Guards grow into leadership for Trojans
Last Wednesday’s 81-70 victory over the Oregon State Beavers marked the first time since USC’s 2008-2009 campaign in which the Trojans have amassed 20 victories or more.
The last time USC accomplished such a feat, the Men of Troy finished the season with a 22-13 record, making it to the NCAA Round of 32.
The 20-win campaign this season nearly matches the amount of victories current head coach Andy Enfield achieved during his first two seasons at USC.
According to Enfield, this season belongs to his players and their ability to develop as a team and overcome hardship.
“It’s special,” Enfield said. “We know we have some basketball left to play, but we want to recognize our players because they’re the reason. They’ve helped turn this program around, and they’re the reason we have those 20 wins. They’ve done an outstanding job this year of fighting through the adversities, fighting through the downtimes and the injuries and coming together and winning 20 games. For them to do that, I’m very proud of them.”
This 20-win season would not have been possible without the improved play and maturity of guards sophomore Jordan McLaughlin, junior Julian Jacobs and redshirt junior Katin Reinhardt.
Not only have the experienced guards’ on-court capabilities turned into success, but their off-the-court behavior has also had a major impact this season.
Jacobs, the team’s primary ball distributor with 5.4 assists per game, is a dual-threat on the court, sporting both offensive and defensive prowess. This year, Jacobs is third on the team in scoring and rebounding and second on the team to Jordan McLaughlin with 35 steals.
Earlier this week, Jacobs commented on his renewed confidence physically and mentally in his 2015-2016 campaign compared to his first two seasons.
“Freshman and sophomore year, I was very fragile mentally,” Jacobs said. “When something would go wrong or I wouldn’t be playing well, I would be completely out of the game … I played at one speed in the past, and now I’ve learned how to slow it down, attack when I need to, make the right pass. It just comes with being older.”
Jacobs’ renewed maturity and confidence have allowed him to dissect the Trojans’ struggles this season as he cited a lack of maturity on and off the court as a potential setback for the squad, especially on the road.
“I think sometimes we can be immature,” Jacobs said. “It’s just little things. It’s hard to explain. Whether we’re late to a meal when you’re supposed to be on time, that stuff kind of translates onto the court. It’s taxing being on the road for five days in a hotel room.”
And while Jacobs holds a vocal role on this 20-win Trojan battalion, often leading with his words of encouragement, his opposite guard and team captain Jordan McLaughlin leads by example.
McLaughlin, the team’s leading scorer with 12.9 points per game to go along with 3.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and a 42.4 percent shooting percentage from 3-point range, emphasized his commitment to his teammates earlier this week and the importance of leading by example.
“I’m not that much of a vocal leader, so I’ve been trying to work on that. I’m the one that leads by example. In drills, I’m the first one to go and going 110 percent,” McLaughlin said. “USC basketball — it’s not just one person. It’s not saying Jordan McLaughlin won the game; it’s saying USC won the game. At the end of the day, it’s whether USC won or lost … it’s the whole team.”
Overall, the Trojans have experienced many adversities in the forms of McLaughlin’s injured nose, Jacobs’ injured ankle and even redshirt junior forward Darion Clark’s separated shoulder. The importance, the Trojans say, is that they are able to bounce back and be the team they need to be.
And although the offense and leadership run through McLaughlin and Jacobs, Reinhardt understands the potential of this year’s team.
“They don’t know who we are … they’re not with us every single day, so we don’t even care what they say to be honest with you,” Reinhardt said in response to those who doubt the team’s potential. “[We’re] guys that just want to win, play hard when we win and just make it far. We’ve had a chip on our shoulder all year, and we’ll play with that for the rest of the year.”
As it stands, the Men of Troy are projected to make the NCAA tournament. Jacobs mentioned that while the season has taken a toll, the Trojans still have as much of an opportunity as anybody to make a statement this March.
“The games that we’ve won were not flukes,” Jacobs said. “It was because we outplayed those teams, and we’re capable of beating any team that we play against as long as we play defense. When we [play defense], there’s not that many teams out there that are better than us.”
With the Pac-12 tournament beginning Wednesday, the Trojans will have an opportunity to make history by capturing their first conference title since 2009.