Tag: Kijani Wright

USC basketball big man Kijani Wright enters transfer portal, setting the stage for more changes

The roster turnover is just beginning for USC in the new men’s college basketball offseason.

The USC Trojans, after a disastrous men’s college basketball season, are going to look very different when they enter the Big Ten next fall. Kijani Wright, a backup big man who struggled to find a consistent and successful role at USC, is transferring out of the program, per 247Sports.

Wright was part of a big man room which, USC hoped, would be rugged and balanced this past season. The hope was that Josh Morgan would provide something close to a 10-and-10 double-double average in points and rebounds, with Vince Iwuchukwu coming off the bench to rebound and defend at an elite level. Wright, with Iwuchukwu being unavailable to play early in the season due to lingering back problems, had a chance to become a significant role player, but it never really happened. Wright made some significant contributions late in the 2022-2023 season for USC, giving the Trojans a boost in a road win at Colorado and a home win against Arizona State which sealed USC’s place in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Wright had hoped to build off those performances, but it simply didn’t happen.

Wright’s departure clears out one roster spot. With Isaiah Collier, Boogie Ellis, and Kobe Johnson all expected to declare for the NBA draft, the USC roster is about to endure many more significant changes. Andy Enfield has some elite recruits coming in, but Wright’s departure gives the Trojans a chance to find a big man in the transfer portal. USC badly needs a blue-collar big who can reliably rebound in the rugged Big Ten.

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College basketball expert raises questions about USC backup big man Kijani Wright

Kijani Wright got a lot of playing time on the USC European summer tour. That could prove valuable for him and the Trojans.

We talked to college basketball expert Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated about USC’s roster and the Trojans’ upcoming season. One part of our extended conversation focused on USC backup big man Kijani Wright.

“He will be a glue guy of sorts, right? I think it has to be an Energizer bunny off the bench in terms of what he’s bringing to the table as a rebounder, as a defender with his willingness to talk on defense, things like that,” Sweeney began in discussing Wright. “We’ve talked about it. There’s not a lot of scoring opportunities to go around here. I think if he comes in and it’s all, what can I do for me, me, me, I don’t see how it’s going to work, right? They’ll find someone else who can do the little things. But I think he does provide big-time athleticism, a big-time frame, and the ability to go out and rebound the basketball. If he does that at a higher level, he’s going to find his way onto the floor, especially given some of the concerns health-wise with Vince (Iwuchukwu).

“Obviously you don’t want to earn your minutes that way, but there’s a chance that at some point in the season they’re going to need someone else to step up in the frontcourt, and he’s got a real opportunity to do that. I think at the end of the day, it’s probably good for USC (that Wright got extended playing time on the European summer tour). You would’ve wanted Vince to be out there in Europe just because he needs the reps, but anytime you can get someone like this who was a big-time recruit out of high school who didn’t flop as a freshman, it’s good. I think (Wright) probably didn’t quite meet expectations, but he was still playing real minutes on a team that went to the NCAA Tournament. Getting him a few extra reps in game action against pros (in Europe) is a positive thing for this USC team, and I don’t think it’s worth giving up on him just yet.”

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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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Vince Iwuchukwu health problems put the spotlight on Kijani Wright at USC

Iwuchukwu’s back surgery means that Kijani Wright will likely be the main backup big man for the season opener on Nov. 6 vs Kansas State.

USC basketball knows what it needs to do, but actually doing it will be the big challenge. The news that Vince Iwuchukwu had offseason back surgery, and will return at some point “during the first half” of the upcoming season, likely means Iwuchukwu won’t be available for USC’s November 6 season opener against Kansas State.

Not having a deeper big man rotation limits Andy Enfield’s options for that game, and presumably for the first few weeks of USC’s season before Iwuchukwu comes back.

The Trojans have a clear goal for the Kansas State game, their first significant test in the upcoming season and an important occasion for one of the most talented USC teams in recent memory. That goal: Play opponents even when Kijani Wright is in the game.

Wright played a lot of minutes on USC’s August European tour. Those minutes now become more valuable. The Trojans need Wright to be a stabilizing presence in relief of starting center Joshua Morgan. As long as USC doesn’t get significantly outscored when Wright plays, USC can rely on its backcourt to win games. USC doesn’t need its frontcourt to score. Wright can make a huge impact simply by defending and rebounding, making sure opponents don’t get easy baskets when Morgan is sitting and Iwuchukwu is unable to play.

Freshman power forward Arrinten Page might now figure into Enfield’s plans a little more before Iwuchukwu returns to the court, but his youth showed in Europe. It will be up to Wright to be the main backup to Morgan. The other option is for USC to go to a very small lineup in which D.J. Rodman might have to guard bigger opponents.

The best-case scenario — within this worst-case situation involving Iwuchukwu — is that Kijani Wright gives USC 15 minutes a game in which opponents find it difficult to score. If that happens, the Trojans should be fine.

Kijani Wright has to be able to raise his game this coming November.

