Tag: DJ Rodman

USC’s DJ Rodman stays in background with Clippers in NBA summer league

DJ Rodman is likely going to play G League basketball this coming season.

Former USC Trojan DJ Rodman, son of Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, was signed earlier in July by the Los Angeles Clippers to finish out the NBA summer league.

Dennis Rodman last played in the NBA in 2000 for the Dallas Mavericks. He was a two-time champion with the Detroit Pistons, three times with the Chicago Bulls. He also played with the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers.

DJ Rodman began his collegiate career with the Washington State Cougars and then transferred to the USC Trojans, where he played the 2023-2024 season. After his brief stint with the Trojans, he earned a spot in the NBA summer league with the Los Angeles Clippers.

In 143 college games, he averaged 6.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and one assist. His best season was 2022-2023, when he had 9.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while playing for the Washington State Cougars.

Rodman did not get extended playing time with the Clippers in the summer league. He simply isn’t at the top of the team’s list of primary options. He did not make the big imprint he was hoping for. The G League might be where he will play in the coming basketball season.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Check out more NFL draft coverage with the USA TODAY Sports NFL Draft Hub.

Will USC forward DJ Rodman get signed after NBA draft snub?

DJ Rodman waits for his NBA opportunity. Will a team give him a two-way or Exhibit 10 contract?

Will USC’s DJ Rodman, the son of NBA legend Dennis Rodman, get signed as an undrafted free agent? Rodman played four seasons at Washington State before transferring to USC last season. Rodman averaged 8.4 points and 5 rebounds per contest with the Trojans. He was not picked in the 2024 NBA draft and is trying to get a contract with a team which will give him an opportunity to stick on an NBA roster.

He started only 12 games his first three years, averaging 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 32.7 percent from deep. In his final two years Rodman started 58 of 63 games and averaged 29.5 minutes, 9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and made 37.2 percent of his threes. He mostly played as an undersized four because of his toughness and improvements as a rebounder.

Rodman on his dad Dennis: “It’s cool just looking back at those memories when I was little and watching those clips and having that be something that I studied almost every single day. Almost every single day they’d play one of those games. Rebounding, that’s where I got it from – from those videos, from those games.”

DJ had workouts with the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks before the draft.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Washington State guard Jaylen Wells, USC forward DJ Rodman have pre-draft workout with Warriors

Washington State’s Jaylen Wells and USC forward DJ Rodman headlined the latest group of prospects to have a pre-draft workout with the Warriors.

As the NBA draft is now just two weeks away, the Golden State Warriors are continuing to bring in different prospects for pre-draft workouts. The latest group of prospects was headlined by Washington State’s Jaylen Wells and USC’s DJ Rodman from the PAC-12.

Tulane’s Kevin Cross and Tennessee’s veteran shooter Santiago Vescovi round out a group of prospects along with Vichy-Clermont’s Lucas Dufeal and Ilias Karmadine. Vichy-Clermont is a professional basketball club out of France.

Via @JDumasReports on Twitter:

Wells played one season at Washington State, averaging 12.6 points on 43.6% shooting from the field and 41.7% from long distance. Wells added 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

Growing up in Folsom and Sacramento, Wells has ties to the Bay Area and Northern California. Prior to transferring to Washington State, Wells was named CCAA Player of the Year and was a Division II All-American at Division II Sonoma State in Rohnert Park, California. Wells tallied 22.4 points per game for the Seawolves as a sophomore.

Rodman, son of NBA Hall of Famer, Dennis Rodman, played four seasons at Washington State before transferring to Southern California last season. Rodman averaged 8.4 points and five rebounds per contest with the Trojans.

The NBA draft is set to begin with the first round on June 25. The second round will begin on Wednesday, June 26. The Warriors currently hold one pick in the draft in the second round, No. 52 overall.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

USC men’s basketball remains undefeated in March with a victory over No. 5 Arizona

USC won the last Pac-12 men’s basketball regular-season game and did so against a top-10 team.

