Trojans proving that they belong
What a difference one year makes. On Jan. 29, 2015, the USC men’s basketball team took on the Colorado Buffaloes in a three-overtime thriller that unfortunately ended in a loss. Up until the Arizona epic earlier this season, it was the most exciting game I had seen the Trojans play.
In that game, current redshirt junior guard Katin Reinhardt was automatic with his feet set from deep, and current junior forward Nikola Jovanovic dominated the post with an array of moves that he has further improved upon this season. The game offered a glimpse of the pace and space style coach Andy Enfield envisioned his Trojan squad. While the team didn’t turn a corner that game, on account of some poor late game decisions and abysmal free throw shooting, they demonstrated the kind of potential that Enfield’s system had in the Pac-12 conference.
One year later, and the Trojans have transformed more than even Optimus Prime could have expected. They are right on the periphery of the top 25, and they are a dark horse candidate to make a deep run into the NCAA tournament. Even better, the Trojans are nearly unbeatable on their home court, suffering just their first home loss of the season Sunday to Utah.
While all of this is incredible and exciting to watch the birth of a new program under Enfield, one has to look no further than the win against Colorado to comprehend the tremendous progress and growth the team has made.
Against Colorado on Wednesday night, the Trojans were down 15 late in the second half. They looked listless and lifeless, sleepwalking through a very crucial game. After years and years of Trojan basketball, I am conditioned to expect the worst. Going 0-2 on the road against the Sun Devils and Wildcats, and then getting blown out on their home court by Colorado didn’t project well for the rest of the season.
I imagined the worst: a total collapse, followed by a loss against Utah to mark a four-game skid, and then losses to end the season against the team’s last four opponents. Instead what I saw at the Galen Center Wednesday was resilience and persistence and an acumen in game coaching adjustment by Enfield that may have changed the trajectory of this season and possibly the program.
Instead of folding down 15, Enfield switched to a 2-3 zone that stymied the Buffaloes and helped to compensate for the Trojans inferiority on defense. USC used this zone and some stellar guard play from sophomore Jordan McLaughlin and junior Julian Jacobs to go on a 20-5 run and tie the game at 65 apiece.
The Trojans had an eerily similar experience against the Buffaloes last season. They were down 61-50 and came back to tie the game 66 all and send it into overtime. This year and in this game, the Trojans demonstrated that they have indeed turned the corner.
Unlike last season, in which the Trojans couldn’t contain Colorado guard Askia Booker and McLaughlin struggled down the stretch from the free throw line, this year the roles were reversed. McLaughlin and Jacobs were unstoppable in the final moments, playing frenetic defense and hitting from all over the court.
Colorado was the team that couldn’t score, and struggled from the free throw line. Instead of failing to land a knockout punch as the team did last season, and ultimately wilting in the third overtime, USC went for the jugular this season and won in regulation by a score of 79-72. Crisis averted, season intact.
USC may not win the conference this year — although they still very well could — but the game against Colorado offered incontrovertible proof that this is a team to fear. USC had shown they can get out to early leads and blow teams out. Now they have shown that they can from behind and finish the job. That is the mark of a well-coached team. They still need to improve their play in close battles, as they have a tendency to get tight, but that comes with experience.
No one expected the Trojans to be this good this soon. It has been an utter delight watching them play, and Wednesday was one of the most inspiring games I have seen in the last fourteen years of watching the team. It may not be as significant as Daniel Hackett shutting down Kevin Durant to beat Texas in the NCAA tournament or coming back against James Harden and the Sun Devils to win the then-Pac 10 tournament, but Wednesday’s win was monumental for the Enfield era.
The win against Arizona earlier this year proved that USC could beat the big boys. Now it’s clear they deserve to play with them night in and night out. Enfield made a coaching adjustment that won the game, which is improvement from a young, sharp coach who is building a winning program. It’s rare to be this optimistic about USC basketball this late in season, and boy does it feel good. The Trojans are back on the hardwood, and they are a force to be reckoned with.
Jake Davidson is a junior majoring in accounting. His column, “Davidson’s Direction,” runs Mondays.