Tag: McKenzie Forbes

USC’s McKenzie Forbes picked No. 28 by L.A. Sparks in WNBA draft

McKenzie Forbes stays in Los Angeles with the Sparks.

The USC Trojans placed multiple players in the 2024 WNBA draft. The first one off the board was McKenzie Forbes at No. 28 to the Los Angeles Sparks. Forbes was a central performer for USC women’s basketball this past season, helping JuJu Watkins and the Women of Troy reach the Elite Eight.

Lindsay Gottlieb, who coached Forbes at Cal several years ago before going to the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and then returning to the college game at USC, reunited with Forbes and brought her from Harvard via the transfer portal. Forbes proved to be an essential piece of the supporting-cast puzzle for USC, becoming a dependable and trusted teammate for Watkins in her freshman season. Forbes was a veteran voice Watkins looked up to and learned from. Forbes was able to play off JuJu and get open looks for 3-pointers. When she knocked them down, USC was an extremely tough team to beat. Forbes hit very big shots in March, starring in USC’s win over Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game. She also made very significant contributions to NCAA Tournament wins over Kansas in the second round and Baylor in the Sweet 16.

The Sparks are getting a smart, tough, selfless, team-first player who is willing to defend and rebound and do the dirty work at all times. When her shots aren’t falling, Forbes will still give maximum effort at the defensive end, the mark of a mature two-way basketball player. We wish Forbes the best of luck in the WNBA.

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Photos from USC women’s basketball’s historic Pac-12 Tournament championship

USC won its first Pac-12 Tournament since 2014. McKenzie Forbes was the Most Outstanding Player. What a weekend in Vegas!

Many weekends in Las Vegas are lost and wasteful. A roll of the dice, the wrong cards at the table, or a bad spin of the roulette wheel create that losing feeling and a pit of misery. It was exactly the opposite for the USC women’s basketball team, which had one of the most successful and productive weekends anyone could possibly have in Vegas. What happened in Vegas did not stay in Vegas — it reverberated through the USC community and through the national college basketball landscape. USC’s capture of the Pac-12 Tournament championship — the school’s second all-time and its first since 2014 — has very likely lifted the Trojans to a No. 1 seed in the upcoming Women’s NCAA Tournament.

This was an electric occasion and a very special moment for the team, particularly Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player McKenzie Forbes, who was overcome with emotion after this historic victory and her majestic 26-point performance. Here are photos of a great moment in USC sports history, with Forbes and USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb taking center stage as the Trojans enter March Madness with full momentum and belief:

McKenzie Forbes dazzles for USC in complete performance versus Colorado

McKenzie Forbes learned a lot from the first USC-Colorado game of the season one month ago.

When JuJu Watkins fouled out against Colorado on January 21 in Boulder, USC had to play the final six minutes of regulation without its best player. McKenzie Forbes had to handle the ball more than she usually does in those final minutes. It was a tough adjustment for the veteran, whose turnovers helped Colorado beat the Trojans, 63-59.

We wrote about that game: 

“USC watched JuJu Watkins foul out with under six minutes left in regulation on a highly questionable foul call. Playing the final five-plus minutes without their superstar player was expectedly rough for the Trojans, but they can certainly learn from the experience. McKenzie Forbes committed multiple turnovers against Colorado’s defensive pressure with JuJu out. Those turnovers led to Colorado baskets and were important in shaping the ultimate four-point final margin for the Buffs.”

McKenzie Forbes has bounced back from that game. She has learned from that game. Given a chance to face Colorado a second time, Forbes played miles better versus the Buffaloes on Friday night. She was instrumental in leading USC to an 87-81 win which has the Trojans in position to contend for the Pac-12 title and a top seed at the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament. Let’s say a little more about Forbes’ performance below:

With three players fouled out, McKenzie Forbes helped JuJu Watkins prevail vs Stanford

JuJu Watkins is the main reason USC is winning, but it’s still a team game. McKenzie Forbes proved that vs Stanford.

Championship basketball runs primarily through players such as JuJu Watkins, who put a team on their back and own the biggest moments in crunch time. Watkins’ 51 points against Stanford carried USC and provided the best single-game performance of the women’s college basketball season. However, USC would not have won this game without McKenzie Forbes, a role player who stepped up in a moment of crisis.

USC had led Stanford by a double-digit margin, but three Trojans fouled out and the Women of Troy were both shorthanded and outsized late in the fourth quarter. The three players who fouled out — Rayah Marshall, Clarice Akunwafo, and Kaitlyn Davis — are USC’s primary frontcourt players with the size, length, and power to handle Stanford’s frontcourt. The Marshall-Akunwafo-Davis trio contained Stanford superstar Cameron Brink and emerging forward Kiki Iriafen. Neither Brink nor Iriafen felt comfortable at the offensive end of the floor. Both players shot poorly against the Trojans’ frontcourt defense.

However, with all three Trojans unavailable, USC was undersized and limited. Bench players were thrown into the fray. Defensive assignments changed. When Stanford cut a large deficit down to just two points, at 58-56, with only two minutes left, it was reasonable to think that USC would run out of gas and get caught just before the finish line.

McKenzie Forbes (not just JuJu) would not let that happen.

In the next 90 seconds, Forbes made a basket, grabbed a defensive rebound, and then collected an offensive board to lead to a JuJu made free throw to push that tenuous two-point lead to seven, at 63-56, essentially sealing the game. USC could have panicked. It also could have wasted Watkins’ incredible display. Forbes made the blue-collar plays to ensure the Trojans won on JuJu’s big night.

JuJu is the straw that stirs the drink for this team. No one denies that. However, the role players have to come up big in important moments if this team is going to make a deep run in March. McKenzie Forbes came to the rescue in USC’s hour of need.

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McKenzie Forbes answers the call as USC roars past Washington State

JuJu Watkins was typically great, but McKenzie Forbes made the difference for USC in a win over the Cougars.

In the final six minutes of USC’s loss at Colorado on January 21, McKenzie Forbes had to play without JuJu Watkins. USC watched Watkins foul out with 5:50 left on a terrible call by the nearside official. Forbes was left to lead the team with JuJu out and Rayah Marshall struggling. It did not go well. Forbes committed multiple turnovers which led to important Colorado baskets. Forbes had a chance to tie the game in the final 30 seconds but missed in a game USC lost by four points. It was simply a bad day at the office.

Forbes, though, is one of USC’s toughest and most important players. She needs to help JuJu Watkins and make sure defenses can’t devote all of their attention to the Trojans’ superstar. Forbes and teammates Taylor Bigby and Kayla Padilla need to be solid offensive players in order for the Trojans to reach their potential.

Friday night in Los Angeles, Forbes bounced back from her rough outing in Boulder. She gave JuJu Watkins more than enough help and reminded everyone how central she is to the success of the USC women’s basketball team.

Watkins did her usual thing and scored 29 points to lead all scorers, but it was Forbes’ 22 points in a supporting role which made the difference, carrying USC to a 70-62 win over a good Washington State team in the Galen Center. The final eight-point margin made the game seem closer than it actually was. USC was 12 to 15 points better than Wazzu for most of the night. Forbes made it happen with an 8-of-18 shooting performance which included 4-of-8 shooting on 3-pointers. Forbes added 4 rebounds and 3 assists in a stellar effort which helped USC grab an 18-point halftime lead and a 12-point lead after three quarters.

USC has played the toughest schedule in the Pac-12 thus far: UCLA twice, plus Utah and Colorado on the road. The Trojans should be able to stack a lot of wins in the coming weeks. Friday’s victory was a good start in that regard.

Expect McKenzie Forbes to continue to lift the Trojans and JuJu Watkins as the calendar moves into February.

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JuJu Watkins’ foul-out against Colorado contains a lot of basketball lessons

There is a lot to learn — for officials, coaches, fans, and players — from the play which fouled out JuJu Watkins.

The USC Trojans lost to the Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday for several reasons, not just one. However, their chances obviously took a hit when superstar JuJu Watkins fouled out with 5:50 left in the game. USC had to play nearly the last six minutes without its best player in a tight game, on the road, against a top-10 opponent. That’s a tough task. The Trojans almost pulled it off, but not quite. If they had JuJu, they wouldn’t have been guaranteed to win, but their odds would have been better for sure.

The play on which JuJu Watkins fouled out is the kind of play which could be discussed in a classroom setting for half an hour. There are so many details and lessons to take away from the play. Fans will have their own opinions on the play. USC fans probably think it was a bad call. Colorado fans probably thought it was a great play by CU’s Jaylyn Sherrod to draw the foul.

It’s a lot more complicated than that.

Let’s look at the play first so we can then discuss it:

What do you see here? You see Watkins knocking over Sherrod. Charge, right? That’s what the ref called. However, in order for a charge (a player control foul, to use technical jargon) to exist, the defender must allow the receiver of a pass to come down on both feet and possession of the ball. The defender cannot undercut or crowd the receiver of the pass. If you look at the replay (the second look) of the sequence, Sherrod didn’t do that. So, it was a bad call and it wasn’t necessarily a sound basketball play by Sherrod. Yet, it’s not that simple.

I have officiated basketball, albeit at the high school level and not college. I have seen this play before. In many cases, the player who catches a pass in the middle of the floor and then immediately turns and sees a defender travels with the ball. JuJu Watkins didn’t do that here, but any college-level referee has officiated so many basketball games that s/he has seen this play before. While the call was not correct, officials have such a large memory bank in terms of sequences that they often have an instinct to make a certain kind of call on a certain kind of play. Usually, this kind of play leads to a turnover, so the instinct on the part of the official here might have been to call the charge. I’m not defending the call. I am pointing out that human nature is part of officiating, and it does affect calls.

The next point to make here: McKenzie Forbes never should have thrown this pass to JuJu. She led JuJu into Sherrod, the defender. If she hands the ball off, there’s no risk of an offensive foul on a bad call. Lindsay Gottlieb will surely tell Forbes not to make this pass. Forbes probably already knows she won’t make this pass again.

The final point: It was not a good basketball play by Sherrod of Colorado, in that she didn’t let JuJu land with possession. The play should have been called a foul on Sherrod, not JuJu. However, Sherrod knew there was a real chance JuJu could foul out on the play. Sherrod took a risk which frankly had a very high risk-reward calculus. Stealing a foul on JuJu and getting her out of the game was worth the risk of committing a foul herself. The official never should have rewarded this play, but Sherrod did her game theory and took a risk which was handsomely rewarded. There’s a lot to learn on many levels.

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McKenzie Forbes credits Lindsay Gottlieb with key adjustments for UCLA rematch

Forbes said the adjustments made from the UCLA loss on December 30 paid off in the rematch on January 14.

The relationship between USC basketball player McKenzie Forbes and head coach Lindsay Gottlieb goes back several years to when Gottlieb recruited Forbes to play in Berkeley. That’s right: Gottlieb coached at Cal in the 2018-2019 season, and Forbes was a freshman for the Golden Bears. Gottlieb then went to the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. Forbes went to Harvard. The two reunited at USC this season, and their rapport shines through in how well they work together.

Forbes talked to NCAA women’s basketball commentator and analyst Autumn Johnson after USC’s huge win over UCLA. Forbes said Lindsay Gottlieb’s adjustments from the December 30 loss to UCLA helped USC in the January 14 rematch, chiefly by enabling USC players to get to their spots better in halfcourt offensive sets.

Forbes also discussed how smoothly this season has gone for her under Gottlieb:

“I really do feel comfortable out there,” Forbes told Johnson. “It’s just a testament to Coach G (Gottlieb) and the trust she has in me.”

Putting players in position to thrive is the mark of a quality head coach. USC could not ask for a better leader as it makes its climb up the ladder in the women’s basketball world.

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McKenzie Forbes, Lindsay Gottlieb are aware how far USC women’s basketball has come

Forbes played for Gottlieb at Cal in 2019. She said maybe 50 people would attend USC home games. It’s different now.

The transformation of USC women’s basketball under head coach Lindsay Gottlieb is substantial and obvious. The obviousness can be found in how substantial the changes have been. The substantiality can be found in how obviousness the turnaround has been. Gottlieb and key player McKenzie Forbes both spoke about the new reality of USC women’s hoops in recent comments made after the win over UCLA.

Forbes spoke to NCAA women’s basketball commentator and analyst Autumn Johnson after the UCLA game. Gottlieb, before addressing the media, made on-court remarks to the Galen Center crowd. Both women noted how USC women’s basketball became a top drawing card on Sunday against UCLA, a far cry from the past.

Forbes told Autumn Johnson that when she was a freshman at Cal in 2019 — under Gottlieb, then the Golden Bears’ head coach — “maybe 50” people would be in the Galen Center for a USC women’s basketball game. A crowd of 10,657 packed Galen for the UCLA game, a night-and-day difference.

Forbes also noted the USC basketball doubleheader from Sunday, December 10, in which the men’s team played first — at 1 p.m. — and the women’s team played second. The men’s game was the USC debut of Bronny James, which brought an electric atmosphere to Galen. Forbes noted how a good portion of the crowd did not stay for that game (even though LeBron James himself did stay to watch the first half). The big crowd for this UCLA game showed that the women’s team is beginning to stand on its own two feet as a must-see college basketball product.

Gottlieb noted how opposing Pac-12 coaches would negatively recruit against USC, based on the belief (and evidence) that fans would not come out to watch them. Gottlieb pointed to the Galen Center crowd on Sunday and showed how that claim is no longer true.

The transformation of USC can be seen, and Gottlieb and Forbes are making sure everyone is aware of it.

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USC basketball’s McKenzie Forbes has something in common with Michael Jordan

A USC women’s basketball player and Michael Jordan share one proud distinction.

It was impressive enough in its own right and on its own terms. USC’s McKenzie Forbes carried the Trojans to an 85-77 win over Long Beach State on Thursday, keeping the Women of Troy unbeaten at 10-0 on the season. Forbes scored 36 points on a day when superstar JuJu Watkins, star defender Rayah Marshall, and valuable role player Kaitlyn Davis were all unavailable to play.

A role player stepping up and scoring 36 points to lift a team to victory on the road when that team’s three best players are out of the lineup? That’s incredible in itself. Forbes’ performance, without any added details or context, was and is supremely amazing and genuinely spectacular.

How could it get any better? How could this extraordinary performance become any more special or iconic?

Guess what: McKenzie Forbes had the flu during this game. Yep. That’s right. This was her flu game. This was her Michael Jordan moment.

Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times reported on the story, gathering an instant reaction from USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb.

“Kenzie had her flu game that I’m never going to forget my whole life,” Gottlieb said. “What a warrior.”

Forbes, being a team-first player, focused on how her teammates banded together without three missing stars:

“Just a huge credit to this group,” Forbes said. “We came out and got it done, missing a lot of big pieces.”

Forbes is being modest. This was her flu game, a callback to Michael Jordan’s 1997 NBA Finals flu game for the Chicago Bulls versus the Utah Jazz. Jordan’s memorable performance lifted the Bulls to a Game 5 win and helped Chicago win the NBA championship in six games.

McKenzie Forbes wasn’t playing in the NBA Finals, but no one at USC will forget what she did on Thursday.

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McKenzie Forbes scores 36 points in elite performance, carries USC without JuJu Watkins

McKenzie Forbes answered the call for the Trojans.

Any sports team is going to be weaker and less effective on a day when its three best players are unable to play. USC faced that situation on Thursday afternoon against Long Beach State. The Trojans faced the Beach without superstar JuJu Watkins, star rebounder-defender Rayah Marshall, and elite role player Kaitlyn Davis. Missing even one of those three players would hurt USC. Missing two of them is significant. Missing all three is a shock to the system.

The Trojans did not know how they would handle this unwelcome and very uncertain situation in Long Beach in their last game before Christmas, also their final nonconference game on the slate.

Coaches learn about their players in situations such as this one. USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb and assistant coach Beth Burns learned just how resourceful and skilled McKenzie Forbes is.

Forbes — a terrific role player when Watkins, Marshall, and Davis are on the court — had to be the leader of the pack in this game with the stars unable to play.

She couldn’t have played that role any better. Forbes, the transfer from Harvard who has given USC an Ivy League-flavored boost this season, answered the call against the Beach with 36 huge points. She also contributed 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, making plays at both ends of the floor.

Kayla Padilla — another Ivy League transfer (Penn) who has been valuable for the Trojans — did contribute 16 points. USC’s team defense forced 22 Long Beach turnovers. Those contributions mattered. Taylor Bigby (11), Kayla Williams (9), and Roxane Makolo (9) combined for 29 points and made important plays down the stretch. It’s not as though this was a one-person show … but USC definitely needed a leader by example in this game under these difficult circumtances.

Forbes was the leader USC needed. As a result, the Trojans are 10-0, and they know that if things get really tough, they can band together without their best players.

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