USC Basketball: What to expect from the 2017 recruiting class

USC Basketball’s recruiting class looks like a perfect fit for the Trojans.

After a terrific 21-8 season in which they upset the best teams in their conference and had an impressive performance during March Madness, USC is poised to make a run for the Pac-12 Championship. With all of their eight losses coming against conference opponents, it is clear what last year’s squad lacked — size.

The 2017 class includes players that are perfectly tailored to fix this problem. Two four-star shooting guards (both 6-5) and a three-star center (7-0) will bolster a roster that finished tied for fifth in the Pac-12 a year ago. The top teams in the Pac-12 all relied on big men to get wins. There was Lauri Markkanen at Arizona, Chris Boucher at Oregon, TJ Leaf and Thomas Welsh at UCLA, and Kyle Kuzma at Utah. The Trojans haven’t brought in any freshman that can rival these players, but they have acquired talent that compliments the players already on their roster.

Quite possibly the biggest winners of the NBA Draft deadline, USC retained players that could have easily gone pro if they had had the kind of exposure that other prospects did throughout the year. Chimezie Metu, Bennie Boatwright, and Elijah Stewart, who were collectively responsible for 54% of USC’s offensive production last year, will all suit up for the Trojans once again. With the right pieces around them, Metu and Boatwright are capable of production comparable to last year’s best forwards.

This takes a lot of pressure off of the 2017 recruits. USC could be called the opposite of programs such as Kentucky and Duke, who rely on their freshmen to win championships year after year. But make no mistake, this year’s freshmen Trojans are important to the team’s success now and in the future.

Let’s take a closer look at how each of the freshmen will impact the Trojans in their first year on campus.