Big Ten Basketball: 2024 offseason grades for each team

USC Trojans - Grade: B+

It was a bit of a surprise when head coach Andy Enfield left USC for the SMU job but a case can be made that they upgraded on the sidelines, landing Eric Musselman from Arkansas. He’s one of the best recruiters in the transfer portal and with an empty roster to fill, had to land as many talented players as possible.

So USC’s offseason grade comes down to how well they did in the portal. Many of the players they landed averaged double-figures from their previous spots, including guards Clark Slajchert, Bryce Pope, Chibuzo Agbo, and Desmond Claude, the transfer wing from Xavier who averaged over 15 ppg.

In the frontcourt, Saint Thomas averaged over 20 ppg at Northern Carolina, while Josh Cohen was an all-league center at UMass. Terrance Williams and Rashuan Agee are two capable forwards to provide depth, while Isaiah Elohim and Jalen Shelley are two 4-star wing prospects who willingly followed Musselman over from Arkansas.

It wasn’t a perfect portal haul, as USC failed to land a true proven point guard. Plus, not all of the former mid-major stars will be able to translate their respective games to the Big Ten level. But having to basically start from scratch, Coach Musselman did just fine to make USC competitive in its new league.