Patrick steps up, leads Hogs to win
FAYETTEVILLE – David Patrick found out at 10 a.m. Tuesday he was being temporarily promoted from assistant coach for the University of Arkansas basketball team to head coach.
Considering the Razorbacks had a game against Abilene Christian in six hours, there wasn’t much time for Patrick to let the news sink in that Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman wouldn’t be in Walton Arena because he had to quarantine himself at home after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
“What a day,” Patrick said after Arkansas beat the Wildcats 85-72. “It’s 2020, so you’ve got to be ready for anything.”
The Razorbacks (8-0) were ready to play from the start as they jumped ahead 11-1.
After Arkansas led by as many as 22 points in the first half at 43-21, Abilene Christian (7-2) wasn’t able to pull closer than 9 points the rest of the game.
“I thought David did an excellent job,” said Wildcats coach Joe Golding, who didn’t realize Musselman wouldn’t be at the game until shortly before tipoff. “You never know when you have situations like that, but I thought they played very loose; they were confident. They were very well prepared.
“David’s a great coach. He’s one of the best coaches in the country. I’m happy for David. He’s in a great spot there with coach Musselman.
“Obviously that’s why coach Musselman hired him, for situations like this where David can step in. He’s a bright star in our business.
“He’s going to be a head coach again one day at a really good spot, and he’s going to have a lot of success.”
Patrick, who became friends with Musselman when both were LSU assistants, was the head coach at California-Riverside the previous two seasons.
“I think I’m blessed to have been a head coach before,” Patrick said. “So I wasn’t a rookie, so to speak. But to be able to be the head coach here at Arkansas was a blessing. Just for the day, obviously.
“I think our guys played for coach Muss. I think they played hard for all of us, the staff that wasn’t here, and for myself.”
Musselman, who watched the game from home, said during an interview with the SEC Network that he was working out at a health club Tuesday morning when he got a call that he would need to quarantine himself as part of contract tracing because a staff member had