There really aren’t many coaches through college basketball that have embraced the transfer portal quite like Eric Musselman over the last decade. He previously built and enhanced successful squads at Nevada and Arkansas using transfers and now enters his second year out at USC trying to accomplish similar goals. Musselman made a Sweet Sixteen with the Wolf Pack and two Elite Eight’s out at Arkansas and hopes to match that success after just a 17-18 campaign with the Trojans.
Knowing what we know about Musselman and building rosters, you can consider it good or bad news that nearly everyone from last season is gone for the Trojans. Names like Rashaun Agee, Desmond Claude, and Saint Thomas put up good production but hightailed for the portal. The big returner is Terrance Williams, the talented forward who played just seven games last season but should have a big role again this season.
Numerous new faces populate USC’s roster and we don’t even have time to run through each name. Ezra Ausar comes from Utah and should get a starting role in the frontcourt, fighting with Virginia’s Jacob Cofie for major minutes. 7-3 Youngstown State transfer Gabe Dynes is another big addition, while the backcourt really improved by grabbing Rodney Rice from Maryland.
The piece perhaps most important to USC’s success next season is Chad Baker-Mazara, a name college basketball fans know well at this point. A 6-7 wing from the Dominican Republic, he’s bounced around quite a lot in his career, with prior work at Duquesne, San Diego State, and the JUCO level before brilliant work at Auburn. Last season, Baker-Mazara put up 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game while helping lead the Tigers to the Final Four.
Recently a major piece for one of the nation’s best teams, Baker-Mazara now slides into a major role for a Trojans squad looking to make their own memories. He’s got decent shooting numbers and is a real stat stuffer on both sides of the ball. We’ve seen Baker-Mazara make brilliant plays with Auburn and you can bet that he can put up big figures in Musselman’s system.
Throwing together a new rotation largely with transfers is never a guarantee; Musselman has seen the good and the bad that comes from that. However, USC truly landed one of the hottest commodities in the nation by bringing Baker-Mazara to town. He’s a uniquely experienced and talented wing who may be the reason the Trojans play a role in the Big Ten race.