The USC Trojans came into the final game of the regular season with a chance to improve their record to 14-17, and 8-12 in  Pac-12 games. All they had to do was beat the first-place team in the conference and the No. 5 team in the nation, the Arizona Wildcats. USC had surrendered the last six meetings to the Wildcats, including an 82-67 loss in Tucson back in January.  This previous game was played without USC’s two leading scores and primary ball handlers, Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Collier.

USC got the upset victory on Saturday night. It was the first time the Trojans have beaten a team in the top five since a 2008 road victory at their crosstown rivals, the No. 4 UCLA Bruins, at Pauley Pavillion. Isaiah Collier had a solid game (16 points and five assists). D.J. Rodman also had another productive night, setting a season-high with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting while grabbing 7 rebounds to lead the team in both categories.  Rodman’s relentless motor and his near perfect shooting propelled the Trojans to a double-digit lead.  

USC’s defense was the difference. The Men of Troy held Arizona’s talented offense, which boasts the second-highest points per game average in the country (90.4 ppg), in check. The Trojans were especially effective in limiting the production of Arizona’s talented backcourt trio of Kylan Boswell, Pelle Larsson, and Caleb Love, who managed to score only 12 points combined. Love, who is fourth in the conference in scoring with an average of 19.63 points per game, was held to just two points throughout the night.

Kobe Johnson, a junior guard for USC, had a standout performance, contributing 19 points, 4 assists, and 6 steals (23 steals in his last six games).

After the game Johnson explained USC’s plan on how to slow down Love and the high-scoring Arizona offense:

“Every time we play Arizona, we know it’s gonna be a physical, physical game, so we knew  coming into it right away that we needed to be the more physical team. The game plan the whole week, so we did focus a lot on Caleb Love because we know how good of a player he is and how good he can be. So we tried to pressure him, trying to make them take some tough shots, which I think we did perfectly. So I think we all follow the game plan exactly how we should have and I think the results show for themselves,” Johnson said.

USC had a season-high 15 steals in the game, reaching double-digit steals for the ninth time this season. Arizona struggled to find a shooting rhythm against USC’s formidable defense, scoring only 65 points and shooting just 38.7% from the field, which is the Wildcats’ second-lowest shooting percentage and its low point total of the season.

Stat of the game: The Wildcats had 14 offensive rebounds — led by rebounding machine Oumar Ballo — but had only two second chance points on the night.

USC has won four of its last five games and five of its last seven to finish ninth in the Pac-12. They will face the Washington Huskies  (17-14, 9-11), the No. 8 seed in the conference, on Wednesday, March 13, in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

USC’s DJ Rodman signs NIL deal

D.J. Rodman enters the NIL space.

NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman’s 22-year-old son is D.J. Rodman. The younger Rodman, who is currently a senior a USC, signed a new deal with Crocs.

“I want to stand out in a way that no one else feels comfortable doing. I think Crocs really represent myself, that’s why I love them. They’re my favorite shoe, hands down.”

Rodman is part of a USC men’s basketball team which defeated UCLA on Saturday night in Pauley Pavilion. The win snapped a seven-game road losing streak for USC, which was able to earn a split of the season series with UCLA. The Trojans have two more weeks of games before the Pac-12 Tournament.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3A3azdp2W8/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=e9929501-756e-4174-8acd-1cd7ac114879

The brand’s 2024 NIL class has a diverse roster of six of the best athletes in the country including:

Frederick Richard (Gymnastics) from the University of Michigan, Janiah Barker (Basketball) from Texas A&M, Jared McCain (Basketball) from Duke University, Mackenzie Mgbako (Basketball) from the Indiana University, DJ Rodman (Basketball) from the University of Southern California, and Grace McCallum (Gymnastics) from the University of Utah.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3AxAL3N1Cq/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=5bc1bcc9-401f-405a-b52c-3b840931ba88

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Poor rebounding by Trojans spoils Isaiah Collier’s return in gut-wrenching OT loss to Cal

Cal got too many extra possessions. That’s the story from Berkeley.

Porous rebounding by the USC Trojans and clutch shooting from the Cal Golden Bears ruined Isaiah Collier’s comeback effort in an 83-77 overtime loss in Berkeley. The Trojans are 0-3 in games decided by six points or fewer and 0-2 in overtime games this season.

