There was some big news involving basketball at the University of Arkansas last week.
First, the good news.
Sasha Goforth announced on Twitter she was returning to the Arkansas women's basketball team after taking a year off to deal with health issues. Goforth said she stepped away because of a combination of Gastroparesis, a stomach disorder, and anxiety that left her feeling miserable.
Goforth feels recovered enough to return to the basketball court, where she started 32 games and averaged 11.5 points per game after transferring from Oregon State. That's good news for Arkansas fans and especially Razorbacks women's head coach Mike Neighbors.
Now the bad news. Or, more accurately, the sad news.
Arkansas men's guard Derrian Ford announced on Twitter he was leaving the program and seeking a transfer after one year with the Razorbacks.
"I would like to thank all of the Razorback fans and the Arkansas community for the support and love you have continuously shown me and my family," Ford wrote in part. "Arkansas will always be my home and hold a special place in my heart."
I've read so many of these "I'm leaving but I still love you" tweets from athletes that I've become numb to them. But this one stings because Ford is an Arkansas athlete who rejected offers from a host of other schools to sign with the home state Razorbacks. Now, he's gone after at least implying he'd be back for a second year with the team.
Can you blame him for leaving?
I can't, especially after Arkansas added five new players to the roster, including four who can play the same guard position as Ford. This isn't to point fingers at Musselman, who has re-energized Arkansas basketball with his ability to win games.
Musselman is simply playing by the current rules better than anyone else in college basketball, where athletes can jump from school-to-school without having to sit out a year. The system reminds me of when I played on a softball circuit years ago when guys often jumped from team-to-team and town-to-town depending on the amount of gas money and beer money they were offered.
The NIL and lax transfer rules have changed college athletics into a type of free agency and Musselman has quickly re-stocked the Arkansas roster to replace players who've left. He's the king of the transfer portal for college basketball and this year's haul includes players from as far away as Washington (Keyon Menifield) after he snagged twins Makhel Mitchell and Makhi Mitchell from the east coast at Rhode Island the year before.
As a native Arkansan, I enjoy seeing high school athletes in Arkansas continue their athletic careers at in-state schools, whether it's with the Razorbacks, Red Wolves, UCA Bears or the Boll Weevils down in Monticello. I covered Goforth a lot at Fayetteville High School and I'll always remember when she hit four consecutive three-pointers from the exact same spot during a game at Rogers. I also remember watching Ford light up Brookland for 36 points in a double overtime game at the Class 4A state tournament at Farmington in 2020.
I know, too, how excited U of A fans were when in-state recruits Nick Smith Jr. of North Little Rock, Joseph Pinion of Morrilton, and Ford of Magnolia rejected scholarship offers from top Division I programs to stay home and play for the Razorbacks. Pinion remains and some folks are surprised he's still in Fayetteville after his playing time dwindled even more when Smith came off the injured list.
Musselman was hired to win games and that's exactly what he's done, better than anyone at Arkansas since Nolan Richardson. It's just sad when in-state players like Ford, who, by all accounts, is a really good person, decides it's best to leave and find another place to play after he barely got a chance to show his athletic ability on the court.
"This is not the end; only the beginning for me.," Ford wrote on his Twitter page.
I'm sure it is, Derrian, and there's hundreds of fans in your home state of Arkansas who'll be cheering for you every step of the way.