Pac-12 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season

It’s been a while since a Mobley has been in a Trojan frontcourt, with both Evan and Isaiah now gone. In fact, the entire frontcourt is gone, leaving a pair of freshmen bigs to lead the way. Kijani Wright and Vincent Iwuchukwu are very likely to start together inside and both are ranked in the top 50. There’s not much depth behind them so if they struggle, that automatically sets them back.

Most of the backcourt has returned, led by 6’8 transfer guard Drew Peterson. He averaged 12.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg and tied the lead with 3.3 apg, and can do a little bit of everything on both ends. The senior playmaker is an all-conference talent and capable of being the focal point of the offense. But can he be the best player on an NCAA Tournament team?

Boogie Ellis (12.5 ppg) is another solid veteran player and Reese Waters is a breakout candidate to watch after scoring 16 points in the NCAA Tournament against Miami and should have a larger role in the offense. Top-50 freshman guard/wing Tre White is also a player to watch and returning guard Malik Thomas is a former top-50 prospect as well.

The guards for USC provide them a solid floor and the frontcourt could raise the ceiling by a fair bit. They could finish anywhere from 3-8 depending on the freshmen but Coach Enfield has done well with young bigs in the past and could do so again this season.