FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Eric Musselman and the Muss Buss have left for Southern California, leaving Arkansas as one of the most attractive destinations in college basketball.
The Razorbacks have reached the NCAA Tournament in five of the last seven seasons, including three Sweet 16 and two consecutive Elite Eight appearances.
But who will take over and fill Musselman's void? Here are three potential candidates to become Arkansas's next men's basketball head coach.
Chris Beard — Ole Miss
Overall Record: 191-85
Head Coaching History (Major Schools): Little Rock (2015-2016), Texas Tech (2016-2021), Texas (2021-2023), Ole Miss (2024-present)
Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard is known in Arkansas as the man who led Little Rock to a first-round upset over No. 5-seed Purdue in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Many speculate Beard is the Razorbacks' top option to replace Musselman due to his familiarity with the state, Southeastern Conference experience and extensive coaching resume.
Before leading Little Rock to its first NCAA Tournament in five years, Beard worked as an assistant under legendary coach Bob Knight at Texas Tech from 2001 to 2008. Following his lone year in Little Rock, Beard returned to Lubbock as head coach in 2016. He led Texas Tech to three NCAA Tournament appearances in five seasons and was the national runner-up in 2019.
In his nine seasons as head coach, Beard established a reputation as a "strong recruiter," securing top-10 classes in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
Beard left Texas Tech in 2021 to become head coach at his alma mater, Texas. He coached the Longhorns for only 42 games before being involved in legal issues.
On December 12, 2022, Beard was arrested on one third-degree felony charge of strangulation/suffocation-family violence and spent more than 12 hours in an Austin jail.
However, the Travis County district attorney dropped the charge, and Texas fired Beard on January 5, 2023.
Beard joined Ole Miss this season, leading the Rebels to a 20-12 record and a first-round loss to Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament.
Jerome Tang — Kansas State
Overall Record: 45-25
Head Coaching History (Major Schools): Kansas State (2022-present)
Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang doesn't have the flashy head coaching experience like Beard. Still, he is familiar with being on a college sideline and coaching meaningful games.
He spent 19 seasons as an assistant at Baylor and helped the program to the 2021 National Championship and the 2020 and 2021 Big 12 championships.
Following the 2021 season, Tang became the head coach at Kansas State. There, he led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight and a 26-10 season, the third-most wins in school history.
Tang was named the consensus Big 12 Coach of the Year for helping Kansas State rise from being picked last in the preseason poll to finishing in a tie for third in the league standings in his first year.
He was also named the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year and runner-up for The Associated Press National Coach of the Year.
Kansas State finished with a 19-15 record this season and, under Tang's guidance, missed the NCAA Tournament.
Will Wade — McNeese State
Overall Record: 226-100
Head Coaching History (Major Schools): Chattanooga (2013-2015), VCU (2015-2017), LSU (2017-2022), McNeese State (2023-present)
This potential candidate might turn away some Razorback fans simply because he committed multiple violations as a head coach at a fellow SEC school not too long ago.
Before putting together a dominant season at McNeese State this year, Will Wade spent time at Chattanooga (2013-15) and VCU (2015-17) before joining LSU as its head coach.
Wade spent five years at LSU, leading the Tigers to three NCAA Tournament appearances and an SEC regular season championship in 2018.
But it was a messy departure.
LSU fired Wade in March 2022 for committing multiple NCAA violations, including failing to report potential violations, providing impermissible cash payments to impede disclosure of information about possible transgressions, which contradicted the NCAA's unethical conduct legislation, and failing to cooperate with the infractions investigation.
Because of the findings, the LSU men's basketball program had its scholarships reduced for two seasons, and Wade was suspended for the first 10 games to start his tenure at McNeese State.
Wade is an interesting candidate for Arkansas as he has shown previous success in the SEC. Regardless of the violations, his true coaching ability was on display this season for the Southland Conference champion Cowboys, who finished with a 30-4 record and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.
It was McNeese State's most successful season as a Division I program, and Wade was named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year and the NABC District 2022 Coach of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Jim Phelan and Hugh Durham national awards.
Who will it be?
It won't be long before Arkansas announces a replacement for Musselman. Whoever it is has big shoes to fill and a lot of work to accomplish.
Whether Beard, Tang, Wade or someone else, the Razorbacks need an experienced leader accustomed to creating and sustaining a winning culture.
After Musselman's departure, Tramon Mark and Trevon Brazile are the only scholarship players on the roster from this season.