Lincoln Riley isn’t the only coach at USC to feel a bit uneasy these days.
At just 6-5, the Trojans come into Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday for the Pac-12 opener desperately needing a win. Coach Andy Enfield is also needing a win as his seat has become rather hot just two seasons after being named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year.
USC was picked to finish third and be a virtual lock to be in the NCAA tournament, possessing a roster bolstered with young talent. Enfield brought in a heralded recruiting class that included Bronny James and Isaiah Collier. While James has been out with medical issues until recently, the talent on that roster should have been able to overcome losing James.
The Trojans biggest wins has been against Kansas State and Seton Hall, but losses to Oklahoma, UC-Irvine and Long Beach State in double overtime have the faithful wondering what’s going on?
We decided to find out from the source and our friend Matt Zemek, editor of TrojansWire to get the details. We were pretty direct and asked why were the Men of Troy underperforming and Zemek didn’t mince words.
“Two words: Andy Enfield. We at USC hoped Enfield could take Cadillac talent and make it roar, but so far, no dice,” he said. “This is high-end talent. Boogie Ellis coming back for another year. Kobe Johnson coming back for another year. D.J. Rodman is a good player. We all saw him do well at Washington State. He was not an easy player for either USC or Oregon to handle. Then add the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2023, Isaiah Collier. Man, that’s a lot of material. It should have added up to a loaded roster and a team that could impose its will on opponents. Bronny James is now on board. All of this should be so much better than what it has been.”
It’s hard to imagine Enfield just forgot how to coach. Sometimes the chemistry just isn’t there for a team. The Ducks have seen that before. There’s still time for the Trojans to turn things around, but hopefully, that occurs after they leave Eugene and head for Corvallis.
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