Lots of activity

Arkansas women’s Coach Mike Neighbors said he’s been impressed watching the practices conducted by Eric Musselman, the Razorbacks’ new men’s coach.

“I’ve never seen more activity at a basketball practice, and I’ve been to a bunch,” Neighbors said. “It is productivity and activity meeting right up in the middle.

“It’s almost like station work at times. He’s got a pod of people working over here, and a pod here and a pod there.”

Neighbors said the managers are working as hard as the players.

“If a drop of water hits that floor, there’s like five guys diving on it with a towel,” Neighbors said. “It’s all orchestrated.

“His practice schedule looks like a cheat sheet I used to get to legally use in geography class, where you could write so many notes on that one page. I think it’s a mix of his professional career as a coach and his college career coming together.”

Neighbors said that including players, he counted 53 people who either were on the court or close to it at a recent practice.

“You’ve got players and managers and coaches, and they’re all doing something,” he said. “They’re charting, they’re encouraging, they’re rebounding.

“If you’re in the gym, you’d better be ready to work. I think that’s exactly what [Musselman is] trying to instill, is that if you’re in this thing, you’d better have a purpose.

“It’s intriguing to watch. His guys are playing really hard and they’re really into it.”