USC basketball seeks redemption against Stanford
The 15th-ranked Trojans (17-2 overall, 7-2 in Pac-12) can avenge their first loss of the season when they host the Cardinal on Thursday night…
Adam Grosbard (OC Register) — LOS ANGELES — For about a week, it looked as though the USC men’s basketball team had lost its identity. The Trojans looked lost on the defensive end of the court, of all places, and were allowing teams to get off easy shots at all three levels. The discombobulation led to USC’s first two losses of the season, both coming in a three-game stretch.
But the 15th-ranked Trojans (17-2 overall, 7-2 in Pac-12) have bounced back with three wins in a row, all of which relied upon a regrouping on the defensive end of the court.
Against Colorado, USC held the Buffs to 31.4% shooting, albeit with a 46.7% mark from 3-point range. The Trojans limited Utah to below 40% on both fronts in their next game, then did the same to Arizona State on Monday to help propel a first-half comeback.
Following the loss to Oregon that preceded this latest winning streak, guard Boogie Ellis said he felt like USC wasn’t doing a good enough job of communicating on defense. This led to lagging help defense and allowed other teams to get shooters open for easy looks.
But a greater emphasis on communication, as well as a return to practice after the 19-day COVID-19 pause, has helped USC look like the team that didn’t allow a single opponent to shoot above 40% from the floor in its first 12 games.
“Back to where it was before the COVID pause. Some of the games after the COVID pause, we didn’t defend at a level necessary to compete,” USC coach Andy Enfield said. “We have to be mentally engaged and play within our system and then guard the ball and rebound.”
“I feel like if we continue to grow and talk on defense, by the time March comes around we’ll be a really solid defensive team,” Ellis added.
The next test will come on tonight against Stanford (11-6, 4-3), the team that handed the Trojans their first loss two weeks ago. USC understands that it is playing differently than it was then. But that does not mean there isn’t a little extra motivation going up against the Cardinal.
“We let ourselves down and lost an opportunity. So we feel we gotta go with a chip on our shoulder,” Ellis said. “We want to be a top-five team in the country and they took that away from us.”
ocregister.com
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As one of my Family members said to me recently (He said he thought he saw the phrase “The Pressure of the Caleb Williams Situation” on the internet ) and he said ……….”PRESSURE ????? ………..”USC is NOT in a WIN-NOW situation so what is the pressure????? ” ……….. Very very good point !!!!!
Actually, I would instead argue that USC is under A LOT of pressure to win soon. That’s reality, despite all the phony balderdash about so-called “patience” for the only coach making as much or more than Nick Saban in the world of the transfer portal. MICH ST pulled off a quick fix. Why shouldn’t USC?
Under LR, USC is expected to immediately go to and win a bowl game, win at least eight games in the lowly Pac-12, and for sure to beat either UCLA or ND. At least that’s how I see it.
I am talking win-now as in a 9+ win season …But are we firing LR if we go 6-6 ? ……I’m not .
Who said anything about firing LR after year one, regardless of his record? That’s just crazy talk. But I totally disagree with your position that there’s no pressure on LR to win now. There is, especially because of what 11-2 MICH ST did last year in a tougher conference, but mostly because the Transfer Portal makes winning soon very possible. And the widespread negative reaction by USC fans to the current Caleb Williams situation shows just how much Trojan fans expect of LR even after only two months on the job. If he flunks the CW best-in-portal gambit, losing promising… Read more »
Well I always give my head coaches a 1 year period before I start setting levels this is one reason why >>>>> All per Wikipedia (All first seasons as head coach)…….Bear Bryant at Alabama…..5-4-1….Bill Belichick Cleve 6-10 …… Bill Parcells (1st YR with Giants ) 3-12 ….Lombardi finished in 3rd place his 1st season Head Coach Green Bay ……..John McKay (1st season USC 1960) 4-6 ……..1st seasons are NOT always good (EVEN for the GREATEST COACHES ) …..Fight On !!!!!
The Transfer Portal has changed everything. At least that’s what I’m told every single hour.
