Tag: USC basketball

Kiki Iriafen shows why she is the key piece to the puzzle for USC

Kiki Iriafen does things USC wasn’t able to do last season. She offers so much needed versatility to the Trojans.

The USC women’s basketball team has JuJu Watkins as a returning superstar player this season. Rayah Marshall is back to provide defense, rebounding, and rim protection. The Trojans have the top-ranked freshman class this year. They have a lot of key pieces that go into creating a great team. The piece which might matter the most, however, is Kiki Iriafen. If you watched USC barely beat Ole Miss on Monday, you were instantly able to appreciate why Iriafen means so much to this Trojan roster.

USC had JuJu, Rayah, and some tough defenders who could shoot 3-pointers last season. It did not have a player like Iriafen. What do we mean?

USC had spot-up shooters who couldn’t create with the dribble. JuJu was the only player who could create consistently on the dribble drive to the basket. This made USC easier to guard. Iriafen can create with the dribble. She is agile near the basket but has the size to finish over a smaller defender. She can shoot over defenders. She is an agile player who can make plays on the perimeter, in the mid-range area, and at the rim from a forward position. JuJu gave USC elite versatility in the backcourt. Iriafen offers similar versatility in the frontcourt. The Trojans did not have a player like that last season. Iriafen will be able to pick up the slack if JuJu struggles. Crucially, Iriafen can get to the rim if JuJu struggles. There wasn’t a USC player who could regularly do that on last season’s roster.

Iriafen’s 22 points came without one 3-point make against Ole Miss. She was operating 15 feet from the basket or closer. She can draw fouls and get to the line in crunch time, as she showed against Ole Miss. USC doesn’t win this game without Iriafen. This is why the Trojans have so much more upside than they did last season.

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USC instantly learns how tough it will be to make the Final Four

USC does have elite talent, but the Ole Miss opener immediately reinforced the reality that talent alone isn’t enough to be great.

The USC women’s basketball team is undeniably talented and versatile. There are lots of ways in which this team can win. USC was able to dig deep on defense and make plays late in the fourth quarter to escape with a 68-66 win over Ole Miss on Monday in Paris. Yet, for all the talent on this team, no one can walk away from this game thinking that USC will just be able to show up and win on talent alone. The Trojans realized against Ole Miss that they have to be precise and detail-oriented on a consistent basis if they want to make the 2025 Women’s Final Four in Tampa.

Let’s tell the truth about the Ole Miss game: USC got rattled and remained rattled for most of the second half before rallying late to win. USC was up 15 at 43-28. After the next dozen minutes or so, USC trailed 64-60. Ole Miss put USC in jail with lockdown defense for more than a full quarter. USC needed free throws and rugged defense to survive. It became very hard for USC to execute a simple pass or dribble handoff. It was that bad for 12 to 15 minutes in the second half.

Talent alone won’t carry USC to the Final Four. The Trojans need to make quicker, more immediate adjustments. They have to shrug off one or two bad possessions and come back with a crisp halfcourt set. JuJu Watkins needs to not shoot off-balance shots. Kiki Iriafen can’t pass up layups as she did in the fourth quarter. Talia von Oelhoffen needs to find ways to contribute — not necessarily as a scorer but in some way to create a good shot or open space for a teammate. Every Trojan can look at the film of this game and identify areas for improvement on offense. Fixing these issues could give USC the basketball education needed to become a poised, adaptable, more resourceful team over the next several months.

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USC’s Kennedy Smith named top-six freshman in women’s college basketball

Kennedy Smith is expected to be the best part of USC’s top-ranked recruiting class this season, a freshman who can make a huge difference for the Trojans.

The USC women’s basketball team is ranked No. 3 in the country and No. 1 in the Big Ten in preseason college basketball polls. Expectations are high, and they should be, for the Trojans. Part of the reason for the high expectations is that USC has four high-quality starters: JuJu Watkins, Kiki Iriafen, Talia von Oelhoffen, and Rayah Marshall. That’s the core of the team. The other reason: USC has a top-ranked recruiting class ready to become the supporting cast. Kennedy Smith is one of those elite freshmen, waiting to make her mark on the Trojans and the college basketball season.

