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New USC head basketball coach Eric Musselman kicked off his tenure in Los Angeles by renting a lavish beach house with a group of assistants. It allowed him to immediately implement a recruiting tactic that was unavailable to him at the University of Arkansas.
That “Portal House,” as he called it, was used to successfully lure top hoops prospects to the Trojans as Musselman attempted to restock his USC roster. And it worked!
When Musselman was hired by the program back in April, much of the roster was on its way out. That included Bronny James, who entered both the NBA Draft and transfer portal following the departure of former leader Andy Enfield.
With an empty cupboard at his disposal, Muss immediately got to work.
His plan was a unique one, and it involved a 30-day beach house stay, though he’ll admit it was no vacation.
“It wasn’t a frat house. It was a Portal House.”
Still, much like a frat house, those coaches ate out for every meal, were up through the wee hours of the night, and got very little sleep.
Here’s more on his stay from the OC Register:
This is how the Muss Era of USC basketball was built, with 30 days in a rental home 50 yards from The Strand, a working-man’s Animal House for a group of coaches trying to piece together a team from scratch that could compete in the Big Ten Conference… They’d obtained the lease not long after Musselman was hired at USC, the former Arkansas head coach collecting most of his staff under one roof to centralize a recruiting frenzy…
Musselman would get up around 5 a.m. for a 7-mile walk. He and staff would head to the Galen Center around 7 a.m., leave around 4 p.m. grab dinner, and then settle in back in Manhattan Beach to recruit for roughly five hours straight.
The plan worked.
Eric Musselman’s staff brought in 11 transfers.
Most of them signed in April or May when the coach was recruiting from the beach. That 2024 class, which also includes a pair of Top 100 high school prospects, ranks 16th in the nation – and second in the Big Ten. Not bad for a month on the job!
Using his new surroundings to his benefit, Musselman and his staff made sure to highlight the perks of living in sunny Southern California. It’s maybe the biggest reason for renting this particular venue in the first place – the beach!
When recruits would FaceTime, each coach made sure to have the sand and waves visible in the background. Not a bad way to convince a 21-year-old student to come hoop for your program.
With his class now complete and roster filled, Musselman can focus on the future. While his final season at Arkansas didn’t go as planned, ending with a 16-17 overall record, his prior success with the Hogs includes a Sweet 16 and two Elite Eights.
He’ll look to replicate that output with this incoming group at USC. He’s certainly off to a great start!