USC Basketball: 10 candidates to replace Andy Enfield as Head Coach

Jason Hart

What’s important in coaching searches is making sure you leave no stones unturned. USC could go in a number of directions with this next hire, but sometimes the right hire is closer than they appear. There’s absolutely nothing that says the next coach has to have some connection to USC, but Hart might be the homegrown candidate with the biggest chance at getting the gig.

A native of Los Angeles, Hart starred at Syracuse in the late 90’s before spending a decade bouncing around in the NBA. His coaching career began as a high school coach in LA and later as an assistant at Pepperdine before landing on Enfield’s staff at USC. Hart helped build the Trojans program for the next eight years, leaving shortly after their Elite Eight run in 2021. Hart has spent the last three seasons as head coach of NBA G League Ignite, a developmental team that just folded recently.

The lack of head coaching experience at the collegiate level is alarming, but the hometown connections to USC make up for it. This wasn’t exactly USC looking to turn the page. They’re coming off a bad seasons but Hart was a major part of some of those recent great seasons. He’s worked at developing young players into potential professionals for the last few seasons, but how relevant would that experience be at a Big Ten head coaching gig on the West Coast?