247Sports has more on Kennedy Smith:

Kennedy Smith plays the game with a consistency and energy that few in her class can match. She is highly productive off the dribble, attacking the lane to get to the rim. Smith is an effective rebounder on both ends of the court. Her versatility played a significant role in the success of both Smith’s club team and school team at the high school level. There is no reason to believe that these skills will not translate to the collegiate level. Smith possesses the physical tools and lateral mobility to serve as a primary defender against elite wing scoring options as well.

Two other top-six freshmen are from the Big Ten, one coming from Ohio State, which is expected to battle USC for the Big Ten championship.

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Three teams are expected to battle USC women’s basketball for Big Ten title

If you’re sad about USC football, don’t worry — USC women’s hoops is ready to compete for a Big Ten title. See which teams are likely to challenge the Trojans.

If you haven’t followed women’s college basketball closely in recent years, but are now ready to dive into women’s hoops because USC has an elite team, welcome! We’re happy you’re here, and we hope you will stay with us for complete coverage of USC women’s basketball this coming season. The Trojans are a Final Four contender. They are No. 3 in the two main preseason polls. If they stay healthy, they will be very good for sure. The question is how great they can become in the Big Ten and on a national level.

The women’s basketball website Swish Appeal broke down the Big Ten women’s basketball race into several tiers. USC is obviously in the top tier, given that the Trojans have been picked to win the conference in preseason polls. An item of interest for USC fans studying up on women’s hoops this year: Which teams are expected to contend with the Trojans at the top of the Big Ten? Swish Appeal offered its own view:

One foremost contender is UCLA, to no one’s surprise. Then come the third and fourth selections in the Big Ten’s top echelon:

Ohio State is ranked No. 14 in the nation and are coming off their first outright Big Ten title since the 2009-10 season. No one is sleeping on the Buckeyes, even if they aren’t being picked by many to repeat as champions. Junior forward Cotie McMahon was named to the Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year watch list, and head coach Kevin McGuff is coming off a season where he was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Last but certainly not least in the first tier is No. 18 Maryland. Terrapin senior guard Shyanne Sellers is box office, and with her in charge, they’ll be an exciting team to watch and one that can upset the best teams in the country on any given game day.

Indiana, voted to finish fifth in the preseason coaches’ poll, is not included in the top tier by Swish Appeal. The Hoosiers have been excellent the past several seasons but have lost crucial players who carried the program.

It will be interesting to see if either Ohio State or Maryland can rise above the Los Angeles schools. It will also be intriguing to see if Indiana or another team not included in the top four can pull off a surprising rise in the Big Ten this season.

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JuJu Watkins, USC teammates and coaches have a powerful circle of trust

JuJu Watkins implicitly trusts coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who in turn knows JuJu will speak up when she needs to. Mutual trust has to be a strength for USC.

The USC women’s basketball team is highly skilled and experienced. It has a quality coach, Lindsay Gottlieb. It has a superstar, JuJu Watkins, who is now joined by superstar Kiki Iriafen and star Talia von Oelhoffen. Rayah Marshall is the anchor in the paint, and there’s a top-ranked recruiting class ready to offer support and balance to the USC lineup. The raw quality of this team is considerable, but when we contemplate why USC is a legitimate Final Four contender, the word “trust” is important to note. Boardroom Magazine’s feature on JuJu Watkins offers some key insights here.

First off, JuJu Watkins trusts coach Lindsay Gottlieb:

“She’s a great person, she’s super smart and just really everything I was looking for in a coach,” Watkins says. “She definitely pushes me in so many ways, and having that feeling that I can go to her about anything, I think that that’s half the battle. So yea, grateful for her.”

Second, Gottlieb sees how JuJu trusts herself and teammates, being comfortable in communicating to others when needed:

“The other thing that jumps out is she really is a dog and a winner. She’ll play through injury. She’s tough. She exudes sort of a competitiveness that, again, other people really feed off of. And then I would say that the growth we’ve seen is really her trusting her voice and being a vocal leader as well.”

