This is not as complicated a matter as some might think.
We have a very simple two-part answer to a question which is on your mind as a USC sports fan.
The question: Why was USC picked behind Arizona in the preseason Pac-12 men’s basketball media poll? Doesn’t USC have a tremendous roster and a real chance to go deep into this season’s NCAA Tournament? Why is Arizona perceived to be better?
The answer is not that complicated. One, USC fans know that Arizona has been USC’s kryptonite in Pac-12 basketball. This is a tough matchup for USC. Arizona has size, strength, and length in the frontcourt. USC has had a very hard time handling that frontcourt muscle and size.
The other part of the equation is that USC’s Bronny James and Vince Iwuchukwu are both dealing with health complications — Bronny with his cardiac arrest episode from July, Iwuchukwu with back problems which required a medical procedure earlier this year, after the end of the 2022-2023 season. Not knowing when these two important players will be available is a huge point of uncertainty. Arizona does not have the same injury problem for two expected rotational players.
Iwuchukwu’s back surgery means that Kijani Wright will likely be the main backup big man for the season opener on Nov. 6 vs Kansas State.
USC basketball knows what it needs to do, but actually doing it will be the big challenge. The news that Vince Iwuchukwu had offseason back surgery, and will return at some point “during the first half” of the upcoming season, likely means Iwuchukwu won’t be available for USC’s November 6 season opener against Kansas State.
Not having a deeper big man rotation limits Andy Enfield’s options for that game, and presumably for the first few weeks of USC’s season before Iwuchukwu comes back.
The Trojans have a clear goal for the Kansas State game, their first significant test in the upcoming season and an important occasion for one of the most talented USC teams in recent memory. That goal: Play opponents even when Kijani Wright is in the game.
Wright played a lot of minutes on USC’s August European tour. Those minutes now become more valuable. The Trojans need Wright to be a stabilizing presence in relief of starting center Joshua Morgan. As long as USC doesn’t get significantly outscored when Wright plays, USC can rely on its backcourt to win games. USC doesn’t need its frontcourt to score. Wright can make a huge impact simply by defending and rebounding, making sure opponents don’t get easy baskets when Morgan is sitting and Iwuchukwu is unable to play.
Freshman power forward Arrinten Page might now figure into Enfield’s plans a little more before Iwuchukwu returns to the court, but his youth showed in Europe. It will be up to Wright to be the main backup to Morgan. The other option is for USC to go to a very small lineup in which D.J. Rodman might have to guard bigger opponents.
The best-case scenario — within this worst-case situation involving Iwuchukwu — is that Kijani Wright gives USC 15 minutes a game in which opponents find it difficult to score. If that happens, the Trojans should be fine.
Kijani Wright has to be able to raise his game this coming November.
Catch all of Ducks Wire’s Pac-12 team previews for the 2023 season:
Iwuchukwu likely won’t be available for the November 6 opener vs Kansas State. The realistic hope is that he can be ready for Gonzaga on December 2.
If you were wondering why USC big man Vince Iwuchukwu did not accompany the Trojan basketball team on its European tour in August, we now have an answer. It wasn’t anything related to his 2022 cardiac arrest episode. It isn’t COVID-19, either. It’s the lingering effect of his back problems which sidelined him for the last several games of last season, including the Pac-12 and NCAA Tournaments.
College basketball reporter Jeff Goodman noted on Thursday that Iwuchukwu had back surgery in the offseason.
USC athletics’ website said that Iwuchukwu “had lumbar discectomy after the season and is expected to be back during the first half of the 2023-24 season.”
Lumbar disectomy treats a herniated disc in the lower spine. Iwuchukwu, as Goodman pointed out, has now been deprived of a full offseason of workouts and basketball practices.
This is a brutal piece of news for USC hoops, and another stroke of awful luck for Iwuchukwu, whose career has constantly been interrupted by health problems since he came to USC. The school has a first-class medical and training staff, so Iwuchukwu is getting first-rate care, but after his harrowing cardiovascular scare, back problems have limited his ability to train and develop.
The statement from USC athletics on Iwuchukwu returning “during the first half” of the upcoming season strongly suggests that Vince won’t be available for the season opener on November 6 versus Kansas State. The hope is that Iwuchukwu can be available for the big December 2 game against Gonzaga in Las Vegas.
