Tag: USC Basketball recruiting

Four-star guard, top-30 recruit Trent Perry decommits from USC basketball after Andy Enfield leaves

Trent Perry was unwilling to wait out USC’s coaching search. That stings.

The effects of Andy Enfield’s move from USC to SMU are beginning to emerge. USC fans will tell you the Trojans needed Enfield to leave so that the program could start fresh and find an upgrade at the head coaching position. This is true. This is necessary. However, in the short run, USC could lose recruits Enfield brought into the program. This is why the Trojans have to move quickly to replace Enfield and get a coach in place. Obviously, the Trojans can’t settle for mediocrity. They have to get the hire done right. Yet, they also are fighting the clock, and costs could mount with each passing day. Trent Perry proves the point.

Perry, a top-30 recruit and a four-star guard, just decommitted from USC on Tuesday morning, one day after Enfield’s move to SMU became official. Enfield struggled to develop Isaiah Collier, so it’s not as though USC needed Enfield to stay. However, Perry’s decommitment before the announcement of a new coach still stings. There had been a hope that Perry could wait out the coaching search for at least a few days. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Be sure to read our USC coaching search primer.

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Andy Enfield’s effect on USC’s future recruiting classes must be addressed by new coach, incoming staff

Roster construction is task No. 1 for the incoming coach. It’s also why Jen Cohen must move quickly to hire the new coach.

Andy Enfield has left the USC Trojan hoops program to join the SMU Mustangs in Dallas. The Trojans were a dismal 15-18 this season with two top-25 recruits in National Gatorade Player of The Year Isaiah Collier and Bronny James. The Trojans’ sub-.500 season ended a run of four consecutive years winning more than 20 games.

Enfield is known as an elite recruiter. He had a top-10 class in 2023 with the prospects mentioned above. The 2024 cycle was no different with a class led by Trent Perry, Liam Campbell and Brady Kozlowski.

Andy Enfield spent 10 seasons at USC after a two-year run at Florida Gulf Coast, also known as “Dunk City.” He came to USC in 2013 after FGCU made a run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

In his overall tenure the Trojans made the tournament in five of his 11 seasons, and USC would have made the tournament in 2020 as well had the event not been canceled by the pandemic. The Trojans were 220-147 in his tenure with seven 20-win seasons.

The 54-year-old coach began his career as an assistant with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. He was also an assistant coach at Florida State for five seasons from 2006-11, a time when the Seminoles made the NCAA Tournament three years in a row.

“I am so excited to join the SMU family,” Enfield said in a statement. ”It is an incredible time for the university as we enter the ACC. The investments SMU has made in athletics, the support and alignment from leadership … as well as the passion of the SMU fan base and community made this an incredibly attractive opportunity. We will make Mustang fans and the city of Dallas proud and cannot wait to get started.”

How well the incoming coach can retain talent is a big question. Replacing departures with transfer portal prospects figures to be both significant and necessary for USC.

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USC commit named California Max Preps Player of the Year

USC’s women’s basketball recruiting class continues to load up on end-of-season awards.

USC five-star commit Kennedy Smith was recently named the 2023-24 California MaxPreps and Gatorade Player of the Year. The 6-foot-1 senior forward led the Etiwanda Eagles to a 32-3 record, No. 2 national ranking, and second straight state championship.

For the season, Smith averaged 20.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game. A MaxPreps and Gatorade National Player of the Year finalist, she shot 59 percent from the field with six games of 29 points.

Kennedy Smith is a five-star recruit and the No. 6 overall prospect in the HoopGurlz/EspnW rankings. Smith committed to USC over South Carolina, Louisville, North Carolina, UCLA, Duke, and Texas, among others.

Lindsay Gottlieb and USC have the No. 1-ranked recruiting class for 2024. They are poised to build on what they have established this season. The current USC roster required several transfer portal additions to supplement the arrival of JuJu Watkins. Gottlieb’s incoming recruiting class could mean that USC will need to do less building through the portal and can do more roster construction through recruiting and bringing in players who are coached by Gottlieb and her staff from start to finish.

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USC women’s basketball commit Avery Howell wins Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year

USC women’s basketball’s incoming 2024 recruits are the best of the best.

USC commit and Boise High School star Avery Howell has been chosen as the Gatorade Idaho Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second season in a row.

Howell averaged 21.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.9 steals per game, leading her team to a third-place finish in the state with a 24-2 record.

Howell also is a 2024 McDonald’s All-American Game selection, making her only the second Idaho female in history to be selected. ESPN ranks her as a five-star recruit and the No. 23 prospect in the nation.

USC won the Howell sweepstakes over Gonzaga, Indiana, Duke, Washington, Utah and BYU.

USC and Lindsay Gottlieb are bringing in the No. 1-ranked recruiting class for the 2024-2025 season. The Trojans rose to the top of the Pac-12 thanks to top recruit JuJu Watkins. That was one player. Now, Gottlieb is bringing in a full recruiting class of stars. USC’s depth, quality, and overall status are only going to grow in the years ahead. It’s an exciting time to be a USC women’s basketball fan.

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USC 2024 commit Trent Perry named California Player of The Year

An incoming USC prospect is the best of the best in California.

USC commit and Harvard-Westlake point guard Trent Perry led his school to back-to-back state titles. The senior was recently named California Max Preps Player of The Year in men’s basketball.

The Studio City (California) native averaged 18.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per contest while shooting 55 percent from the field, 47.2 percent from 3-point range, and 86 percent from the free throw line. He led his team to a 33-3 record and a state title.

The 6-foot-3 combo guard is the No. 51 overall prospect in the Class of 2024 according to 247Sports, Perry signed with USC in November over Colorado, Gonzaga, Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, Saint Mary’s, Stanford, TCU and Virginia among others.

