Nolan Richardson walked off the court at Frank Erwin Center in a game against Texas that the Razorbacks rallied to win. Eddie Sutton left the Arkansas bench one road game and sat in the stands beside wife Patsy. Arkansas did not win the latter game, nor did Sutton return the next season.
Eric Musselman then is not the first UA basketball coach to get unjointed during a game. That was hardly a concern when Mike Anderson coached the Hogs, indeed his apparent lack of passion contributing to his firing by the school, that and the inability to win enough games or fill seats at Bud Walton Arena (fired by St. John's last week, still without a losing season, Mike is out of work, a pity).
This season, Musselman's fourth in Fayetteville, might not end soon enough for the coach, he with an extensive basketball background and infectious enthusiasm.
The question here is not whether Musselman has lost the fans during easily his most perplexing season but his team instead.
It took until the first week of March for the Razorbacks, 11-1 at Christmas, to scramble up a 20th win. The first-round game against Auburn (76-73) was hardly in the books when Arkansas, in Jekyll-and-Hyde fashion so prevalent of late, lost 67-61 to Texas A&M. The Hogs stood 15-7 after beating A&M 81-70 Jan. 31 in Fayetteville and 17-9 after losing the rematch Feb. 15 at Reed Arena in College Station.
Friday night's loss, in which Arkansas led 38-25 at halftime, made the Hogs 20-13. Both teams shot in the 40% range from the floor, the Razorbacks' collapse magnified with 12-of-19 foul shooting. Fans driving to Nashville, Tennessee, for the game witnessed collective 6-of-30 3-point shooting.
Yet, Arkansas left the Bridgestone Arena floor -- home of the NHL's Nashville Predators, for whom Hot Springs native and Vanderbilt graduate Britt Kincheloe works -- the Hogs received assurances in the press not to worry, that the NCAA tournament selection committee would clear the team for the Big Dance.
This is written before Sunday's announcement, yea or nay concerning the Hogs, but if true it is evidence that the 68-team field is too large.
Taking a closer look, one sees this team has done little to justify an at-large berth. Who's willing to travel with a team good enough to beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena but lose the rematch at BWA? Whose 20 wins include Louisville's worst team in years, an LSU team held to 40 points in the rematch after beating UA in the league opener in Baton Rouge and includes one second-half skid after another?
Viewers at home have taken to reading Musselman's lips during repeated outbursts at SEC referees, thus appalling many of what Sutton called "our great fans." Arkansas' support staff also may need reining in after a set-to Friday night involving a Kentucky staffer. Hunter Yurachek, finding basketball not much different from the 7-6 football season he endured last fall, promptly issued a public apology in his role as UA athletic director. He should have elaborated and addressed the same regrets to Razorback Nation concerning the season.
Who really cares how many one-and-done players Musselman recruited last year and may be about to lose from a team that might be one-and-done in the NCAAs?
But to blame it all on Nick Smith Jr. for an injury that cost the North Little Rock freshman 19 games, and he has played through winningly, is unfair. No one player should have that cross to bear and this team is a collective disappointment.
Because he led Arkansas to consecutive Elite Eight appearances apparently fueled speculation that Musselman could repeat this on demand. That preseason hoopla resulted in the No. 10 seed in the SEC tournament, in which Alabama and Texas A&M played Sunday for the championship.
One should know that Musselman has gone around the bend if he comes down hard at the press. Arkansas coaches have been pampered in the media for years -- Musselman would have snapped long ago if he faced the day-to-day stuff John Calipari hears at Kentucky. A Fayetteville source, though, says the fan base demands "affirmation, not information."
Arkansas media can stay at home and watch most of the games on television. If fortunes don't improve, press members and some people in high-priced seats at Bud Walton Arena may start exercising the same option. For the sake of those who obtain pleasure from watching the Hogs at peak form and for whom this season has been a nightmare, let us hope that it, too, is a one-and-done matter.