Go beyond the scoreboard
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With a to-do list as long as his and a cupboard as bare as USC’s, Eric Musselman agreed with the notion that the new men’s basketball coach had more important things to do on a Friday morning than speak to reporters.
“We want to get on the phone,” a smiling Musselman said in front of about two-dozen reporters at his introductory news conference at Galen Center.
The 59-year-old coach’s task of injecting life into a forgotten program starts with finding the players who will carry out the mission on the court.
A breakdown of the roster situation the former Arkansas coach inherited at USC:
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Who’s left?
(Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press)
Musselman didn’t need to get on the phone to make a pitch to his biggest recruit. Freshman point guard Isaiah Collier, who has yet to announce his decision for next season, attended Friday’s news conference and chatted with the coach afterward.
Collier, the No. 1 recruit in the country last season, was projected to go as high as first overall in the NBA draft before sitting out four weeks of the season because of a broken hand. Still, the dynamic 6-foot-5 point guard, who averaged 16.3 points and 4.3 assists, is a likely first-round pick this June if he declares for the draft. The deadline is April 27, although college players who maintain eligibility by not hiring an agent still could withdraw their names by May 29.
Freshman guard Bronny James kept all options open by entering the transfer portal and declaring for the draft while retaining his college eligibility. Musselman said he texted the remaining players and those in the transfer portal, although he hadn’t made contact with James yet.
Eric Musselman has a reputation for injecting life into stagnant basketball programs, and USC’s leadership is hoping he will do the same for the Trojans.
“Certainly he’s got a lot of options and we respect those options,” Musselman said, “and we just want him to know that hey, this opportunity there, if you want to play at USC, we’d love to have him. Such a talented young man.”
Forwards Arrinten Page and Vincent Iwuchukwu joined James and sophomores Oziyah Sellers and Kijani Wright in the portal. With leading scorer Boogie Ellis and forwards DJ Rodman and Joshua Morgan out of eligibility, the Trojans could lose their top nine players if Collier leaves.
One person Musselman can count on to return is junior Harrison Hornery. The 6-10 forward from Mater Dei averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds on a career-low 28.3% shooting from three-point range.
Gardner, a super-athletic forward who dunked over former USC quarterback Caleb Williams at the team’s preseason rally, has yet to announce his decision. He sat out all but one game because of a foot injury.
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What about the signees?
USC men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman takes part in his introductory news conference at Galen Center on Friday.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
All three of USC’s most recent signees under Andy Enfield already reopened their recruitment. After Musselman’s news conference Friday, Brody Kozlowski, a 6-7 forward from Draper, Utah, joined guard Liam Campbell and Harvard-Westlake star Trent Perry back on the recruiting market.
Perry, who was named The Times’ player of the year after helping Harvard-Westlake to a Southern Section Open Division championship and a second consecutive state Open Division title, was another major local coup for Enfield, who built much of his success at USC on Southern California’s best prospects.
While stacking up a school-record 95 wins in four seasons before this season’s disappointment, Enfield boasted major local signings Evan and Isaiah Mobley (Rancho Christian), Onyeka Okongwu (Chino Hills) and Chimezie Metu (Lawndale).
There is a consensus by NBA talent evaluators that the eldest son of LeBron James could be a second-round draft pick.
With stacked classes for 2025 and 2026, the Southern California recruiting footprint will be a focal point for Musselman as well.
“The L.A. area has always had really great players,” Musselman said. “I think back to when I was 12, 13, 14 years old and there were great players, there always will and always has been, so we need to recruit this market to the best of our ability once we get a staff together.”
Musselman said he has not made any decisions about which, if any, assistants from Arkansas would join his staff at USC or whether he’d retain any of the current staff. His plan was to settle on the coaching staff in about one week.
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Who could come from the portal?
Massachusetts’ Josh Cohen drives to the basket in front of Saint Louis’ Bradley Ezewiro, left, and Larry Hughes II during a game on Jan. 27.
(Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)
Musselman said he was up at 5:15 a.m. Friday because he wanted to start reaching out to prospects in the Eastern time zone. He already is making an impact in the area.
Massachusetts forward Josh Cohen, who previously committed to Arkansas, flipped his pledge Friday to the Trojans. The 6-10, 220-pound forward was a first-team All-Atlantic-10 selection last season, averaging 15.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
With a blank roster slate moving into the Big Ten, Musselman said he wanted to construct a team that matched the new conference’s physicality, rebounding and discipline. He also wanted to put his own spin on the conference that is considered one of the deepest for men’s basketball by implementing a long, athletic team that plays quickly.
“Stylistically, we gotta have some of the Big Ten characteristics, but also we want to be different,” Musselman said, “so that when we play teams in conference, maybe it’s not a steady diet of what they see every night.”
