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USC Trojans 2014-15 Season Grades

By Daniel Tran

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With head coach Andy Enfield in his second year, the USC Trojans’ season had a lot of hope to improve, but they found themselves in the Pac-12 basement again.

In NCAA basketball, improvement is relative. The USC Trojans were coming off a 2013-14 season where they finished at the bottom of the Pac-12 Conference with only two wins against conference opponents. After getting two ESPN Top 100 recruits and the 16th ranked recruiting class according to ESPN, USC at least had hope of crawling out of the basement of the Pac-12.

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However, that hope would not manifest into reality. The USC Trojans would continue to struggle despite having a talented core group and finish dead last in the Pac-12 Conference for the second consecutive year with three wins against Pac-12 opponents. So how does this seemingly identical position they are in amount to improvement?

All you have to look at is the box scores. In 2013-14, USC lost 11 of their 16 Pac-12 regular season losses by double digits. During the 2014-15 season, USC lost by double digits only seven times by double digits during regular season conference play.

You can call this looking for silver lining in a tin mine if you like, but this is a team that played hard every night and improved to the point where they would be in contention for a win – they just did not know how to win games. Close losses against Colorado in triple overtime, Cal, and Stanford showed this team was on the cusp to figuring out how to win, but they just never got over the hump.

Usually any team that finishes at the bottom of the conference should get a failing grade, but because of their improvement throughout the season in the face of extenuating circumstances, the team actually deserved a deeper look into their season than just the record at face value.

Feb 28, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans forward Darion Clark (0) is helped off the court during the game against the Washington Huskies at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Season

Yes, the USC Trojans finished their season with a 3-15 conference record and a 12-20 overall record, but as stated above, some of those losses could have been easily converted into wins if things broke their way in certain games.

Though the losses were common (the ones against Army, Akron, and Portland State were particularly bad) and the wins were rare, they managed to field a semi-competent team by the end of the season despite losing starting point guard Jordan McLaughlin for the season due to a shoulder injury midway through the season.

In the Pac-12 Conference Tournament as a bottom ranked seed, they were able to defeat NIT participant Arizona State in the opening round, holding the Sun Devils to 35.4 percent shooting from the field. Far be it from being an NCAA Tournament berth, the win still signified that Trojans were at least headed in the right direction at the end of the year.

Though that win was their biggest accomplishment for the season, it does not erase the piles of losses they accumulated during the regular season. Harsh reality? Maybe, but reality nonetheless.

Grade: D

March 11, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans forward Nikola Jovanovic (32, left) and forward Malik Martin (2) celebrate after the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the first round of the Pac-12 Conference tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Trojans defeated the Sun Devils 67-64. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Players

Aside from their record, the USC Trojans were actually a good, hard working team that strived to play for each other. At the beginning of the season, the reigns were handed over to freshman point guard Jordan McLaughlin to run to show.

McLaughlin was still adjusting to the speed and size of college players, but he was still able to average 12.1 points and leading all Pac-12 freshman with 4.5 assists per game before getting knocked out for the season with a shoulder injury. Filling in valiantly for him when he went out was Julian Jacobs, who averaged 11 points and 6.8 assists when McLaughlin was out with injury.

UNLV transfer Katin Reinhardt lead the team with 12.5 points per game and worked well as a second ball handler with McLaughlin or Jacobs on the court. Nikola Jovanovic improved on his freshman season and averaged 12.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Elijah Stewart, who struggled for a majority of the season, found his shooting touch by the end of the year, averaging 16.8 points in his final four games, setting up a much anticipated sophomore season when he returns.

Grade: C

March 12, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Andy Enfield argues with an official against the UCLA Bruins during the first half in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Conference tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Coach

Andy Enfield brought a lot of excitement with him to USC after he built the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles into a NCAA Tournament darling in 2013. However, he has been unable to deliver so far during his time with the USC Trojans.

In 2014-15, the team was still able to run and gun like it wanted to, but it could not do much else. The Trojans ranked at the top of the Pac-12 Conference in terms of field goals attempted, but ranked 11th in field goal percentage. Volume shooting, it seems, is the goal for USC.

Fueling those transition baskets are turnovers that the Trojans forced. Defensively, Enfield encouraged gambling on defense resulting in 240 turnovers for the opposition – third in the Pac-12. However, those turnovers came at a price with the opposition was allowed to score 73.2 points per game on 1,068 total field goal attempts.

Enfield is still trying to build this team to be exciting, but if he continues to fail to implement a system that can stop teams consistently, the USC Trojans are doomed to be at the bottom of the Pac-12 for the foreseeable future – no matter how many points they can score.

Grade: D

Nov 15, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Jordan McLaughlin (11) and Portland State Vikings forwardd Braxton Tucker (15) battle for the ball at Galen Center. Portland State defeated USC 76-68.Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Final Grade: D+

They gave a solid effort, but the USC Trojans just could not get it together long enough during the course of a game to consistently win.  They will be better next year with all of their young players returning, but this past season resulted in too many losses to really looked at as any sort of success.

But hey, at least they improved.

Next: Saqquan Aaron Transfers to USC

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