USC men’s basketball collapses in blowout loss to Stanford
The Cardinals went on a 25-0 first-half run as USC fell apart defensively, dropping the woeful Trojans to 9-15 and again back to last in the Pac-12
Luca Evans (OC Register) — STANFORD — They trudged out one by one from the locker room Saturday night, wearing their emotions in the hoods buried over their heads and the headphones draped halfway over their ears.
Bronny James (two of seven from the field, six points, three rebs, three assists, and a steal) stood with his back against the hallway, staring at a box-score sheet, frustration written across his face. Arrinten Page held a postgame reunion with Stanford’s Kanaan Carlyle, both freshmen once highly-touted prospects out of Georgia, Page chiding Carlyle that his Cardinals simply couldn’t miss. USC’s captain Boogie Ellis emerged last, eyes drooping, carrying a box of postgame food.
“We gotta have more pride,” Ellis said, softly, in a postgame conversation. “USC’s never been like this. This is not what we’re about. This is not our standard.”
The apocalypse hit at Maples Pavilion on Saturday night, the end of times dawning, USC eviscerated by Stanford 99-68 in the lowest point in a season of low points. Coaches flung their hands, and players barked at each other coming off the floor during timeouts, and James wrapped a towel around his face in frustration after being briefly subbed for a foul, and every facet of the program crumbled. Season-long fatal flaws compounded all at once across a 25-0 first half run for Stanford, USC’s bench visibly shell-shocked as the Cardinals dropped triple after triple.
“We made some defensive mistakes, but every time we made one, they made us pay,” head coach Andy Enfield said postgame. “That’s on us as a coaching staff, and players. We’re all in this together.”
They looked unmoored, though, across that run, fast and ruthless and ripping cardinal-red hearts out of chests. Down 23-14 after Stanford freshman Andrej Stojakovic hit a scrunch-up-your-nose-nasty step-back jumper, Enfield called a timeout, only for USC (9-15, 3-10 in Pac-12) to miss two jumpers before one of the more discombobulated offensive possessions of the year.
Visibly confused at the top of the arc as a play broke down, freshman Collier attempted to set an on-ball screen for Ellis that would’ve directed him right into the path of a posting-up Joshua Morgan. Morgan, subsequently, tried to set a screen for Ellis, only to be called for a moving pick.
Stojakovic hit another triple on the other end as Collier didn’t close out. Assistant coach Eric Mobley flung his hands on the bench. Collier traveled. Stojakovic drained another and bounded downcourt with his tongue out. Collier clapped his hands and threw a dirty glance in the direction of teammate DJ Rodman. The snowball picked up speed.
Up 29-14, Stanford (12-11, 7-6 in Pac-12) scored 11 more without an answer.
This is a group ripe with talent, enough that the tournament seemed like an inevitability before the season and not a fading last-gasp hope a few months earlier. This is a group with heart, Ellis taking a moment postgame to lament the hours of work put in this summer, the grind not yielding anywhere close to an expected end result.
“Just feel like, this whole season’s come down to us not doing the little things,” Ellis said postgame.
His words were written in the numbers. USC has had constant issues with taking care of the ball; they turned it over 12 times in the first half. They’ve had constant issues with free throws, shooting sub-70% on the year; they went 10-for-21 from the line against Stanford. They’ve had constant issues with rebounding; Stanford won the battle on the glass 41-25. They’ve had constant issues with closing out on shooters; Stanford drained a program-record 19 threes.
“We just didn’t play well enough defensively,” Enfield said postgame. “And it is disappointing. And so that’s on us, on me as a head coach. We’re not going to start pointing fingers.”
Ellis, though, deflected back onto players postgame when asked if he felt the group was still buying into the coaching staff’s messaging.
“They’re doing their best,” Ellis said. “I mean, it’s up – Coach Andy can draw up all the plays he wants, he can be the best coach, but if we don’t go out there and perform, that’s not on him.”
Collier led USC with 18 points and a couple threes, but shot 8-of-15 from the free throw line. Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud (42) torched USC with 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting, with Stojakovic adding 20 and Palos Verdes product Benny Gealer hitting four huge triples.
