The Sports Bank’s college basketball season previews undergo a facelift this season. Rather than counting down the top 111 teams in 111 days, we will go conference-by-conference, breaking down each team beginning with the Pac-12.
As expected, Andy Enfield’s first season as USC Trojans head coach was rough. While USC loses their top four scorers from a year ago, Enfield brings in a solid recruiting class and a pair of transfers who will try to help the Trojans make their way up the Pac-12 standings.
USC TROJANS
Last Season: 12th, 2-16 in Pac-12, 11-21 overall
Predicted Pac-12 Finish: 11th
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Nikola Jovanovic (So)/Malik Price-Martin (Fr)
PF: Darion Clark (So)/Strahinja Gavrilovic (Jr)
SG: Katin Reinhardt (So)/Elijah Stewart (Fr)/Malik Marquetti (Fr)
G: Julian Jacobs (So)/Kahlil Dukes (So)
PG: Jordan McLaughlin (Fr)/Chass Bryan (Jr)/Brendyn Taylor (Jr)
Gone: G/F-Byron Wesley (transfer-Gonzaga), PG-Pe’Shon Howard, SG-J.T. Terrell, C-Omar Oraby, C-D.J. Haley, SF-Roschon Prince (transfer-Long Beach State)
2014-2015 Outlook:
Hoping to provide some immediate help are a pair of transfers; UNLV sharpshooter Katin Reinhardt and Darion Clark from Charlotte. Reinhardt should immediately be the Trojans’ go-to scoring option while Clark provides some energy on the inside. That duo adds a needed shot in the arm from a talent standpoint alongside returning starters Nikola Jovanovic and Julian Jacobs who were solid contributors as freshmen. Jacobs is capable of playing either guard position while Jovanovic is more of a face-up four and lacks any real defensive or physical presence down low.
With a lack of experience across the entire the roster, a pair of top 100 freshmen should factor into the equation right away. Point guard Jordan McLaughlin provides Enfield with another ball-handler to pair with Jacobs and Reinhardt in the backcourt. Elijah Stewart could end up being USC’s best bench player with fellow newcomers Malik Marquetti and Malik Price-Martin also expected to see immediate playing time.
The Trojans are young as they likely won’t start a single upperclassman this season. As a result, there will be growing pains and as a result, the USC Trojans should hover near the bottom of the conference standings for a second straight year. Enfield does have the program heading in the right direction though so the temporary struggles should payoff in the long run.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/20 vs. Akron (Charleston Classic)
11/21 vs. Miami FL/Drexel (Charleston Classic)
11/23 vs. Penn State/South Carolina/Charlotte/Cornell (Charleston Classic)
11/30 at New Mexico
12/21 at Boston College
OTHER PAC-12 PREVIEWS:
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Milwaukee to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.