The world of USC football is turbulent, uncertain, and not very happy or successful. On Saturday against Oregon, the Trojans lost their fourth game of the season and their fifth of 2023 if you count the January Cotton Bowl game. Caleb Williams’ final USC season was a complete failure. The Trojans will go to an off-the-radar bowl game and will not play in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Football needs a reset button at USC.
Basketball has found that reset button and is taking off in both men’s and women’s competition. Both the men’s and women’s USC hoops programs are soaring, on and off the court. This past week provided lots of great moments for Andy Enfield and Lindsay Gottlieb, their assistant coaches, and their players.
The men beat a good Kansas State team last Monday. That result should get better and better as the season moves along. USC won both games this past week and received encouraging bench performances from Oziyah Sellers and Arrinten Page.
Off the court, recent official signings of elite recruits have given USC a top-10 recruiting class for 2024. Andy Enfield continues to stack one strong class on top of another.
The women’s program beat No. 6 Ohio State last Monday. JuJu Watkins made a spectacular USC (and college) debut with 32 points against the Buckeyes. USC then beat Florida Gulf Coast — a very good mid-major team — on Friday to move to 2-0.
Off the court, Gottlieb gained commitments from two five-star prospects within hours of each other on Saturday. Kayleigh Heckel is a five-star guard from New York. Kennedy Smith is a five-star combo guard/wing player from Southern California and the Trojans’ back yard.
These two recruits give USC a top-five class for the 2024 cycle. Four- and five-star prospects are rolling into Gottlieb’s program. Players can see that playing with JuJu Watkins for a few years will enhance their games. USC is quickly establishing itself as a destination program in women’s college basketball.
Football might be getting you down if you’re a USC fan, but hoops is a great pick-me-up right now. Learn to love the roundball, everyone! These programs have a chance to do something significant this season, and they both look good for 2024 and beyond, the women’s program even more than the men.
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