There’s a message on competing, Ellis said postgame, that Enfield repeats constantly to players: It’s you or him.
Him won, thoroughly and demonstratively, on Saturday night.
Stanford, which is 130-131 all-time against the Trojans, shot 56% (36 of 64) from the field, made 50% from three-point range and mauled the Trojans on the boards 41-25.
USC returns home to play Thursday against Utah.
ocregister.com
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Stewart Mandel’s (The Athletic) Mailbag Should we read anything into Chip Kelly bolting UCLA to be the offensive coordinator at Ohio State? DeShaun Foster as UCLA’s head coach? Mandel — I was surprised by how many people were surprised that Kelly made the move he did. And not just because it had been obvious for some time he was trying to get out. The man always has had a contrarian bent. Remember, in 2017, Florida fans all but assumed his arrival was a done deal, only for Kelly to choose UCLA instead. Less than a decade removed from winning two national championships in… Read more »
Oh, just suck it, little bears. This is like watching the Hindenberg going down over and over🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣!
After I read Mandel’s take, I rethought the hire of Foster. I think it is a lot better hire than I originally thought. Look at it from a different point of view. UCLA In 2024 was going to be a 6-6 team at best, even with Chip. Look at their schedule. @HI (certain W), Indiana (50-50), @LSU (loss), Oregon (loss), @ Penn State (loss), Minnesota (50-50), @ Rutgers (50-50), @NEB (loss), Iowa (loss), @WA (loss), USC (loss), Fresno State (50-50). UCLA could easily be a 3-9 team next year. I know some will say the SC game is 50-50, fair… Read more »
I’ve always thought Foster was a good choice for UCLA in this tough situation. Jarmond’s amazingly quick hiring decision reflected the Bruins’ long-term familiarity with Foster’s on-staff strengths, and they needed someone supported broadly from within, affordable, and immediately available to lead UCLA — who really loves the program, something Choc Chip Kelly never did. As stated by Bruin footballer Anthony Barr (the one who wrecked Matt Barkley’s shoulder on that blindside sack): Barr (UCLA AA and Lott Trophy winner), currently with the Vikings — “I think it’s of the utmost importance right now with the direction of the program… Read more »
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Ranking USC football’s 11 transfer portal additions, evaluating where help is still needed per Antonio Morales (The Athletic) 1. LB Easton Mascarenas-Arnold (ORE ST) — USC’s LB play has been subpar for several years and has become only more concerning in the past two seasons. So adding Mascarenas-Arnold, who was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection last season, is a significant addition. USC returns Mason Cobb, Eric Gentry and Raesjon Davis at LB, but it seems unlikely that any of them will prevent Mascarenas-Arnold from stepping right into the starting lineup. USC hasn’t had a true off-ball LB who made an All-Pac-12 team since Cam Smith in 2018. 2.… Read more »
Today, 321 prospects were invited to attend the 2024 NFL Combine (Feb 26 – Mar 4), led by MICH with 18 invites.
Six other programs had 10 or more players invited — UW (13), FSU (12), TEXAS (11), GA (11), ALA (10) and PSU (10).
Eight Trojans got the nod:
QB Caleb Williams
RB Marshawn Lloyd
WR Brenden Rice
WR Tahj Washington
OL Jarrett Kingston
DL Solomon Byrd
S Calen Bullock
CB Christian Roland-Wallace
2024 NFL Draft Big Board: Who are the top 100 prospects in this year’s class?
1 QB Caleb Williams
68 S Calen Bullock
97 WR Brenden Rice
Dane Brugler/The Athletic
I was thinking about Ucla’s recent coaching hire and wondering if the giggles around the internet are going to turn into guffaws. I remember the last time they (Ucla) hired a former player as their coach. Does this mean we could see the all white surrendering uniforms next season? Can we get another billboard from Westwood? Someone pointed out that USC was one interception away from being 0-2 against Ucla in the Lincoln Riley era. But they missed the fact that USC went out and found experienced coaches to fix that situation. Ucla went out and found an inexperienced former… Read more »
Rialto, Spot on. Bill Plascke made the point in his article today that Foster was hired primarily to keep the talent on the team together. Foster is well known and well liked by the team. Allen is probably correct that if the UCLA AD had gone “interim” for 2024, he would risk losing a lot of the talent on the team transferring out AND he would have risked destroying two straight recruiting cycles (2024 – which is already destroyed – and 2025). My guess is Foster was also hired to help with fund raising as he is well known and… Read more »
Football is such an odd game. The 49ers lost the Super Bowl on two freak plays. A blocked extra point (extremely rare) and a punt hitting the ankle of a 49er blocking for the return (even rarer than the blocked extra point). The odds of both those events happening in ONE game are so low I think them incalculable. I can recall only two other games decided by freak plays: the SC victory over ASU in the Covid season (that took three very rare plays) and the SC victory over Texas Sam’s last year (that took at least two maybe… Read more »
RJJ, what would have happened if the Chiefs had not fumbled at the 5 and Mahomes had thrown in pick. You are right though, those were freak plays, those only happen a few times a season in the league. I thought the first half play was marginal on offense with both teams and the number of dumb penalties was beyond where pros should have been by that time of the season and in the biggest game of the year.
Steveg, I agree that many plays contribute to the outcome. I have seen replays showing a couple of blatant holds that were not called. But missed calls, fumbles and interceptions are regular parts of the game. My interest is in the “freak” plays. I cannot recall the last time I saw a blocked extra point in the pros – I have seen missed ones (the most hilarious was last year’s Cowboy kicker who missed every one of his extra points in the playoffs – every one of them!), but not blocked ones. Did not see one one blocked extra point… Read more »
Who would have ever predicted that both Lincoln Riley and Andy Enfield would enter their 2023-24 seasons with up-and-coming, talented teams with big names only to flop all over the place, drawing huge criticism from fanbases, media, and even coaches in the case of LR. LR fired half his staff and honestly seems to have realized that he had to change his approach to coaching at USC. As a result, he has a lot of Trojans back on his bandwagon heading into a brutal 2024 season. Where Enfield plans to go from here seems more complicated. While expectations for USC… Read more »
I think that depends on the terms of his new contract. I could not find them on line. It goes through 2028, four more years. My guess is that Cohen will give him one more year, because SC men’s BB is not the flagship at SC. It can stink for a couple of years without hurting the bottom line, particularly as the women’s program is doing so well. As this men’s team plain stinks, (SC looks to finish last in the league and miss the PAC tournament), my guess is the talent bolts. I expect Cohen will keep Andy for… Read more »
Another solid win for the women’s BB team last night as Juju Watkins goes for 32 in the win over Arizona. Not that I’ve followed women’s BB that much over the years, I haven’t seen a talent like Juju since Cheryl Miller played at USC. Cheryl came to USC a few years after I graduated with an MBA and I attended one of her first games she played for SC. Her jump shot was amazing and during her playing career put women’s basketball on the road map. Juju is a generational talent that’s bringing national attention to women’s college basketball… Read more »
DeShaun Foster is the new Bruin football HC. Not surprised. Players enthusiastically wanted Foster, assuming that should be a major factor, or any factor at all ESPN — UCLA hired DeShaun Foster as the school’s next head coach on Monday. Foster, who had taken a job as the Las Vegas Raiders’ running backs coach in recent weeks, is in the UCLA HOF as a player, is a longtime assistant coach, and played seven seasons in the NFL. Foster impressed the UCLA brass with his ability to lead and command a room. Per sources, school officials believe Foster can resonate in the Los Angeles… Read more »
It’s a big jump in responsibilities from a career RB coach to Head Coach in the BIG 10. The Ruins get him cheap and he may stop the bleed of talent in the locker room. Now he has to find a staff and quick. UCLA football will be in the cellar of the BIG for a long time.
And who has more authority, an associate head coach or an assistant head coach? What is the difference in responsibilities?
Allen, Big gamble, don’ t you think? Foster has never held a HC position before, and never even held a co-coordinator position before; entire career is as a RB coach. Talk about OTJ training. I could not find the contract terms. If this is a five year contract at say $5.0 Mil or more a year with standard buy out, UCLA is not only taking a huge risk, but has insured itself 3 years of mediocrity. My guess is he was hired to prevent the present talent on the team leaving. And, if he was hired, it meant the new… Read more »
UCLA absolutely did not want to go the interim coach route. Smart in this situation, I believe. Personally, I think this is a good hire for UCLA and I believe they would have jeopardized themselves as a lame-duck program for all of 2024 had they refused to name a permanent hire now. They needed a true Bruin-type guy after getting messed over by detached, arrogant Chip Kelly big-time. All hires are a gamble. Foster has no HCing experience, but the same can be said for every coach at one time or another. Foster was the guy they (especially all the… Read more »
I can say with great confidence that USC has 4 coaches on the defensive side that are more qualified to be a head coach than Foster.And I am also very glad D Anton Lynn is not their new head coach.
“Qualified” is an interesting choice of adjectives. Chip Kelly was as qualified as they come. So were coaches like Jim Mora and Rick Neuheisel. None of them worked out at UCLA despite extensive coaching searches. UCLA’s best football coaches in my lifetime have been Tommy Prothro, Dick Vermeil and Terry Donahue. Only Prothro had been a prior HC. Neither Vermeil nor Donahue had ever been a HFC for one second before they took over at UCLA. Your point is well taken PN4SC. But I’m just saying that “being qualified” is no guarantee of anything other than total mediocrity, as proven… Read more »
This hire makes me very happy. This is a huge leap of faith, that Foster can transition from position coach to head coach. And being a great player at a school doesn’t translate to success at coaching, any more than it does an AD. Remember how well Pat Haden/Lynn Swann worked out?
The next few years will dictate if this was a good move or not for fucla, but it sure looks like Fat Chip really screwed the bruins.
This is so late in the day to find good position coaches. It will be interesting to see if D-Shaun can recruit a few decent coaches to join him. It’s really going to be a tough go for the ruins to compete week after week in a new conference.
Indeed, Foster’s ability to smartly stock his staff will be a big sign showing how ready he is for this immediate huge upgrade for him. Watching who comes aboard, and who stays, should be telling.
But even LR had to significantly retool his staff after year two. Go LR!
UCLA’s got their new coach. Not sure what to think.
I have been an Enfield defender in the past, and he has enjoyed a lot of success. But the utter disaster this season has me thinking he has outlived his usefulness and is hurting the program. I don’t know anything about Basketball, but put me in charge, and I can keep us within 30 points of Stanford by halftime. I can coach the team with a 15 point lead at halftime vs. Long Beach, and get us into overtime, before losing. I hope at the end of the season, AD Cohen has the resources and resolve to thank Andy for… Read more »
PH4SC, Andy cannot recover from this year. He got the #1 recruit in the nation AND Bronny James PLUS most the team that made the tournament last year. Women’s BB got the #1 recruit in the nation and look at that team! Don’t you think Collins is looking at JuJu and wondering what happened to him? If you had NBA aspirations, would you let Andy coach you? I would think Collins goes to the NBA OR transfers after this year. I would expect Bronny will do the same. No chance Andy gets any more elite talent in the program. I… Read more »
I agree 100%. I don’t see how Andy recovers from this.
Tough decision for this guy, Collins, whoever the hell he is. What’s he play, quartermiester?
SC just doesn’t seem to put much of anything together and play as a team. Is that the coaching or the players? Probably some of both. Going into the season, I thought SC would have a shot at the NCAA tournament. Ellis and Morgan were returning, Collier,the #1 rated recruit was coming in as well as Bronny James and transfer DJ Rodman. Turnovers, lack of rebounding and poor free throwing have plagued USC all season. I hope Enfield experiments with different starting lineups by bringing some guys off the bench to see if they can play better as a team.… Read more »
One of the better Stuper Bowls I’ve seen in a while. As for SC Basketball is Enfield going to be around much longer? I don’t think his players are his players, but still he has been the mediocre coach that makes previous athletic directors look bad.