It’s easy to argue that USC has largely underwhelmed since joining the Big Ten two seasons ago. That was the same time Eric Musselman made the move back to the West Coast and took over as head coach, though all that’s resulted is a pair of 12th place finishes in the league. He’s certainly hoping that this year’s squad can take that big step in the right direction.
Gone are the headache from Chad Baker-Mazara and a few other notable scorers like Ezra Ausar, but the Trojans actually bring back some significant pieces. Rodney Rice will run the point again back healthy for the Trojans after going down after just six games last season. USC also returns both Alijah Arenas and Jacob Cofie after brilliant underclassman efforts.
Five-star forward Christian Collins should be a major piece of the puzzle alongside the 7-foot Ratliff twins, a pair of 4-star centers. USC also added a boatload of talent from the transfer portal, getting a ton of scoring talent in Isaac Bruns from South Dakota and Jalen Cox out of Colgate. Another 7-footer joins the fold in Eric Reibe, a former Top 50 prospect who was a decent piece at UConn last year.
We’re instead arguing that the most important addition from the portal was none other than KJ Lewis. A 6-4 guard out of El Paso, he’s made his way to his third D1 school, starting his career with a pair of seasons off the bench out at Arizona. Lewis averaged double-figures as a sophomore before transferring to Georgetown, putting up 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds as a starter for the Hoyas.
Lewis slides into a major role at shooting guard for the Trojans. He’s far from the only notable scorer thrown into the fold, but he’s shown he can make plays at a high level, excelling in the Big 12 and Big East. Bruns and Cox might have shown great potential but did so in the Summit League and Patriot League respectively. He also ranked among the top pieces available in the transfer portal and became a major land for Musselman and his staff.
When you put all of these moves into perspective, USC is leaning heavily on a lot of new faces but has a roster full of great potential. They’ve added three 7-footers to a frontcourt that already was getting great work out of Cofie and certainly have the size to compete in the Big Ten. The Trojans added pieces all over the court but that backcourt duo of Rice and Lewis just might be one of the most productive in the entire country when they’re on their game.
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