Since he first applied to be the University of San Diego’s head basketball coach at the age of 19 in 1984 and was seriously considered for the post two other times, it’s hard to believe that Tuesday night will be a first for Eric Musselman.
“This will be the first game I’ve ever coached at USD,” said Musselman, whose 8-1 USC team will face the Toreros at 6 p.m. Tuesday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Musselman was a freshman in 1984 when USD won its first West Coast Conference title under Jim Brovelli. He was a senior in 1987 when Hank Egan led the Toreros to a 24-6 record – the best in USD history. Over four seasons as a USD player, Musselman was part of a program that went 77-36.
“I loved my time at USD,” Musselman said Monday as he drove south from Los Angeles for Tuesday night’s game. “I played for two great coaches and made friends for life. When I was there, I never wanted to leave.”
To the point that at the end of his freshman season in 1984, Musselman officially applied to be USD’s head coach when Brovelli announced he was leaving the Toreros to restart the suspended program at his alma mater, the University of San Francisco.
“I prepared a resume and a cover letter for the job,” Musselman remembered. “I personally walked it into (USD athletic director) Father (Patrick) Cahill’s office. He took a look at it and said: ‘Get to class.’ I don’t think he ever officially rejected the idea.’”
The best part of Musselman’s application was this line: “Naming me head coach won’t cost much. I’m on scholarship. And I don’t think I’ll be playing that much.”
Even as a freshman reserve, one could tell that Musselman, the son of longtime college and NBA coach Bill Musselman, had coaching in his future.
I have some personal experience with Musselman when it comes to 1984. I was covering USD basketball, and my spot at the press table was right next to the USD bench. During timeouts, Musselman would come to the table and start talking about what he was seeing and what could be happening next.
Months after graduating from USD, Musselman was named general manager of a Continental Basketball Association team. A year later, he was a head coach at the age of 24. A year after that, Musselman was an assistant on his father Bill’s staff with the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves, making him the youngest bench assistant in NBA history.
In 2002, Musselman became a head coach in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors and finished second to San Antonio’s Greg Popovich in Coach of the Year voting.
“Sometime after that, I applied to be USD’s head coach, when Ky Snyder was the athletic director,” Musselman remembered. “Ky felt I didn’t have enough college experience. Actually, I didn’t have any.”
Musselman was again under consideration by USD in 2015, when he was also being courted by the University of Nevada. One of USD’s biggest boosters, former Padres owner Ron Fowler, was in Musselman’s corner.
“USD was also making a presidential change,” recalled Musselman. “The decision was delayed, and Nevada wanted an answer. The night before the Nevada press conference, I was still waiting for a call from USD.”
It never came. Musselman coached Nevada to a 110-34 record over four seasons with three trips to the NCAA playoffs and reached as high as No. 7 in the national rankings. Then he coached at Arkansas for five seasons, making two trips to the Elite Eight.
He is now in his second season at USC; the Trojans are 8-1.
“We’ve been hit hard by the injury bug,” said Musselman. “But we feel this is an NCAA Tournament team. We’re still learning roles and rotations. We were playing really good in nonconference games when we had some injuries. We’ll be fine when we get healthier.”
This is not Musselman’s first visit to San Diego since he departed USD. His mother still lives in San Diego.
Plus, he added: “I’m a Padres fan. I get to games at Petco. I have always had strong ties to San Diego. I was a ball boy for the San Diego Clippers. My dad coached the Sails. I was in and out of the Padres locker room as a kid.”
Musselman said his desire to be a basketball coach goes back five decades.
“For some reason, I was wired to be a coach. My dad was my best friend. I grew up around great coaches. Even at an early age, I dove into it. And I was exposed to it by the best.”
And Musselman’s time at USD still influences his life. Some of Musselman’s former Toreros teammates will be in the stands for Tuesday’s game.
“Four decades later, and we’re still close,” he said. “I think that says something for USD and what we shared. Those were special times.”
USD (3-5) vs. USC (8-1)
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Jenny Craig Pavilion
TV: ESPN2