21. USC Trojans
It’s been two seasons for Eric Musselman back in Los Angeles and he’s fallen short of the Big Dance in both of those initial seasons. The man responsible for talented rosters and quick success at both Nevada and Arkansas hasn’t quite hit that jackpot with the Trojans, though issues with Chad Baker-Mazara and the injury to Rodney Rice really crippled USC this past season.
The great news in LA is that Rice is back and he’s joined by a six-pack of notable talent, giving USC what should be their best roster under Musselman’s leadership. The best of that new bunch is KJ Lewis, the highly-regarded guard from Georgetown fresh off averaging 14.9 points per game for the Hoyas. Three more guards join the fray and all were significant scorers last season, with Isaac Bruns averaging more than 20 points per game at South Dakota while Jalen Cox (Colgate) and Jadis Jones (Lindenwood) were also impactful.
The big change in the frontcourt comes in the form of Eric Reibe, the 7-footer who was in something of a backup role at UConn but now gets a chance to shine in a starring role on the west coast. Reibe adds prominent size, pairing nicely with the returning Jacob Cofie to form quite the prominent frontcourt duo. The final addition is another nice forward, with 6-10 Joshua Hughes coming from Evansville after showing promise in the MVC.
In those years at Nevada and Arkansas it was the transfer portal that allowed Musselman to bring talent and build success and he’s clearly hoping it’s a similar story. His big splashes didn’t quite pay off last season but the combination of these big moves and some returning pieces should put USC more into the national attention. With an expanded field in the Big Dance, we should almost certainly see the Trojans dance.
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