Barring injuries to key players, USC will win a lot of games this season. However, making the Final Four will be tough. There will be games and moments when the Trojans encounter turbulence and adversity. That circle of trust — Gottlieb, JuJu, the assistant coaches, and the rest of the USC women’s basketball roster — will need to show its strength at the right times.

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National basketball podcaster offers surprise prediction for Eric Musselman and USC

One national college basketball podcaster is very high on Eric Musselman and USC as the new college hoops season begins. USC plays its opener on Nov. 4.

The college basketball season begins on Monday. USC fans who are disappointed with the football program can turn their attention to the realm of roundball. USC has a women’s team which is a Final Four contender. The Trojans have a men’s team with a new coach, Eric Musselman, who is taking over after 11 years of leadership from Andy Enfield. USC basketball is fresh and new. Hopefully the men’s program can add to the excitement created by Lindsay Gottlieb and the Women of Troy.

Andy Patton, co-host of the national Locked On College Basketball podcast, used to write for Trojans Wire. He was not Andy Enfield’s biggest fan but sees a lot more upside for the Trojans with Musselman aboard. At 13:25 of the video below, Patton identifies USC as a Big Ten contender and a top-tier team in the conference. Where is he picking USC to finish in the 18-team Big Ten? We’ve shared some details from Patton’s predictions, but we won’t reveal all of them. We’ll let you watch the segment to get Patton’s full prediction on USC basketball for the coming season, which starts Nov. 4 (Monday) against Chattanooga:

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India Otto’s praise for JuJu Watkins shows why USC is poised to succeed

JuJu Watkins’ attitude, more than her raw athletic ability and natural talent, sets her apart from others and gives USC women’s basketball a winning formula.

You might recall the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament in which USC women’s basketball hosted its first-round game at the Galen Center. USC scored a blowout win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. In the final minutes, with the starters watching from the bench, reserve India Otto hit two shots, one of them a 3-pointer. The crowd went nuts. JuJu Watkins was effusive in her initial reaction and in her postgame comments. Seeing USC teammates celebrate each other, and take such joy in seeing a player come off the end of the bench to score an NCAA Tournament basket, offered a telling glimpse inside a team which was extremely close and cohesive. Players sacrificed for each other, laughed with each other, fought for each other. It’s why USC was so good last season.

As USC prepares for its 2024-2025 women’s basketball season — one in which the Trojans are primary Final Four contenders — India Otto will not lace up her sneakers and play for the Trojans on the court. She will, however, be part of the basketball program’s support staff. She will still be, in essence, a teammate and helper — for JuJu Watkins and for the rest of the roster. She will help Lindsay Gottlieb and Beth Burns and the rest of the assistant coaches in her role as coordinator of player engagement.

In a feature from Boardroom Magazine, India Otto talked about her close friendship with JuJu Watkins and about the things that make JuJu great:

“True friendships form organically, and they aren’t one-sided. We are there for one another. She is my best friend in the whole world and has truly become my sister; blood couldn’t make us any closer. … Seeing the humility that JuJu possesses day in and day out, the maturity, gratitude, poise, and wisdom at such a young age is inspiring. The way she lives life is beautifully done. She also doesn’t suffer fools. She is kind and gracious, but she is aware of what goes on around her.”

Otto continued:

“She is a gym rat. Not because she is supposed to be, but because she loves this game and she is always working to improve. She has that Mamba Mentality for sure,” Otto continued. “She is focused, driven, relentless, and detail-orientated. Most people walk through the world behind the spotlight. JuJu is that unique talent that the spotlight is focused always on her and she handles it with the utmost grace at every moment, all the while lifting her teammates and recognizing the contributions of those around her.

“She would be the first to downplay her own accomplishments to celebrate that of someone else’s. She’s an incredibly special individual, there’s no one like her. She understands that this is a team game, and she wants each of her teammates to be confident in themselves and be the best they can be.”

JuJu Watkins is a supremely skilled basketball player, but her team-first attitude sets her apart from most. This is the attitude which gives USC a great chance to win at a high level this coming season, which starts next week.

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It’s only an exhibition, but USC basketball’s win over Gonzaga could mean a lot

It’s only an exhibition, people will say. Gonzaga was playing backups, people will say. Even if that’s true, USC’s win over Gonzaga could be very important.