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Arizona — Arizona State — California — Colorado — Oregon State  — Stanford — UCLA — USC — Utah — Washington — Washington State

Josh Morgan, Kijani Wright show signs of growth heading into next season

Bummed about this loss? You should be. Bummed about the state of #USC hoops? You shouldn’t be. Young guys have upside for 2024.

The USC Trojans are out of the NCAA Tournament after another first-round loss, this time coming at the hands of the Michigan State Spartans and Tom Izzo, 72-62.

The careers of Drew Peterson and Boogie Ellis in a Trojans uniform have come to an end, and this team will once again see some drastic changes after losing the Mobley brothers over the past couple of seasons.

While the offensive performance wasn’t pretty for USC, there are two players that should give Andy Enfield hope going into the summer: Kijani Wright and Josh Morgan.

With Vincent Iwuchukwu missing the game with an injury, Morgan stepped up and led the team in scoring with 14 points on 7-9 from the field and 5 rebounds.

The junior forward should be an integral part of USC’s team next season, assuming he returns to Southern California for another year.

Kijani Wright played sparingly in this game against the Spartans, finishing with just 1 point with a rebound, assist, and block. However, Wright earned more playing time toward the end of the season, and the freshman forward from Los Angeles will definitely see a massive increase in usage with Peterson and Ellis leaving this offseason.

Yes, it’s another early exit for Enfield and USC, but the future remains bright in Trojans Land.

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Kijani Wright delivers season-defining peformance for USC, Andy Enfield

With Vince Iwuchukwu hurt and Josh Morgan in foul trouble, Kijani Wright had to play more minutes. He saved #USC vs ASU.

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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Kijani Wright is making meaningful contributions to USC late in the season

If Kijani Wright can continue to give #USC a lift off the bench, the Trojans’ outlook will brighten considerably. This could be huge.

The USC bench isn’t nearly as developed as it needs to be, but one player on that bench has slowly been coming along in recent weeks. Kijani Wright hasn’t made a huge splash, but he has quietly improved the outlook for this team and could become a surprisingly large key for the Trojans in March.

With Vince Iwuchukwu on a minutes restriction, Wright had to play when Josh Morgan got hurt a few weeks ago. Wright was a foul magnet, unable to stay out of foul trouble. However, he did play with energy and passion and could be relied on to grab a few rebounds. His contributions weren’t enormous, but he gained some experience and saw what he needed to improve.

Thursday, in USC’s win over Colorado, Iwuchukwu was ineffective in a short nine-minute stint. Enter Wright, who played nine minutes and helped the Trojans avoid overextending both Iwuchukwu and Morgan, who was back in the lineup and played a modest 22 minutes.

Wright scored four points and pulled down three rebounds while collecting one steal in his nine minutes. That’s not a huge statistical footprint, but in only nine minutes, it’s very impressive and valuable. Notably, Wright didn’t pick up any fouls in this game.

He’s learning.

Against Colorado, USC and Andy Enfield gained 40 minutes from the combination of Morgan (22), Wright (9) and Iwuchukwu (9). This brings up an obvious but important point: If Enfield can rotate three bigs — Morgan, Wright and Iwuchukwu — he can get maximum energy from each player when he is on the floor. He might even be able to throw a two-big lineup at smaller teams if the situation calls for it. USC can mix and match combinations with more flexibility than in previous months, when Iwuchukwu was unable to play and Wright had no meaningful experience on the floor.

If Kijani Wright can continue to provide impactful 10- or 12-minute game appearances, and Enfield can rely on him to give the Trojans good defense and rebounding, this team’s ceiling will rise in March.

We’ll see if this backup big man retains the Wright stuff.

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Michigan State basketball: Recruiting Big Board

Take a look at Michigan State basketball’s 2022 recruiting big board

The 2022 recruiting cycle is in full swing, summer basketball tournaments are going on all over the country and the MSU coaching staff is on the road trying to build the next class of Spartans.

There was a time where MSU had both Emoni Bates and Enoch Boakye as a part of the 2022 recruiting class. But now, both have decommitted, Bates likely going pro and Boakye reclassifying to 2021 and heading to Arizona State.

The Spartans are now left with an empty recruiting class, but that wont be for long.

Tentatively, there are five open scholarships after this year, but Joey Hauser, Gabe Brown, and Marcus Bingham may have the option for one more additional season. So we should expect anywhere from 2 to 5 additions in this class.

Let’s take a look at who MSU is targeting in the 2022 recruiting class:

Michigan State listed as finalist for No. 2 PF in 2022 class Kijani Wright

Michigan State is one of seven schools still in the running for arguably the top power forward in the 2022 class.

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Michigan State is one of seven schools still in the running for arguably the top power forward in the 2022 class.

Kijani Wright — a five-star power forward from Los Angeles — revealed his top seven schools on Tuesday, with Michigan State making the list. The Spartans are joined by Texas, USC, Florida State, Stanford, Arkansas and Kansas.

Wright is ranked as the No. 2 power forward and No. 8 overall prospect in the 2022 class by 247Sports.

Wright is listed at 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds. 247Sports recruiting analyst Brandon Jenkins projects Wright as a future first round pick and considers him the one of the best rebounders in all of high school basketball.

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