Catch all of Ducks Wire’s Pac-12 team previews for the 2023 season:
Iwuchukwu didn’t play on USC’s European tour. It was clear just how much the Trojans need his defense and rebounding.
The USC Trojans’ European basketball tour ends on August 15. Before the 11-day journey ends, the Trojans will go on a boat ride in Croatia, a reward for the three games they played. The final game of the three took place on Sunday in Dubrovnik, Croatia. USC won, but it allowed 87 points to Montenegro-based pro team SC Derby.
The Trojans scored 96 points and showed that they are capable of playing high-octane basketball. However, when the game gets slower and uglier, the Trojans might be in a difficult spot this coming season. Can they win a slog and manage to grind out possessions? Can they win in the mud? These are legitimate questions which will follow the team as it moves along.
The piece USC really could use was not able to play in Europe. It showed.
Vince Iwuchukwu, not just Bronny James, was unavailable to play in Europe. He has been practicing this summer, but he wasn’t part of this past week. Per NBA TV, his health is not yet at 100 percent, and the USC coaching staff hasn’t provided a specific timeline for future availability.
Big men Josh Morgan and Kijani Wright played solid minutes in Europe. Freshman Arrinten Page gained meaningful playing time and began his college basketball education at USC. Yet, none of those three bigs play defense as well as Vince Iwuchukwu does. Vince the Prince is USC’s best big-man defender and rim protector.
His absence was keenly felt in Europe.
If you’re worried about USC’s defense, you should be, but if Iwuchukwu enters the picture and can consistently play 20 minutes per game this season, USC becomes a better defensive team and a far more complete team. USC really needs him on the floor this November. We’ll see what happens.
.@Ryan_Kartje of @LATimesSports explained how #USC is setting the industry standard for emergency care of athletes.
The USC medical and athletic training staff has had to act quickly at a basketball workout in two consecutive summers.
In July of 2022, the USC men’s basketball trainers and the medical professionals who work with them had to step in and save Vince Iwuchukwu when the new Trojan freshman suffered an episode of cardiac arrest.
In July of 2023, the staff had to do the same thing when Bronny James suffered an episode of cardiac arrest.
Vince Iwuchukwu was able to make his way back to the court. He played his first game for USC on January 12 of this year. That timeline offers no guarantees about Bronny James’ path to recovery and the possible resumption of basketball activities, but it offers a marker of sorts and a noteworthy piece of context.
What matters most: USC’s medical and athletic training team was prepared.
The school had the right equipment in place. The staff, which is excellent at its job, knows how to use that equipment in urgent situations where time is of the essence and stabilizing a person in trauma is paramount.
USC has an automated external defibrillator (AED) right next to the Galen Center court. That device, used expertly by USC’s world-class staff, has saved the lives of Iwuchukwu (2022) and Bronny (2023).
Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times took note of this and added the important follow-up point for any scholastic athletic program:
USC has an automated external defibrillator (AED) hanging in the hallway right off the main Galen Center court. It’s now saved the lives of two men’s basketball players in just over a year.
Needless to say, every single sports program in America — high school, college, etc. — should have an AED in close proximity. It can make all the difference.
It is very unfortunate to see young men suffer these traumatic episodes. Thankfully, these episodes did not lead to deaths. That’s because USC was prepared, and its medical and athletic training staff are first-class in what they do and how they do it. It’s a real credit to this university and the people who are part of it.
Iwuchukwu did play 6 months after suffering cardiac arrest. No guarantees Bronny will have the same path, but this is worth knowing.
The stunning news of Bronny James’ cardiac arrest is sinking in at USC. For the second straight summer, a top USC basketball freshman has suffered cardiac arrest. It’s a turn of events which is beyond improbable, but it happened.
People interested in the condition of Bronny James and in his basketball future will obviously have to wait to see how Bronny’s body responds. We’re not likely to get any kind of long-term prognosis in the near future. The main priority is Bronny’s recovery and overall stability. Recovering health, strength and stamina will all be important for his quality of life. Getting back to the basketball court is plainly not a priority right now.
USC has been through this process before. One year ago, Vince Iwuchukwu — like Bronny — suffered cardiac arrest during a summer basketball workout. Because he was on campus and performing basketball activities, USC’s athletic training and medical staff were on hand to immediately provide expert care and assistance.