Collier was back for the first time in six games after injuring his hand against Washington State on January 10. In his absence, the Trojans missed his ability to drive the ball, challenge defenses inside and get to the free throw line.

Scoreless at the half, Isaiah Collier scored 17 points in the second half to erase a 16-point USC deficit and take the game to overtime.

In front of an announced sold-out crowd at Haas Pavilion, Collier put the offense on his back down the stretch, drawing fouls almost every time he drove the lane. After missing his first two free throw attempts in the first half, he was 12-14 from the line after halftime.  Unfortunately, the rest of the team shot just 3 of 8 from the charity stripe on the night.

After the Oregon State game in which the Trojans were plus-20 on the glass, the Trojans thought they had solved the rebounding woes that plagued them during their six-game losing streak in January, but they were wrong. Cal outrebounded the Trojans 54-27.  USC’s defense held the Bears to just 25 points in the second half, but poor rebounding — Cal had a 19-5 offensive rebounding advantage — gave the Bears extra possessions. Fardaws Aimaq dominated inside with 20 rebounds and USC as a team had only 27.

Cal was led by Jaylon Tyson’s double-double. He scored 27 points, shot 4 of 5 beyond the arc, and added 11 rebounds. Tyson, Jalen Cone, and Jale Celestine shot 59% — 11 of 18 — from the 3-point line.  The Bears hit four contested treys with the shot clock winding down in the second half and overtime to neutralize the Trojans’ smothering defense in the paint — the last triple from Cone in OT was the dagger.

D.J. Rodman has scored 31 points over the last two games.  His 17 points off the bench were crucial as Boogie Ellis continues to struggle after returning from a hamstring injury. Rodman was 3 of 4 on 3-point attempts during the game, but he saw his last triple go halfway down and bounce out with the Trojans trailing by four late in overtime to seal the game for the Bears.

On Saturday, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, USC will face the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion in an attempt to earn a split of the Bay Area road trip.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

DJ Rodman answers Andy Enfield’s challenge and solidifies his role on the team

D.J. Rodman answered Andy Enfield’s challenge. USC finally showed it could fight back and show some backbone.

On Thursday night, USC suffered a 78-69 loss to the Oregon Ducks, marking the Trojans’ sixth consecutive defeat. In the aftermath of the game, USC head coach Andy Enfield expressed his disappointment and frustration regarding the team’s lack of rebounding, particularly from his big men.

Coach Enfield made it clear that he expected a significant improvement in this area moving forward. Enfield did not mince words when he spelled it out after the game:

“Rebounding, our four bigs are not very good defensive rebounders and in fact are poor, and you can’t keep playing 15-20-25 minutes a game and having zero or one defensive rebound and so that really hurts us,” he said. “Arizona hurt us on the boards, UCLA crushed us on their offensive rebounds. Even when you play great defense, 36% tonight we held them, they had 17 offensive rebounds. Our four bigs are just not that good at defensive rebounding and they have to get better.“

He went on to explain that the Trojans have been led by great big men on the boards since he arrived at Troy. Clearly outlining his expectations, he emphasized the qualities he sought in his big men: “toughness, pursuit of the ball, and you have to have a desire [to secure rebounds].” He listed both Mobley brothers, Onyeka Okongwu, Nick Rakocevic, and Chimezie Metu, but singled out Chevez Goodwin as the toughest rebounder he has ever coached.

Two days after the Oregon loss, Enfield had something different to say.

In the postgame press conference after the Trojans’ 82-54 victory over Oregon State that snapped a six-game losing skid, Enfield talked about challenging 6-6, 225-pound forward D.J. Rodman before tip-off.

“We made a goal to get double-digit rebounds, which he did,” said Enfield, “That was impressive. I thought he was extremely active, he looked athletic, he boxed out, and he made some really great plays for his teammates.”

Rodman had started the first 20 games for the Trojans, but he was held out of the starting lineup for the second game in a row. He came off the bench to post a double-double, scoring 12 points, grabbing a season-high 14 rebounds (with 5 offensive boards).