The McDonald’s All-American will likely start as a true freshman at point guard next season with the likely departures of fifth-year senior Boogie Ellis and projected lottery pick Isaiah Collier. Andy Enfield will need to find a way to maximize the resources on his roster, something he wasn’t able to do this past season at USC.

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USC basketball: five-star prospect Tounde Yessoufou is in close contact with Trojans

USC tries to recalibrate and land another elite recruit.

USC is trying to land the next big recruit. Class of 2025 five-star recuit Tounde Yessoufou is heavily considering the Trojans as a landing spot.

The 6-foot-6 wing from Santa Maria (California) St. Joseph averaged 15.6 points this summer, playing up in age with Team WhyNot on Nike’s EYBL 17U Circuit.

Yessoufou is a consensus top-20 player in his class. Rivals lists him as the ninth-best player in the country, while On3 and the 247 Sports Composite ranks him 12th and 16th nationally, respectively.

“I play hard, attacking the basket, creating contact,” Yessoufou told On3. “I play defense hard, I’m strong, I’m athletic. I’ll watch a lot of Jimmy Butler and Anthony Edwards. They look like me, and I feel like I can relate my game a lot to them.”

USC did not maximize high-end recruits this season, but it’s not as though the Trojans are likely to continue to waste high-end talent if they get it. Bringing in another five-star player would be just the thing to reduce the disappointment of this season and make everyone around the program feel that the Trojans can bounce back.

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2025 five-star guard Jasper Johnson Includes USC in top 10 list

North Carolina, which hosts Duke this Saturday, is seen as the leader in this recruitment.

Elite 2025 shooting guard Jasper Johnson has narrowed his list of schools down to 10: Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Missouri, North Carolina, USC, and West Virginia.

Johnson is scheduled to visit UNC the weekend of February 3 for the Tar Heels’ basketball game against Duke. North Carolina is the favorite to land Johnson.

Johnson has long been rumored as a reclassification candidate, but he says for now, he’s planning to stay in the 2025 class and further develop before he gets to college.

“All my schools are open to me reclassing to 2024, but as of right now, I think I’ll be staying in the 2025 class. Reclassing up is an option, but I think I will probably stay in 2025.”

He is the No. 10 overall player and No. 2 combo guard in the 247Sports composite ranking. Playing for Link Academy in Branson, Missouri, he is also the No. 1 player from Missouri. USC would love to get him, but the Trojans have a lot of problems to deal with right now in the midst of a brutal 2024 season.

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2025 top-15 recruit could be a USC Trojan when it’s all said and done

USC has to find high-end help after this brutal men’s basketball season.

Brayden Burries is rated by On3 as a four-star recruit out of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Eastvale, California. Burries is currently ranked as the No. 19 best player in his class, and the third in the state of California.

Per Joe Tipton of On3, 6-4 combo guard Brayden Burries, a member of the high school class of 2025, has indicated that USC is among the programs he has talked with the most from his unofficial visits, which also includes Arizona, Duke, Houston, and UCLA.

A 6-foot-4 guard from Corona (California) doesn’t have any official visits scheduled, but he would like to change that; there’s a chance he could decide in the spring.

“I was thinking May but we still want to visit all of the schools,” he said of the timeline for a decision. “Once I find out I will drop a top ten or a top five.”

Let’s hope Burries has USC on his list regardless of whether he’s part of the class of 2024 or 2025.

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Four-star hooper Jovani Ruff is getting a lot of attention from USC

USC hoops will soon need big-time reinforcements. Here is one candidate.

Jovani Ruff had a stellar sophomore campaign last season on the basketball court. He averaged 19.5 points, 6 boards, and nearly 2 assists per game. Ruff asserted himself as not only one of the top-rated players in California but one of the 2025 class’ best overall prospects.

Ruff has been amazing this year as well. His junior campaign is still early in its progression, but he’s already averaging 21.5 points, 5.5 boards, and nearly 3 assists per game.

The 6-foot-5 guard from Long Beach (California) is one of the best offensive players in the loaded 2025 class. Ruff has visits set up with UCLA, Cal, Kansas, Oregon and Washington, and he has offers from over 20 total schools.

According to Verbal Commits, LSU, Nebraska, Texas A&M, and Arizona State all offered Ruff on Saturday. This is an in-demand player, an impactful player USC really needs after its bitterly disappointing 2023-2024 season. The Trojans will need to find someone who can raise the bar and compensate for the impending departures of Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis from the current roster.

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USC basketball offers 2026 five-star point guard Brandon McCoy

This is a special talent.

Class of 2026 guard Brandon McCoy Jr. picked up an offer from Andy Enfield and USC men’s basketball several days ago.

“I’m getting a lot of offers already,” McCoy said. “Right now, I have around ten, Michigan, USC, Rutgers, Cal, Washington, UCLA, Louisville, Oregon, and Arizona State, are the ones who have offered.

“I have not taken any visits yet, been to any games or anything, yet,” McCoy said. “I don’t have anything scheduled at the moment. Right now, I’m really just trying to get better. I’m not focused on schools or recruiting yet, I know that will come if I keep improving.”

The St. John Bosco (California) prospect averaged 8.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 steals, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game in his freshman year last season.

The 6-foot-3 point guard also had 510/.417/.778 shooting splits on the season and has drawn comparisons to prolific-scoring NBA guard Kyrie Irving.

McCoy also participated in the FIBA Americas 16U Championships, making the USA Basketball team that won a gold medal in the event. As one of only four Class of 2026 players on the roster, McCoy averaged 12 minutes per game, playing in all six games.

“It’s hard but I just have to achieve my goals,” McCoy said. “I wake up some days where I don’t really want to do it but I know that I’ve come this far and I’m not going to give up so I’ve just got to keep working until I achieve my goals.”

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