Would Tre White like to revise his decision to transfer to Louisville? USC really could have used him this season.
The USC men’s basketball season has gone horribly wrong. As we piece together various reasons for the collapse, we obviously know that Andy Enfield is failing at his job. That is by far the number one reason, but it’s far too simplistic an explanation. Other reasons exist as well, and it’s worth spending a little time to explore those reasons.
This isn’t by any means an attempt to let Andy Enfield off the hook. We think he should be fired if USC fails to make the NCAA Tournament, which looks like a probable outcome right now. Nevertheless, there are other reasons for this dramatic decline, and we should try to paint a fuller picture of this bitter disappointment for the Trojans.
One of many non-Enfield reasons for the Trojans’ struggles this season is the absence of Tre White. I’m not sure people realize — in light of USC’s problems — how valuable Tre White was to last season’s team, which made the NCAA Tournament.
White was a bigger, longer defender who was good for some timely baskets but who, more than that, was the worker-bee type of player Andy Enfield loves and knows how to coach well.
We can see that Enfield can’t coach blue-chip talent very smoothly, but Enfield — a good coach — has worked wonders with blue-collar guys. White was one of them. He followed in the Chevez Goodwin, Drew Peterson mold, a hungry player who wasn’t flashy but always gave great effort at the defensive end of the floor. USC’s defense hasn’t been up to par this season. White’s effort and length made the Trojans so much better at that end. USC really misses him.
What is especially unfortunate here is that White isn’t getting a better outcome — or better coaching — at his new stop. Louisville is a mess under coach Kenny Payne. The Cardinal are 5-7 and going nowhere. Payne is likely to be fired by the end of the season if not sooner.
One wonders if White would like to revise his decision to transfer to Louisville. Alas, he can’t revoke that decision in time to change USC’s fortunes in 2024.
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