Every person — every human body — is unique in how it responds to trauma and the recovery process. It is important to stress at the outset that one should have no expectations about Bronny James’ recovery. His return to the court isn’t guaranteed, and no one should think that one person’s recovery from cardiac arrest in 2022 somehow guarantees that Bronny will make the same recovery in 2023. Let’s be very clear about that point.
However, it is useful — just as a marker and a comparison, nothing more — to remind everyone about Vince Iwuchukwu’s recovery timeline last season at USC. This doesn’t mean Bronny will have the same path, but it is instructive in that it shows both the possibilities and the limits involved when a late-teenage basketball player suffers trauma and tries to return to the court.
Vince Iwuchukwu, like Bronny James, suffered cardiac arrest at USC in July. The news of his cardiac arrest was revealed in late September, but the actual incident occurred in July.
Iwuchukwu was able to return to practices late in 2022. He was then medically cleared to play on January 12, 2023, for a game against Colorado. He did, however, play only five minutes in that game. USC was appropriately cautious with Iwuchukwu’s minutes. He played only six minutes in his next game against Utah on January 14.
Iwuchukwu wound up playing 14 games last season. He didn’t play more because he suffered back pain late in the season. He missed USC’s Pac-12 Tournament and NCAA Tournament games in March. For the season, Iwuchukwu played 193 minutes in 14 games, an average of just under 14 minutes per game.
A starter-level player will generally play 30 to 35 minutes. Iwuchukwu’s minutes were commensurate with a seventh or eighth man off the bench. The hope for Iwuchukwu this coming season is that he can consistently play 20 or more minutes. How Iwuchukwu and fellow big man Joshua Morgan perform could affect how many minutes Iwuchukwu plays.
The hope is that he won’t be limited in minutes from a medical standpoint; limits could be more related to performance and team needs. However, nothing has yet been confirmed in terms of specific medical concerns being removed for Iwuchukwu this coming season. We might hear more details as the season comes closer.
Below is a video from USC on Iwuchukwu’s cardiac arrest, the quick action of trainers and medical staff to save him, the road to recovery, the return to the court on January 12, and more.
None of this guarantees anything about Bronny James’ recovery or future, but again, it’s notable to have this timeline laid out before you, so that you at least know what happened the last time a USC freshman suffered cardiac arrest in July:
In the summer of 2022, Vince Iwuchukwu had cardiac arrest during basketball workouts. This year, Bronny James. It’s hard to comprehend.
USC’s world-class medical and athletic training staff is as good as it gets. Those staffers saved the life of Trojan basketball player Vince Iwuchukwu last summer, when the incoming freshman suffered cardiac arrest during workouts in the Galen Center.
Athletic trainers and the medical experts who work within sports programs are paid to care for athletes, yet they obviously would like to never have to deal with on-court or on-field medical emergencies.
Two straight summers, that training and medical staff has had to save a USC basketball player who suffered cardiac arrest during a basketball workout.
LeBron and Savannah James released a statement thanking the USC medical and athletic training staff, per the Los Angeles Times:
“LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes,” the James family said.
We will keep you updated on this story as events warrant.
Iwuchukwu joins Drew Peterson as a late DNP for the Arizona State game. Both players have back injuries.
This is remarkable, and in a brutal way for USC: Not one, but two key rotation pieces will be out for Saturday’s important bubble game against Arizona State.
CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein received word from a USC spokesperson that Drew Peterson was going to miss the Arizona State game. Just 17 minutes later, he then reported before Saturday’s game that backup big man Vince Iwuchukwu would also miss this outing against the Sun Devils. Both players are carrying back injuries which are evidently severe enough to force them to sit out this gigantic contest. It obviously puts USC at a disadvantage for this game against ASU, but it also raises real concerns about their availability for next week’s Pac-12 Tournament.
Peterson’s injury will force Reese Dixon-Waters to handle a much larger workload in the backcourt. Iwuchukwu’s absence will make it that much more important for starting big man Joshua Morgan to have a high-impact game with extended minutes, and for Kijani Wright — third in the big man rotation — to play meaningful reserve minutes. It will be interesting to see how many minutes Andy Enfield can steal with Wright on the floor, knowing Iwuchukwu isn’t available.
USC's Vince Iwuchukwu (back) is also OUT for tonight's game against Arizona State, per a school spokesman. Averages 5.4 PPG. https://t.co/J7zI3FGNq1
With Joshua Morgan hurt, USC needed Vince Iwuchukwu to stay on the floor. That didn’t happen. It’s an education for the young big man.
