We can all debate how well USC men’s basketball should be performing. Should this be a Sweet 16-level program? Should this be an Elite Eight or Final Four program? We can have that conversation all day, and that’s perfectly fine.
However, what a program should be, and what a program has been in the past, are two different questions. It’s hard to expect a certain set of results when history shows that standard has rarely been met.
Some schools — North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas — should always compete for national championships in college basketball because history shows they are always in the mix and can easily reload from one year to the next.
USC is not in the same class. Expectations can’t come from nowhere. They have to come from somewhere. We can all agree USC should be better, but the process and speed of development simply won’t be as rapid as they are and can be at the blue-blood programs.
One fact very neatly shows how rarely USC has fielded a roster with enough high-end potential to generate massive offseason buzz.
Before presenting this fact, let’s first ask a question to set it up:
How many times has USC had a preseason top-10 team in the Associated Press Poll since the NCAA Tournament was first seeded in 1979?
Take a minute. Think about it. How many times has USC brought a team into a season with huge national buzz over the past 45-ish years?
Okay. Time’s up. Here’s the answer:
USC has had one team in the preseason top 10 of the AP poll since 1979. The team was the 2018 group with Jordan McLaughlin joining Chimezie Metu, Bennie Boatwright and Elijah Stewart after the 2017 team won two NCAA Tournament games (Providence in the First Four, SMU in the Round of 64). That team was No. 10 in the preseason AP poll.
That’s the only time since 1979 USC has had a preseason AP top-10 ranking, and it was No. 10.
Therefore, USC has never had a preseason top-9 team in the AP poll since 1979.
With Boogie Ellis coming back, and with the transfer portal still spinning, USC — which is also in the hunt for Bronny James — could have a preseason top-10 team this coming November. It would be historically rare and very special, but it would emphasize how seldom the Trojans have a roster which commands national respect.
USC basketball hasn’t wasted talent so much as it has failed to bring in elite talent. That’s the difference with this next season’s roster. That’s why the 2024 team will have a chance to change expectations for the program.
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