USC Basketball: Takeaways from exhibition home win over UTSA Roadrunners

USC Basketball has a completely new coaching staff and a new roster ahead of the 2024-25 season. Tuesday night was the first time to see this group in person, taking on the UTSA Roadrunners from the American Athletic Conference.

With so many new faces, it's not a surprise that there were learning moments on both sides. In the end, the Trojans' talent superiority proved to be too much, going from a three-point halftime lead to an 84-63 victory.

13 players got on the floor for USC, with plenty to take away. Here's three notable points from the game.

Saint Thomas emerges as a go-to scorer

One of the top transfers this offseason was Thomas, a 6'7 foward who averaged around 20 ppg and 10 rpg at Northern Colorado. He proved to be the clear best player on the court in this game, going for a team-high 21 points in just 20 minutes, making 7/8 from the field. For a team with several high-level scoring transfers, Thomas made the claim of being the go-to guy when the season starts.

Desmond Claude running the offense

One question throughout the offseason with USC was how they'd do with the PG situation. Turns, out, Xavier transfer Claude would get the nod to start out. He had a slow start in the game, as it looked as if he was focusing on distributing more. In the end, his offense got going, finishing with 14 points and tying a team-high with five assists. There may be some growing pains with him running the offense but in his first test, Claude looked solid.

8 players played 14+ minutes

Even with San Diego transfer Kevin Patton out, USC still had plenty of players to give minutes to. But the reality is that the rotation will get shortened sooner rather than later under Coach Eric Musselman. In the exhibition game, the five starters all got 19+ minutes, with three guys (Matt Knowling, Clark Slajchert, and freshman Jalen Shelley) getting double-digit minutes as well.

That left transfers such as Bryce Pope (3 min), Rashaun Agee (7) and Wesley Yates (5), with lesser minutes. We'll see if these are guys who don't get much time on the court once the regular-season starts, or if USC will continue to have various lineups come November.