Sports Talk With Bo Mattingly's Podcast

Arkansas basketball reached the pinnacle of the sport on April 4, 1994. We dive into what that night was like, what’s happened since, and the future of the program under new head coach Eric Musselman. We get a feel for the game and that night from former Razorbacks Clint McDaniel (4:26) and Dwight Stewart (8:30), and Hawgs Illustrated publisher Clay Henry (11:09). Clay answers the question of whether or not Arkansas can get back to the level it was at in the 1990s (18:25), and tells a great Andre Iguodala story (25:17). Finally we get ESPN’s Jimmy Dykes thoughts on the toughness of the SEC (33:11) and what Musselman can do with the Razorbacks (35:40).

We sit down for an exclusive conversation with new Arkansas basketball coach Eric Musselman. We start at the beginning, with the story of how he became a head coach for the first time (5:00), how he used salt shakers to land an NBA job with Chuck Daly (11:25), and why he decided to get into the college game (17:00). Then he tells the story of how the Oakland Raiders gave him an office to study film (33:30), before we bring in former Razorback Corey Beck—who played against Musselman’s teams in the CBA—for his thoughts on the new coach (44:30). Finally, the new Razorback coach tells us what fans can expect from his teams at Arkansas (1:00:30).

What’s it take to play quarterback in a Chad Morris offense, and what makes that offense successful? We sit down with the Arkansas head coach, his offensive coordinator Joe Craddock, and transfer quarterback Ben Hicks to get some insight. We start with what happened last year on offense at Arkansas (2:27) and how Morris got interested in offense (8:40). Then, we hear the story of how Craddock ended up working with Morris at Clemson and SMU (14:45). Morris tells us why it all starts and ends with quarterback for him (23:00), and then we chat with Hicks to get the QB’s perspective (27:05).

This is the story of three Final Four-caliber coaches—Gary Blair, Vic Schaefer and Mike Neighbors—all on one staff at Arkansas. It’s the story of how things fell apart for Razorback women’s basketball, and how Neighbors—who once was responsible for getting Diet Cokes for Blair—is working to bring it back. We begin where it all started, with Blair and why he decided to leave Arkansas (3:00) and why he thinks Neighbors will be successful (8:37). Then, we visit with Schafer about not wanting to leave (19:20) and why Neighbors is ahead of schedule (20:40). Finally, we go full circle with Neighbors himself about what it was like working for Blair (26:30), what he learned from him (30:00) and how he’s working to restore the program to its former heights (35:10).

It’s the story of how Arkansas baseball went from playing at the fairgrounds to becoming one of the top programs in the country. We visit with legendary Razorback baseball coach Norm DeBriyn, and talk about how he ended up in Arkansas (4:20), how he eventually got the head coaching job (8:30), teaching Driver’s Ed (11:40), and how he helped get Baum-Walker Stadium built (29:30). We’ll also chat with him and current coach Dave Van Horn about when Norm decided the time was right to pass the baton to his former player (39:00), and coming so close to winning a national championship (50:30).

In our debut episode, we head to Nolan Richardson’s ranch for a great conversation with the Hall of Fame coach. We talk about his early coaching days and style (7:13), and how his daughter convinced him to take the Arkansas job (24:00). Then we spend time talking about the 1994 championship (30:40), how he celebrated, and calling President Clinton “Prez” (39:00) Finally, we get his thoughts on the court at Bud Walton Arena being named in his honor (51:10), and he tells a funny story of how Rick Pitino tried to get him out of the SEC.