USC faced a huge problem early in its Galen Center season finale against Arizona State on Saturday night.
Already knowing Vince Iwuchukwu couldn’t play due to back soreness, the Trojans watched starting big man Joshua Morgan pick up two fouls in the game’s first four minutes. It was the last thing USC needed, but it happened, much as Kobe Johnson’s early foul trouble hurt the Men of Troy two nights earlier versus Arizona.
With one big man hurt and another big man in foul trouble, Andy Enfield had to trust Kijani Wright with some of the biggest minutes of USC’s season.
Wright entered this game having played more than 15 minutes in only two games: against Tennessee on Nov. 24, and in the 37-point blowout win over Cal in mid-February. Wright played more than 15 minutes in only one of USC’s previous 16 games. He typically played five or six minutes per game in Pac-12 play, getting more minutes in a three-game February stretch only because Joshua Morgan was injured. He was third in the big man rotation and was not entrusted with high-leverage minutes.
Saturday night, with the season on the line, Morgan’s foul trouble — which extended into the second half; Morgan picked up his fourth foul just a few minutes after halftime — forced Wright to play 24 minutes. Was the freshman going to be able to survive and give USC a meaningful frontcourt presence?
The raw stats might not be eye-popping — three points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, two blocked shots — but given how little USC had been getting from its bench this season, those numbers were comparatively great.
The biggest contribution Wright gave to USC, other than the 24 minutes on a night when Andy Enfield had to create a patchwork lineup, was that his length deterred Arizona State players near the rim. ASU grabbed 20 offensive rebounds with Iwuchukwu and Morgan both out, but Wright’s size prevented the Sun Devils from scoring easy putback baskets. Arizona State shot under 30 percent for the game and did not feast on second-chance points, even though it collected extra possessions.
Kijani Wright enabled USC’s defense to remain intact. Wright started some fast breaks which led to Boogie Ellis baskets. On a guard-heavy team, Wright held the fort as the Trojans’ big man on the floor.
Vince Iwuchukwu carried more hype into the month of March, but it was the other backup big man, Kijani Wright, who answered the call when USC needed him most.
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