The USC Trojans had Andy Enfield on their bench for more than a decade. Finally, USC basketball will get a different voice and a fresh perspective this season with Eric Musselman coming from Arkansas to see what he can create in Southern California. Let’s remember this about Musselman: He has reached the Sweet 16 at two different schools (Nevada and Arkansas). He made consecutive Elite Eights at Arkansas and three straight Sweet 16s. He can coach. USC pretty clearly gained an upgrade at its head coaching position. All that is left for Musselman is to prove to recruits and fans that he hasn’t lost his fastball. Beating Gonzaga is a great way to do that.

USC defeated Gonzaga, a team ranked No. 6 in preseason polls, on Saturday night in Palm Desert, Calif. Skeptics will say it was only an exhibition game, and that Gonzaga was playing guys from the back end of its bench, which is not representative of what we will actually see from the Zags once the regular season begins. All of that might be true, but here’s the thing: Eric Musselman built this roster from scratch. Only one player from last season’s roster, Harrison Hornery, returned for a ride on the Muss Bus.

For this completely new USC roster to come together and beat Gonzaga — even in an exhibition, even with the Zags playing their backups — is an eye-opener. Musselman obviously has created some degree of continuity and cohesion on his roster. There is obviously some talent and potential here. If it all comes together and the transfer portal pieces fit smoothly, Musselman and USC could have something good on their hands in Year 1.

Beating Gonzaga is important because it offers proof of concept to the USC players who left other schools to play for Musselman in Los Angeles. Guys in the locker room can see that the system and its principles can work if applied properly. That’s what a coach and his transfer-laden roster need to see.

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Eric Musselman, USC basketball upset No. 6 Gonzaga

USC men’s basketball got off to a flying start in an exhibition game against No. 6-ranked Gonzaga. The Trojans beat the Zags and created a lot of optimism for their season.

The Eric Musselman era at USC basketball has not yet arrived at its first regular-season game, but the Trojans did take the court against another college basketball team on Saturday night. USC faced No. 6 Gonzaga in a charity exhibition game in Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif. The Trojans got a good first look at their roster, and Musselman was able to get a sense of what does and doesn’t work for his team.

The results were certainly encouraging. USC defeated Gonzaga, 96-93, in a game which will get plenty of attention from college basketball analysts throughout the country. Terrance Williams, a transfer from Michigan, scored 20 points to lead USC. Desmond Claude, the transfer from Xavier, scored 19 points for USC, which built a solid lead and then withstood a late 8-0 run from the Zags to win. Five USC players scored in double figures, giving the Trojans balance and versatility. There was a lot to like in this game. Now the team needs to build on it as it heads into the regular season.

USC opens the regular season against UT-Chattanooga at the Galen Center on Monday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. local time in Los Angeles.

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USC women’s basketball is an elite team playing an elite schedule in 2024-2025

It is clear that USC women’s basketball wants to be challenged by the very best opponents this season, so that it will be battle-tested come March.

The best teams and athletes want to be challenged by the best opponents. USC women’s basketball has all the appearances of an elite team in college hoops. Accordingly, coach Lindsay Gottlieb has constructed a top-notch nonconference schedule for the 2024-2025 season. That nonconference slate, combined with the Big Ten Conference schedule, gives USC one of the toughest schedules in the country for the coming campaign.

The Trojans, who are ranked No. 3 in the preseason Associated Press Poll, are one of the favorites to make the 2025 Women’s Final Four in Tampa on April 4 and 6. USC reached its first Elite Eight since 1994 last season. This season is “Final Four or bust” for the Women of Troy, and there’s no reason to shy away from those expectations. If a team wants to be Final Four-worthy, it might as well start playing Final Four contenders.

How tough is USC’s schedule? The Trojans will play four games against teams ranked in the top six of the preseason AP Poll. USC plays No. 2 UConn in December. The Trojans face No. 6 Notre Dame in November. USC will play No. 5 UCLA twice in the Big Ten. In nonconference play and in the Big Ten, USC will go up against the very best in college basketball. If these tests make USC better and help the Trojans reach the Final Four, the scheduling philosophy used by Lindsay Gottlieb will have been worth it.

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