Reese Dixon-Waters played really well for USC in the 2022 NCAA Tournament against Miami. The way Dixon-Waters performed on the big stage at the end of his freshman season set the table for what was supposed to be a step-forward year, a year in which he needed to become the third scorer and go-to option for this team behind Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson.
This season, we have seen flashes of brilliance from Reese Dixon-Waters. RDW’s best and most memorable performance was his 7-of-7 shooting line against UCLA in Pauley Pavilion on January 5. That display nearly lifted the Trojans to an upset win. That was the guy Andy Enfield and USC fans hoped to see. However, that version of Dixon-Waters hasn’t been the regular version. Tre White has been better in Pac-12 games (not necessarily the whole season), and Dixon-Waters has been relatively quiet on offense for a good portion of the conference season. It’s true that his defense is valuable in and of itself, but the Trojans hoped RDW would be a major two-way force to supplement Boogie and Peterson. That hasn’t happened to the extent USC wanted.
Until the last two games.
Dixon-Waters missed a few games with an injury in February. His presence was sorely missed on the disastrous Oregon road trip in which the Trojans lost at Oregon State.
He came back to the lineup on Feb. 18 against Stanford and looked a lot like the guy the Trojans were hoping to see this season. He scored 12 points and gave USC a huge lift off the bench. The injury layoff seemed to give him fresh legs and renewed energy.
Thursday night in Boulder, RDW carried his momentum from the Stanford game. He scored 15 points and pulled down five rebounds as part of a balanced effort by the Trojans. If RDW can play like this at Utah on Saturday, and for the rest of the season, the Trojans should make the NCAA Tournament.
Dixon-Waters has scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time since November 10 and 15 against Alabama State and Vermont. Good timing.
If RDW can continue to provide timely production, USC becomes a significantly better team.
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