I have no doubt whatsoever that the two fantastic college coaches you listed from the dinosaur ages would have absolutely kicked butt at their new schools much earlier if they could have just immediately picked off experienced college players from other elite schools with auto-eligibility. McKay would have probably made a hilarious joke about it being like taking candy from a baby, cigar in hand.
Well there is a difference ….I gotta see “New Systems” (with a few years of history to go on) make a difference before I get sold them (as some writers here in NY are calling the Tranfer Portal) >>>>>> They nicked named it “The Quick Fix ” <<<<<< I ain”t buying that yet .
Would you think LR knows what is going on with Williams? If LR knew Williams wasn’t coming wouldn’t he make a move for Qb already? As it stands Moss is the Qb for spring ball, and perhaps beyond. Would LR wait till summer to bring in a starter unless his name is Williams?
Too embarrassed to admit he made a deal with the devil and lost? For God’s sake it’s time to cut your losses. Even if he did eventually join the team he’d be a problem.
For some reason, “too embarrassed” doesn’t sound like a description suitable for LR. Now, “too mysterious” I might go for.
He’d be a problem? Not quite sure what you are basing that statement on.
Whatever happens, LR doesn’t think he needs Caleb for spring ball. Maybe he doesn’t, for X/O stuff. Caleb’s supposedly got that LR offense down. So give Miller the reps. But since your QB is by far the most important person on the team, LR must have a lot of confidence that Caleb can take that first-string job which he doesn’t have to compete for, and waltz right in whenever he wants. It’s such a new day in CFB that it’s hard to be surprised by what I see every day. This has been kind of a bad week for USC… Read more »
I’m done with Williams, time to move on.
Seems like most Trojan fans feel that way by now. USC football sure knows how to keep a lid on things, just another source of frustration for us observers.
Set it frustrated. I am completely in wait and see mode. Whatever happens we are still in a far better position than what we were in under the rat (yes I meant to call him that). If we get CW we will be in an even better position.
I don’t think LR would have even recruited Miller Moss out of HS. Pure pocket guys aren’t his deal. That’s why he’ll do anything to bring in Caleb Williams. He alone knows just how much easier his job will be in 2022 with Caleb craftily dicing up defenses both on the ground and in the air. The kid’s kind of a magician from what I’ve seen. But for all we know, LR has his sights on another QB who can really move. If so, I trust in LR. But USC’s ragged QB situation as it stands now doesn’t look to… Read more »
It seems odd to me Riley has kept Moss or at least told him he doesn’t fit the “mold”. There is something not coming out that has made LR refrain from pulling the trigger on another Qb, at least a dual threat backup. Perhaps Moss feels he can fill the role up to expectations. Moss as our starter does worry me as far as total win count. Right now I still stand at 9 wins.
CAL (9-11, 2-7) AT USC (17-3, 7-3)
When: Saturday, 4 p.m. PT
Where: Galen Center
TV/Radio: Pac-12 Network / 790 AM
USC both started and finished poorly against STAN:
1) Drew Peterson — “We were playing really good ball before the half. We came out stagnant.” Isaiah Mosley agreed: “We can’t come out flat anymore. It takes a lot out of us just to come back.”
2) For seven of the final 10 minutes, the Trojans couldn’t manage a single basket from the field.
Dinner Time in my neck of the woods and nothing from Caleb yet huh .
Colin Cowherd, despite all his USC sources, was only vaguely committed today to Caleb Williams coming to USC. Like all of us, he seems tired of this drawn-out Caleb drama, which has frankly turned a lot of USC fans against Caleb, from what I see at least. While Cowherd knows from those sources that Jaxson Dart is headed to OLE MISS, he can only say he’s “hearing things” about Caleb and USC. “I don’t want to get people worked up,” was all he could muster up. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Caleb Williams and his father announce it, and not… Read more »
Just a thought, could his reluctance to sign anywhere yet…be a Academic Eligibility concern ?
I thought of it also, while it is pretty certain Oklahoma’s academic standards doesn’t come close to the eligibility standards. But every University has special circumstances a less qualified enrollee can get in.
Some Enfield blurbs on USC’s tough, sloppy, turnover-ridden loss to Stanford: “It was not the result we wanted. Last possession of the game, and we lost (on a long three-pointer). So tough loss for us. Stanford played very well. We had our chances, but couldn’t get it done. “Well, we missed four layups to start the game. Drew (Peterson) missed two, Isaiah (Mobley) and Chevez (Goodwin). It’s hard to get off to good starts when you miss four layups. They’re lane shots, and Drew is 6-8, Isaiah is 6-10, Chevez is 6-9. So we need to convert those. “I thought… Read more »
ASU trying to set itself up for NCAA leniency over blatant and numerous recruiting violations:
Adam Rittenberg @ESPNRittenberg
Sources: #ArizonaState offensive coordinator Zak Hill has resigned. Wide receivers coach Prentice Gill, secondary coach Chris Hawkins (former USC safety and grad asst) and tight ends coach Adam Breneman are all also out. All four involved in NCAA investigation of program.
@DevilsDigestv first reported.
if I were ASU I would fight it. The NCAA is a toothless bunch of blow hards.
Too bad ASU is so blatantly and irrefutably guilty. The one-sided amount of evidence against them is massive. There’s nothing they can really do except fire lots of guys (except old Herm of course), like they have already done.
The NCAA may be a bunch of toothless blowhards now vs ASU, a bunch of blatant, arrogant cheaters. Who’s worse?
So the head coach found his fall guys and he stays?
It’ll be interesting to see if Sun Devil Herm avoids the noose. Apparently, he is now more a part of the NCAA investigation than was previously thought. Herm is only 25-18 at always lukewarm ASU, nothing to get excited about.
Kaulana Makaula has entered the transfer portal according to 247Sports. That puts available scholarships at 8. Hope some spots get filled today.
The tweener LB/DB from Hawaii sparingly played in five games over three years. I can’t believe he didn’t portal out earlier.
It’s looking like the new name for the Washington Football Team is going to be the Commanders. Some fear that will be shortened to the “Commies”.
yahoo.com
Good choice, I like it.
Sorry, couldn’t resist some levity today:
SDS Women’s Golf Trick Video
Great tricks that was fun. Must be a lot of down time on the golf course.
I have seen Tiger Woods do some of these tricks, but these young ladies have taken things up a quantum leap!
I watched it four times in a row before I realized that I needed to be working….
While we are all waiting on the crucial Caleb Williams decision today, I can’t wait to see the 49ers (six straight wins vs the Rams) vs the peaking-at-the-right-time-star-studded Rams at Sofi on Sunday.
Plaschke chimes in with his prediction:
LAT — The Rams will beat the 49ers like the Dodgers beat the Giants, only it will be decided long before the final pitch, and there will be no whiny finish.
No check swings here, only one big hit.
Rams 30, 49ers 17.
I wonder how many media folks are camped out at USC admissions office today waiting for Williams to show up.
This has turned into an amazing CFB news story. No simple transfer blurb here!
One way or another, it’s great to always be in the CFB news again, especially for a USC fan who lived through the Clay Helton Moratorium on USC football.
Jaxon committed at Ol Miss & Lane Kiffin today the 28th. Is this a hint as to where Caleb is committing to? If so, I would have never believed a HC could turn a team personnel around so quickly as LR has here. And its not over yet!
SI Reporting Jaxon Dart Admitted and Enrolled at Ole Miss
https://www.si.com/college/usc/football/jaxson-dart-ole-miss-admitted
It’s January 28. If CW had to wait to announce his decision (I don’t think he will come to SC), he is probably too self-focused for LR’s rebuilding the culture project with the Trojans. JMHO….
Do we have some sort of mental block (or something ) about playing Stanford ?????
All of that confidence didn’t amount to much.
STAN’s D was awesome in the end. Tough defenders.
Guess I am staying up past Midnight to watch USC Mens Basketball team…………Fight On !!!!!
USC Mens Basketball team seems awake now ! ……….Fight On !!!!!
The sports fan is me is having great vibes about tomorrow ……One reason for sure ….MY NY Rangers have an event tomorrow night that seems to be dominating the local sports news today …..Henrik Lundqvists number is being retired and I have had a great feeling about Friday January 28th 2022 for a couple of weeks now …..(A feeling that everything I root for will turn out very well on that day) …..Lets Go Rangers …..FIGHT ON !!!!!
OLE MISS sites are rampant with info that Jaxson Dart is going to be a Rebel. 98.4% chance per On3’s recruiting prediction machine. So, if true, Kiffin screws up USC again. He first hires Helton, now he takes Dart. So it’s not looking like Dart would come back to USC if Caleb Williams falls through. That would be a tough pill to swallow. Really? Expecting wet-behind-the-ears with no experience Miller Moss to suddenly become the man as a total fallback because LR’s QB plan exploded into nothing? Even us die-hard LR fans would be shaking our heads over this outcome.… Read more »
Allen if “Fate and Destiny ” dictated that we could ONLY have LR or Caleb But Not Both which of the 2 do you value more ?…. To me it is LR …….By a lot !
No doubt about that.
But I think Miller Moss is miles behind a guy like Caleb Williams. I would view it as a major LR failure, but certainly one that he will overcome, especially because USC has 2023’s 5-star Malachi Nelson from Los Al.
Hey Allen my gut says we are BOTH gonna have a very good day Tomorrow ……..FIGHT ON !!!!!
So bizarre for Caleb to stretch this out to USC’s very last day for enrollment, while the rest of the team is working out. I know there’s so much behind the scenes that I don’t know about, so I’m trying not to be too judgmental. But as I said, this has been bizarre, and losing a favorite of mine, Jaxson Dart, is a bummer too.
It’s amazing how often I run across this sentiment on the Internet:
“Helton was worse than the NCAA sanctions.”
You mean people not on this blog feel just like we do?
Maybe we should be significantly blaming Lane Kiffin, who ripped Helton away from the clutches of MEM and into the USC program as its QB coach in 2010. In 2013, Kiffin promoted The Cat to Trojan OC. Ed O blew up and split (papers flying everywhere) after Haden chose Sark who was quickly kicked aside with his long-coming divorce, bottle and pills, allowing The Cat to become the USC interim HC for the second time. That eternal worthless idiot Nikias then put the real HC tag on Helton on Nov 2015 to supposedly bring on “serenity”, and the Trojans began… Read more »
Coaching being the fraternity that it is I can see Ed O ending up somewhere decent. That is as long has he gets his head on straight and gets focused on what he loves the most. If Sark can turn it around so can Ed.
I think 60-year Ed O’s HCing career is over. Sark is only 47 and got his timely Saban Booster shot to magically get him to TEXAS, pronto. Ed O scorched the earth at LSU before leaving with all these off-the-field female relationships apparently absorbing his time and attention, but no substance abuse issue to kick to the curb. Ed O was perfect for LSU, until he wasn’t. I’d never hire Ed O as my new HC (despite how much I enjoy him personally), but I’d still bring him in as a DL coach who could cook good bayou gumbo to… Read more »
The fledgling USFL today announced Jeff Fisher as the HC of the Michigan Panthers and Larry Fedora as the HC of the New Orleans Breakers.
The full roster:
South Division
Birmingham Stallions — Skip Holtz
New Orleans Breakers — Larry Fedora
Houston Gamblers — Kevin Sumlin
Tampa Bay Bandits — Todd Haley
North Division
Michigan Panthers — Jeff Fisher
New Jersey Generals — Mike Riley
Philadelphia Stars — Bart Andrus
Pittsburgh Maulers — Kirby Wilson
footballscoop.com
Where failed coaches go to irrelevance, the USFL.
Will be interesting to see if any of these guys resurrect their NFL careers somehow. There’s always plenty of mediocrity, even absurdity, to be replaced in the NFL.
I can’t believe game management imbecile Mike McCarthy is still the coach of the Dallas Cowboys.