Tag: harrison hornery

Eric Musselman names emerging leaders on new USC basketball roster

Trojans Wire writer Tim Prangley talked to coach Eric Musselman about the emerging culture of leadership on the USC roster.

Year 1 of Eric Musselman’s USC basketball tenure is off and running. On a team that returns only one player from last season, Harrison Hornery, Musselman pointed to sources of vocal leadership after a practice held in the Galen Center.

You won’t typically find a roster which is created almost entirely from the transfer portal the way this USC basketball roster was assembled, but Eric Musselman had no choice in the matter. Andy Enfield’s sudden departure to SMU, which was not expected by anyone inside the USC athletic department, initiated the coaching search which led to Musselman’s arrival. Musselman has a reputation for being able to work the transfer portal better than most in college basketball. He went to the portal quite liberally and frequently to replenish his rosters at Arkansas and make three straight Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including two straight Elite Eights in 2021 and 2022. It is important that leaders do emerge on this USC roster, so that the Trojans form the cohesion and chemistry they will need if they are going to make the 2025 NCAA Tournament in the Big Ten Conference.

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Harrison Hornery makes noise for Trojans in win over Cal

USC must get consistent bench contributions if it wants to make a run this season.

The USC Trojans men’s basketball team has had a very disappointing season, especially after bringing in Isaiah Collier, Bronny James, and D.J. Rodman in the offseason.

However, the Trojans were able to get back in the win column with an 82-74 victory over Cal at the Galen Center on Wednesday night. Boogie Ellis led the team with 15 points and Kobe Johnson had 14. Bronny James scored 10, as he reached double digits for the second straight game.

One other notable player was Harrison Hornery, who provided a big spark for Andy Enfield’s team off the bench.

Hornery had 8 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 19 minutes off the bench. That stat line is exactly what Enfield and the Trojans are looking for from their reserves.

This was the most points Hornery has scored since November 14 against UC Irvine. For a team that has not lived up to expectations, Enfield continues to shift the lineup around to find a spark.

The Trojans next face Stanford on Saturday.

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USC basketball season begins one month from today

One month before the season begins, there are real questions about the bench and the overall rotation.

USC men’s basketball begins one of the most anticipated seasons in school history in one month, on November 6. USC faces Kansas State in Las Vegas, the beginning of a hugely hyped season with big expectations. The Trojans aren’t usually the focus of the college basketball world in the Pac-12 Conference, but this season, they are.

We will try to prepare you for the season by sharing the insights of college basketball expert Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated, who joined us for an extended conversation.

Our first installment with Kevin: How USC’s role players will fit into the lineup and shape Andy Enfield’s decisions on whether to play big or small.

“I know Harrison Hornery shot the ball extremely well overseas. I just have a hard time buying that. He’s really carving out a big role, right? He’s been around, we know what he is. I have a similar kind of question mark with Kijani Wright,” Sweeney said. “He’s talented, but one, he doesn’t solve the shooting issue at the four spot of playing two non-shooting bigs. I also think that his minutes were very mixed last year. So I think it’s really a question of are we playing two traditional centers or are we playing a fourth guard with (D.J.) Rodman at the four? If you’re going to start Isaiah Collier, Boogie Ellis, and Kobe Johnson, I would always personally lean toward (playing) smaller. That’s kind of my basketball. If I started coaching a team, I would play lots of four guards, I’d play a lot of four and five out offensively.”

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One key flaw for USC this season: offensive threats can’t stay on the floor very long

People inside the USC program marveled at Oziyah Sellers’ shooting ability, but he can’t find minutes because he hasn’t developed enough on defense.

USC has needed a knockdown shooter for a long time. Tahj Eaddy wasn’t an elite shooter, but he did hit a lot of very important perimeter shots in big moments for the 2021 USC team which reached the Elite Eight.

Having one guy who can hit important jump shots means so much to the Trojans, since they build their teams around a big man who can tend to so many details on defense and the glass. Opponents focus on containing the big man and unavoidably force USC to play through the perimeter to win games. If USC has the marksman who can stick 3-pointers, the Trojans’ ceiling rises considerably.

USC has a few players on this team who have notable potential as game-changing shooters: Harrison Hornery, Oziyah Sellers, and Malik Thomas. Of the three, Thomas has shown the most as an “instant offense” sparkplug this season. Hornery had a few brief moments of brilliance last season. Sellers impressed everyone as an elite shooter in high school. Andy Enfield marveled at his shooting ability before this season began.

Saturday night against Utah, the three players combined for a total of 10 minutes played. Thomas played seven, and Hornery and Sellers made very brief appearances that didn’t amount to anything.

One could make the point that on a night when USC hit 7 of 16 3-pointers — unusually good for the Trojans — the team didn’t need its shooters. Narrowly, that’s probably true. However, it still can’t be viewed as a good sign that the Trojans don’t have these players playing 10 to 12 minutes per game on a consistent basis. If they were integrated more fully into the lineup and the flow of the season, the chance for any of them to deliver a big performance at some point would be much higher. It’s hard to play minimal minutes and then be expected to make significant contributions. If these guys were getting 12 minutes every night, more would be asked of them.

It’s clear that Thomas, Hornery and Sellers can’t get extended minutes because Enfield doesn’t think they’re ready at the defensive end of the floor. USC would give up too much on defense to warrant playing these guys for what they can deliver on offense. If the Trojans can somehow change this particular equation in the coming weeks, they might find the extra measure of quality which can give them the high-end wins they need to change the outlook for their season.

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