Enfield earned contract extension
It’s still hard to wash that taste out of my mouth. Almost two weeks later, the overwhelming feeling from the USC basketball season is what could have been and how the Trojans let one slip away against Providence in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It still hurts a little bit to see that replay of the final inbound play that sealed the Trojans’ fate or the stat line of USC’s free throw shooting down the stretch.
But of course, it’s time for me and other Trojan fans to look at the bigger picture. The 2016 men’s basketball season was a big success. It certainly ended much sooner, or at least much differently, than fans would have hoped. The potential that we saw during the first half of the season didn’t quite carry its way throughout the entire campaign. But nonetheless, it was the biggest step forward for a program in recent memory. It was just what the program needed in terms of showing that it was finally headed in the right direction for the long-term.
So while the timing of it does seem interesting, it makes sense for the University to have extended the contract of head coach Andy Enfield for an additional two seasons. It’s a largely symbolic move, given that he was already under contract until the 2019 season. But it’s a well-deserved vote of confidence for the man set on truly turning this program around, especially after there were some rumors developing that he could be moving elsewhere.
Enfield’s career record at USC now sits at 44-53, which isn’t that impressive. But this season’s 21-12 performance has the looks of a legitimate conference competitor and NCAA tournament threat. The most significant improvement, though, came in conference play, where the Trojans finally escaped from the bottom of the Pac-12 standings. With only two wins his first season, then three wins his second season, the Trojans finished dead last in the 12-team conference each year. But with an even 9-9 record in the Pac-12 this year, the Trojans finished tied for sixth place in the conference. A win over UCLA in the first round of the conference tournament was the cherry on top to a clean three-game sweep of the season rivalry, and though the Trojans didn’t make it past the second round after a loss to Utah, they came into Selection Sunday knowing that they belonged in the Big Dance.
It was the first time in five seasons that the Trojans made it into the NCAA tournament, a major milestone for Enfield to finally achieve. There was plenty of speculation that Enfield would be on the hot seat if things didn’t start looking up during his third year at the helm. But sure enough, he and the program finally began seeing the fruits of the rebuilding effort.
Coming into the tournament as a No. 8 seed, the Trojans knew they would face a very competitive matchup in the first round against Providence, all for the chance to take on the No. 1 seed on that side of the bracket. It hasn’t been since 2007 that the Trojans have made the Sweet Sixteen, and it wasn’t the most favorable draw for the Trojans’ chances of getting there this year. Sure enough, the Trojans fell in a highly contested 1-point game against Providence. Though the Trojans certainly could have closed it out against the Friars, and anything could have happened during a second round tilt with North Carolina, falling just short in the first round still leaves plenty to be proud of for the team.
The contract extension for Enfield comes just after rumors began circulating that he was on the short list to replace Jamie Dixon as the Pittsburgh head coach. In 13 seasons, Dixon led Pitt to Sweet Sixteen three times, and once to the Elite Eight, but left the school for his alma mater — TCU. As a former Big East and current ACC school, a move to Pitt could have been a promotion to some degree for Enfield. But ultimately, Enfield stuck with USC, and Kevin Stallings from Vanderbilt got the hire. It would be hard to imagine an on-the-rise football coach at USC ever leaving the school for something bigger — unless, of course, it was for an NFL gig. Hopefully, the Trojan basketball program will keep growing to a point where it is one of the most high-profile teams to coach.
The Pac-12 conference didn’t have a great performance in the tournament, with only two of seven teams making it out of the first round. No. 1-seeded Oregon made it all the way to the Elite Eight, but couldn’t get past No. 2 Oklahoma and make it into the Final Four. Nonetheless, the conference is sure to be competitive again next year. With Oregon showing its athletic prowess could now extend beyond just the football field, usual conference forces like Arizona and UCLA sure to rebound after disappointing 2016 campaigns, there still should be a lot of parity at the top of the Pac-12 conference standings.
But USC should take another big step forward in 2017 with all the current starters returning. It’s still too early to guess where exactly USC basketball will be in 2021, and the athletic department could look back on this extension as coming too soon if the Trojans plateau as just an average Pac-12 team. But the extension helps ensure that the right man for the job will be here to build on the current foundation and keep the momentum going.
Luke Holthouse is junior majoring in policy, planning and development and print and digital journalism. His column, “Holthouse Party,” runs on every other Wednesday.