What did we tell you? We told you that USC, even with the additions of Bronny James and Isaiah Collier, still needed another roster piece. The Trojans still needed a forward, ideally someone who could play rugged defense, offer some rebounding and toughness, and make a reasonable percentage of 3-point shots to draw defenders outside the paint.
D.J. Rodman, who committed to USC in the transfer portal on Tuesday, coming from Washington State, does those things well. He checks several different boxes for the Trojans and Andy Enfield. He might be a little undersized, but his skill set is precisely what USC needed.
This is why USC fans and national college basketball experts are both buzzing about the Trojans and what they can become next season. There has never been a more talented roster in the Enfield era. USC enters the new season with more buzz than any other team in the past 20 years. The last USC team to enter a season with a comparable amount of hype is the 2002 team which followed the 2001 team’s run to the Elite Eight.
That team got a No. 4 seed in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. This 2024 USC team should get a higher NCAA Tournament seed.
Let’s provide more analysis of D.J. Rodman below, as shown in tweets from commentators plus our own insights: