Tag: Saint Thomas

USC men’s basketball gets another big win, takes down Nebraska on the road

USC already has several road wins in Big Ten play. The Trojans are punching back in their new conference.

After falling short against a very good Wisconsin team on Saturday, USC men’s basketball is back in the win column in the Big Ten. On Wednesday night, the Trojans traveled to Nebraska and took down the Huskers, 78-73. The victory improved the Trojans to 12-7 on the season, 4-4 in conference play. Three of USC’s four conference losses have come against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25.

It was another big night for Desmond Claude, who led the Trojans with 21 points. Wesley Yates III added 17 points of his own, while Reshaun Agee had 14 and eight rebounds. Nebraska native Saint Thomas, playing in his home state, had 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Following Wednesday’s victory, the Trojans have now won three of their past four games. Up next: the first Crosstown Showdown of the season against UCLA on Monday night, January 27, at Galen Center. USC is still not in good position to make the NCAA Tournament. However, if USC can deliver wins in Galen against UCLA and then several days later against Michigan State on February 1, the Trojans will definitely be in the middle of the bubble conversation.

Eric Musselman, USC players discuss playing time, finding a lineup that works

Allocating bench minutes is a work in progress for Eric Musselman at USC this season.

USC men’s basketball delivered back-to-back Big Ten victories this past week. After upsetting No. 13 Illinois on the road Saturday, the Trojans took down Iowa at home Tuesday night. The fun ended on Saturday in a loss to Wisconsin, but the Trojans definitely took some forward steps in their season.

In both the Illinois and Iowa games, the Trojans had at least three players play 35 or more minutes. Head coach Eric Musselman discussed leaving his starters in for the vast majority of the Iowa game, attributing his decisions to the influence of a notable NBA coach.

“Tom Thibodeau’s arguably one of my best friends,” Musselman said. “Check out the Knicks’ box scores.”

Following Tuesday’s game, both Saint Thomas and Desmond Claude noted that they asked for breathers in the second half, and Musselman told them both no.

Musselman did concede, however, that despite heavy minutes for the Trojans’ starters, “we have to develop our bench.”

Against Wisconsin, five USC players played at least 30 minutes, and three played at least 36 minutes. The one player other than the core five who played more than mop-up minutes was Kevin Patton, with 15.

USC transfer Saint Thomas considered a 2025 NBA draft prospect

Saint Thomas gives USC basketball real upside.

Senior USC transfer Saint Thomas is a 6-7, 220-pound forward who comes to Troy after a season at Northern Colorado (2023-24) and two at Loyola Chicago (2021-22 and 2022-23).  He enters the coming season having started 73 career games between his previous two schools.

The USC Trojan forward averaged 19.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 32 games for Northern Colorado in 2023-24.

Thomas is a four-star prospect in the 247Sports transfer portal recruiting rankings. He’s USC’s highest rated transfer commitment as the No. 54 overall player and No. 11 small forward.

Saint Thomas is a projected early to mid first-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft as of now, but we obviously have a long way to go in the process leading to next June’s big event.

The Nebraska native and former Gatorade State Player of The Year will be the projected leader in points and rebounds for USC in the upcoming season.

Eric Musselman and the Trojan basketball team won’t have many NBA prospects for this season, but I believe they will have more wins and Thomas’ success will be vital in leading them to a better record.

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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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Another player with ties to Chucky Hepburn enters transfer portal

Another player with ties to Chucky Hepburn enters portal

The NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal continues to grow and another player with connections to Chucky Hepburn entered his name Tuesday.

That is 6-foot, 7-inch forward Saint Thomas, who announced he’ll look for his next opportunity elsewhere after one season at Northern Colorado. The veteran averaged 19.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest with the Bears after spending the first two years of his collegiate career with Loyola-Chicago.

Thomas is a familiar face to Badgers point guard Chucky Hepburn. The two faced each other on occasion while growing up in the state of Nebraska, even meeting at the state tournament.

Thomas not only entered the portal, but also declared for the 2024 NBA draft, potentially bringing his college career to an end.

If he remains at the collegiate level, he could be a possible replacement for Tyler Wahl as the starting power forward for the Badgers next season.

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