honors, and developed one of the best freshmen in the Big Ten in Wesley Yates III. Off the court, the team had the best GPA in program history, boasting a 3.264 GPA during that season.
Prior to USC, Musselman was the head coach at the University of Arkansas. In his five seasons with the Razorbacks, Musselman kept a record of 111-59 while making back-to-back Elite Eight appearances and three-straight Sweet Sixteen appearances for the first time since the mid-1990s. These winning seasons were bolstered by the talent Musselman brought into Arkansas. He had two seasons with the Top Five recruiting classes with the likes of Moses Moody, Anthony Black and Nick Smith Jr., with all three of those players being selected in the First Round of the NBA Draft. He also coached the 2020 SEC Co-Player of the Year and All-American Mason Jones along with two other All-Americans in Moody and JD Notae.
Before making his way to Fayetteville, Musselman began his collegiate head coaching career at the University of Nevada, where he led the Wolf Pack for four seasons to a 110-34 record. He won the CBI title in his first year before going to three-straight NCAA Tournaments after that, including a Sweet Sixteen run in 2018. In his first year with the program, Musselman created a new culture for the program, making the sixth-most improved program in the NCAA after their CBI win. He topped that off with the NCAA Tournament run in 2018 that earned him numerous Coach of the Year honors. Adding to that, Musselman also coached the Wolf Pack into the AP Top 25, staying in the Top 10 for 16 consecutive weeks. He also developed phenomenal talent, including two-time All-American and Mountain West Player of the Year Caleb Martin. Over those four seasons, 13 of his players earned All-Mountain West honors.
Over his 10 years as a head coach, Musselman produced four All-Americans, two conference Player of the Year honorees, three Sixth Man of the Year recipients, and 21 All-Conference players.
Before becoming a collegiate head coach, Musselman spent two seasons at Arizona State and one year as an assistant at LSU. With the Sun Devils, he helped the team make it to the second round of the NIT before earning an NCAA Tournament berth the following year. He was promoted to associate head coach after his first season, coaching an NBA second-round pick in Carrick Felix and the Pac-12 Co-Freshman of the Year in Jahii Carson. In his one season with LSU, Musselman helped develop two All-SEC selections in Jarrell Martin and Jordan Mickey.
Musselman’s career began in the professional ranks, both as an assistant and head coach across the NBA, CBA, USBL and NBADL. His teams have collected six division titles and have advanced to the postseason seven times. He coached 24 players who went on to play in the NBA. Five times he was named CBA all-star coach. In addition to mentoring players to NBA careers, three of his former assistant coaches are current NBA head coaches, including Jim Boylan (Chicago Bulls), Scotty Brooks (Washington Wizards) and David Fitzdale (New York Knicks).
Musselman’s first head coaching job came at the age of 24 when he was hired by the Rapid City Thrillers of the Continental Basketball Association in 1989. He was the youngest coach in CBA history and the fastest to win 100 games.
From there, he went on to lead the USBL’s Florida Sharks, garnering a 53-3 record in two seasons. He also guided the Sharks to a league championship, which earned him USBL Coach of the Year honors.
After working as an assistant under Doc Rivers and Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly, he was named the head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2002. He led the Warriors to 38 wins, a team-high in more than 10 years, and was runner-up in the NBA Coach of Year voting. He also coached the Warriors during the 2003-04 season.
Following a year as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies under Mike Fratello, he coached the Sacramento Kings for the 2006-07 season.
Musselman made his first stop in Reno for the 2010-11 season when he was head coach for the NBA D-League’s Bighorns and led them to their first Western Conference title in franchise history.
Musselman worked as an analyst on radio and television prior to coaching the Reno Bighorns (2010-11) and LA D-Fenders (2011-12) of the NBADL. In 2012, he earned Coach of the Year honors.
While coaching the Reno Bighorns in NBADL, he worked with Jeremy Lin, Danny Green and Steve Novak, who were called up to the NBA. Gerald Green, Malcom Thomas, Darius Morris, Jamario Moon and Courtney Fortson also earned trips to the NBA when he coached them with the D-Fenders.
Musselman also has experience coaching international basketball, serving as the head coach of the Dominican Republic National Team (2010-11), Team China and Team USA in the Adidas Global Experience (2009, 2010), and the Venezuela National Team (2011-13).
A native of Ashland, Ohio, Musselman grew up in Minneapolis and San Diego before he spent his high school years just south of Cleveland in Brecksville. After high school, he made the move back to the West Coast to play basketball at the University of San Diego. During his time as a Torero, he was a part of a team that made two NCAA Tournament appearances and boasted a 24-6 record his senior year. Off the court, Musselman earned West Coast Conference All-Academic Team honors three times.
Musselman is married to Danyelle Sargent Musselman, who worked as a broadcaster for ESPN, Fox Sports and the NFL Network. Musselman has two sons, Michael and Matthew. He and Danyelle have a daughter, Mariah.
Musselman’s father, Bill, was also an NBA head coach. They were the first father-son combo to become head coaches in the NBA.
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