The USC Trojans entered Saturday night’s game against the Washington Huskies knowing that Joshua Morgan would not be able to play. The big man got injured early in Thursday’s win over Washington State. With Morgan out, it became imperative that Vince Iwuchukwu stay on the floor to hold down the fort on defense and on the glass.
That did not happen.
Iwuchukwu played only 10 minutes against Washington, saddled by foul trouble. He picked up two fouls in the first nine minutes and sat for the last 11 minutes of the first half. He got a third foul fairly early in the second half and then a fourth foul midway through the second half. USC was extremely fortunate that Washington big man Braxton Meah fouled out on the same play in which Iwuchukwu picked up his fourth foul. If Meah had stayed on the floor, USC would have been in a ton of trouble.
Even then, the Trojans didn’t exactly have a picnic lunch on Saturday. They did trail with under five minutes left in regulation before rallying to win.
Consider it a lesson for Vince the Prince, the young talent who has been thrown into the fire of a college basketball season in conference play, receiving a crash course in how to handle the speed of college hoops without being able to slowly settle in.
Had Iwuchukwu not suffered an episode of cardiac arrest, he would have had a full offseason of workouts. He would have had a full amount of fall practices. He would have been able to play in November and December, getting a lot of work against comparatively more manageable opponents. He would have been able to ramp up for the Pac-12 season. Under the current circumstances, Iwuchukwu’s game against Washington was just the seventh of his USC career.
The seventh game of this USC season — which would have been Iwuchukwu’s seventh game had he been healthy — was the Wisconsin Battle 4 Atlantis game in late November. That’s how far behind Iwuchukwu is in his development due to his health concerns. He was bound to have a game like this. He’s going to have at least one more at some point.
This is the education of Vince Iwuchukwu as a college basketball player. A freshman is learning the ropes, and it will be fascinating to see how he adjusts in the near future.
Meanwhile, it’s so hugely impressive that his USC teammates were able to pick him up. That bodes well for the next time this happens, although if it happens against Arizona (which plays USC in early March in the Galen Center) or UCLA (in the Pac-12 Tournament, perhaps), that could be a blow USC won’t recover from.
Big picture: USC learned a lot about itself against Washington, and didn’t lose. This team continues to show toughness, resilience, and resourcefulness. Vince Iwuchukwu’s college education took a big step forward.
The Boogie-Peterson show gives #USC big baskets. Vince Iwuchukwu’s defense prevents opponents from getting big baskets. It’s a perfect formula for the Trojans.
The USC Trojans aren’t a complete team just yet, but they’re certainly a more well-rounded team now than they were one month ago.
It doesn’t seem like an accident or idle coincidence that the Trojans are making a push toward the NCAA Tournament with Vince Iwuchukwu having more of a role on this team (or frankly, any role at all).
Without Iwuchukwu, it was clear USC was missing a key piece to the puzzle. The Trojans lacked Vince’s defense, rebounding, length, and size. A constant theme connected to Iwuchukwu since he began playing for this team on January 12 is that he isn’t adding to USC’s numbers or its statistical totals. Iwuchukwu contributes by limiting the statistical output and numerical advantages of opponents.
When Vince the Prince comes into a game, the opponent stops collecting offensive rebounds and second-chance points. Opponents don’t get easy baskets. They don’t get lots of free throws. The game becomes harder for opponents when Iwuchukwu is on the floor for USC.
Iwuchukwu made the defining plays of this game, even though Boogie Ellis (23 points) and Drew Peterson (20 points) made the game’s most important baskets for the Trojans. Boogie and Drew scored in crunch time, but Iwuchukwu prevented Washington State from scoring down the stretch.
With 1:50 left, Washington State trailed USC by three, 71-68. Iwuchukwu blocked one shot at the rim, but then recovered to block another shot on the perimeter, forcing a shot-clock violation with 1:20 left. Peterson then hit the dagger 3-pointer to give USC a 74-68 cushion with 52 seconds to go.
Iwuchukwu doesn’t have to score; his backcourt teammates can do that. As long as Iwuchukwu can defend and rebound, USC is getting what it absolutely needs from him. Stuffing an opponent’s jump shot is as good as making a basket at the other end of the court.
Boogie and Peterson get it done on offense, Iwuchukwu on defense. Now that USC has a fuller roster, it is much more like the team Andy Enfield hoped to have all season.
