USC men’s basketball begins one of the most anticipated seasons in school history in one month, on November 6. USC faces Kansas State in Las Vegas, the beginning of a hugely hyped season with big expectations. The Trojans aren’t usually the focus of the college basketball world in the Pac-12 Conference, but this season, they are.
We will try to prepare you for the season by sharing the insights of college basketball expert Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated, who joined us for an extended conversation.
Our first installment with Kevin: How USC’s role players will fit into the lineup and shape Andy Enfield’s decisions on whether to play big or small.
“I know Harrison Hornery shot the ball extremely well overseas. I just have a hard time buying that. He’s really carving out a big role, right? He’s been around, we know what he is. I have a similar kind of question mark with Kijani Wright,” Sweeney said. “He’s talented, but one, he doesn’t solve the shooting issue at the four spot of playing two non-shooting bigs. I also think that his minutes were very mixed last year. So I think it’s really a question of are we playing two traditional centers or are we playing a fourth guard with (D.J.) Rodman at the four? If you’re going to start Isaiah Collier, Boogie Ellis, and Kobe Johnson, I would always personally lean toward (playing) smaller. That’s kind of my basketball. If I started coaching a team, I would play lots of four guards, I’d play a lot of four and five out offensively.”
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