The fifth-year graduate transfer from Washington State talked about his focus and his role on the team. Rodman explained, “These past however many games in the [Pac-12], I’ve been focusing on rebounding more. I’m not a high volume scorer — as everyone knows, I take what’s given to me — but one place I could make a difference was rebounding. I feel like I’m a pretty good rebounder. I haven’t had 10 rebounds in a long time. So, that was all I was trying to do. Rebounding is one of those things where I can make an impact and hopefully impact the whole game.”

In basketball, rebounding and the name Rodman go hand in hand. D.J.’s father, NBA great Dennis Rodman, led the NBA in rebounding seven straight seasons from 1992-1998. He was known for his relentless motor and hustle.  We saw a lot of his father’s game against the Beavers from D.J. —  diving on the floor for a loose ball, drawing two charges, and getting five offensive rebounds — but one thing is for certain: D.J. is the much better shooter than his dad.

The Trojans face the University of California in Berkeley on Thursday night.  The Bears are coming off an 81-66 win over Arizona State and they have won three of their last four games.  The game tips off at 8 p.m. Pacific time on the Pac-12 Network.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

DJ Rodman’s 3-point shooting highlights easy USC victory

DJ Rodman needs to hit perimeter shots for USC to be the best.

The USC Trojans were never threatened or tested by the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners on Thursday night. The Trojans rolled to an easy 85-59 win over Bakersfield in the Galen Center. It was a sign of a team which clearly has more — and better — weapons than previous USC squads.

In past seasons, USC would have had at least one bad 10-minute stretch against an opponent of Bakersfield’s caliber. The Trojans either would have started slowly or allowed Bakersfield to hang around longer than it should have. In this game, USC didn’t feed its opponent’s confidence at the start of the game, and it didn’t allow the opponent to get back into the game. This was a shutdown for 40 minutes. Good teams handle buy games with this level of steadiness and poise.

Among the standouts for USC in the 26-point win was D.J. Rodman. The forward who transferred from Washington State hit 3 of 4 3-pointers and all four free throws. Rodman finished with 15 points on a nigh when five Trojans scored anywhere from 11 to 19 points.

If Rodman is providing role-player scoring and is hitting perimeter jumpers, USC becomes a much better team. Let’s hope Rodman continues to find the touch from long range.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

DJ Rodman earns praise from college basketball insider

This is such an important piece of the puzzle for USC.

The USC Trojans men’s basketball team is ranked in the top 25 to begin the season, and the status of Bronny James is still up in the air. But, the return of Boogie Ellis, the addition of five-star recruit Isaiah Collier, and so many other moves have the Trojans in position to achieve at a high level.

Washington State transfer D.J. Rodman is a big piece of the puzzle, and Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today and CBS Sports mentioned Rodman as one of his top glue guys to watch for this upcoming season.

“The Trojans haven’t had a classic ‘Glue Guy’ in recent years, but Rodman should fit the bill,” Rothstein wrote. “The son of former NBA star Dennis Rodman, DJ Rodman has the requisites to be a missing piece for USC at power forward. A transfer from Washington State, the 6-6 Rodman averaged 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds last season.”

Rodman should give a big boost to the Trojans. He is familiar with the Pac-12 from his Washington State days, and he is the son of Dennis Rodman.

But, with all of the pieces the Trojans have, it will be important for Rodman to find his role and be a glue guy.

*

Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality.

D.J. Rodman’s role this season with USC basketball should be very clear

There shouldn’t be any ambiguity for D.J. Rodman in terms of knowing what he has to do on the court.

We talked to college basketball expert Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated about USC basketball. When discussing D.J. Rodman’s role on the Trojan roster this coming season, Sweeney was clear in pinning down the forward’s role:

“I think it’s three and D as much as anything,” Sweeney began. “He shot it a little better than I anticipated he would last year. To make over 50 threes at a 38% clip is a big-time 3-point shooter in college basketball. If that translates again, he’ll be really good. We will look back and say that was an undervalued addition to this USC roster to get a guy like that a little on the later side in the portal. The thing that stands out when you look at D.J. just analytically, he’s always been a very efficient player. He doesn’t need to take a ton of shots to impact the game offensively. Again, that’s something USC really needs, right?”

*

Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality.