USC’s defense is definitely better. It’s offense looks worse.
That is the first reaction right now following spring practice, which could change with more transfer portal activity ahead.
The question is whether the defense’s improvement offsets the offense’s inexperience/issues? What I like are the Oregon State defensive transfers (Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, Akili Arnold) and Mississippi State cornerback transfer (DeCarlos Nicholson). What I don’t like yet is the offensive line and consistent big-play capacity.
- Eric Musselman is trying to complete his coaching staff with an assistant coach who has ties to Los Angeles. It makes sense since none of his current four assistants have any recruiting ties to Southern California.
Among those contacted were Cal State Fullerton coach Dedrique Taylor and Eugene “Pooh” Jeter, who is assistant general manager for the NBA G League team in Portland. Musselman and Taylor worked together at Arizona State.
Former Washington assistant coach Quincy Pondexter was also a candidate until Musselman decided he needed a coach with L.A. ties.
He should consider hiring Inglewood coach Jason Crowe Sr., whose son is one of the top 10 players in the nation for the Class of 2026. The Mobley method!
- This shows the juxtaposition of what is happening at USC. You have seniors taking their graduation photos in front of Doheny Library in the background and student prostestors camped across the hedge in Alumni Park.
InsideUSC with Scott Wolf 
Well, the defense is usually ahead of the offense when they start out each year
Seems the police presence at Yucla yesterday did not deter the fighting, and it looks as if the Israel loyalists got the better of the Palestinian supporting clan as they sneaked onto the Yucla campus late at night prepared to fight
LikeLike
One thing that separated the U.S. from most other countries is (was?) how most citizens allowed dissent without utilizing the ‘heckler veto’ trick so prevalent today
LikeLike
What is a ” heckler veto ” ?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pray tell Jacque Cousteau ‘bateau’ – I too echo buddhakarma’s query….what is the ‘heckler veto’ trick?
LikeLike
Bitin- This campus unrest thing has got me really worried about my election chances
Stump- Don’t blow a head gasket, Bide
LikeLike
The woman taking the photo will amount to something, the trash on the lawn, covering their faces like cowards, will just be Soros bought paid agitators until the useful idiots are no longer useful to him and his ilk. And I would bet most, if not all, aren’t even students at USC.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bitin: Hey ‘Holy One’ is that what you call yourself- only kidding! Actually, you could have run your own ‘Charm School I’m sure
Stump: Yep!
LikeLike
The whole ‘bloody’ thing is worrisome as once again another INCIDENT becomes a ‘black-or-white’ dea-l pro-Israel vs anti-Israel vs neutral-Israel
LikeLike
Scooter,
Why did SC even let these loony tunes on campus to cause destruction and mayhem? It will cost money to haul off the garbage, embarrassement, and no purpose behind this crap. SC should have told them no, to their protest on campus. They should have told them to go over to ucla. Horrible.
LikeLike
Some persons planned this campus unrest problem wrongly- don’t pitch a tent, just come every day with signs and such from 9 to 5 or whaever, leave, and return the following day
LikeLike
The goal is not to inform others of the plight of people living in Gaza. It is not to get the universities to divest from Israel. The goal is to foment chaos and disorder. They want to resurrect the George Floyd BLM riots of a few years ago with burning buildings, looting, and skirmishes with the police. A Marxist takeover requires violence and chaos and that is the goal. Consequently, you will not see any orderly protests with signs and 9 to 5 hours.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly right
LikeLike
A ‘score’ or more in the Yucla hospital, well it is L.A with a 10-million population so even if 1% are a little-looney (charitably) that is 100,000 folks who you probably don’t want to run into
LikeLike
Former Xavier PG Desmond Claude committed to the Trojans Thursday giving USC a smooth ball handler and consistent scorer. Claude spent the previous two seasons at Xavier. He won the Big East’s Most Improved Player award last year after averaging 16.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the Musketeers, who went 16-18 and played in the NIT. Claude shot 42.6 percent from the field, but only 23.9 percent from three-point range last season.
Claude drastically improved his scoring from his freshman year where he averaged 4.7 points per game. His rebounding and assists numbers also took a jump up from 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Claude’s assist-to-turnover ratio improved from 1.24 to 1.45 and his free-throw shooting improved from 57 percent to 74.4 percent as a sophomore.
Claude will likely start at point guard this upcoming season for USC. He’s the No. 41 overall prospect in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings and the No. 9 point guard. As a high school prospect out of Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut, Claude was the No. 101 ranked player in the 2022 recruiting class.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Post-Spring football evaluation– Who knows for sure about such things until the real games begin but SC does not appear to be any powerhouse with every ’24 game difficult to win
LikeLike
However, SC football with LSU to start and then later Michigan in the Big House would get my juices going if I were a footballer which fortunately I’m not
LikeLike
And looking over that Trojan home schedule nobody looks interesting except maybe Penn St in October and of course finishing up with Yucla (Rose Bowl is a pseudo SC home) and Neuter Dame
LikeLike
Football season in the air?– Well it is May with summer near and how summer always seems to go bye-bye more quickly than other seasons, and then it is September
LikeLike