The USC Trojans men’s basketball program is a university team of basketball players that competes in the Pac-12 Conference. The conference is a part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. It represents the University of Southern California. The head of the team is Andy Enfield, who manages and coaches the Trojans. The USC Trojans are an all-time inter-college basketball competition. They boast to constitute 25 All-Americans, 14 league championships, one conference tournament title, 16 NCAA tournament appearances, and much more.
They have even scored somewhat around five Sweet Sixteen appearances, four Elite Eight appearances, and two Final Four appearances. The first-ever Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coaches include Sam Barry and four of his USC players. Jack Gardner, Alex Hannum, Tex Winter, and Bill Sharman along with him have been inducted into the tournament. In this blog post, we are going to discuss the team’s achievements and the latest highlights regarding the ground matches.
Where is USC Trojans Men’s Basketball?
The USC Trojans Men’s Basketball program is the university basketball squad that takes part in the Pacific Ten Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. It represents the University of Southern California on the court and is highly regarded as a talented ground team.
The program started playing the game in the Galen Center on the USC Campus in Los Angeles, California in November 2006. Before that, they had played for many years in the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
Men’s Basketball
The USC Trojans men’s basketball program is highly regarded as a difficult competitor. Tim Floyd is currently coaching and managing the team with other staff members such as Phil Johnson, Bob Cantu, Gib Arnold, Rob Brooks, Rudy Hackett, and Eric Perea. The first ever USC Trojans Men’s Basketball program was coached by Sam Barry from the year 1930 to 1950. However, he was interrupted by World War II service but his teams won the conference title three times.
Recent Success of the USC Trojans Men’s Basketball
USC made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2007 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. This is one of the greatest achievements the program has accomplished since 2001. During the 2007 to 2008 edition, USC featured guard O. J Mayo from Huntington High School. His talent and skills have made him earn several major rankings in the sports publication prospect of the 2007 recruiting class.
In the 2007-2008 tournament, the Trojans played with the Kansas Jayhawks and the Oklahoma Sooners at home. Additionally, they pulled in the Anaheim Classic in November 2007. Every night, USC played a team from the Big Ten, Big East, SEC, and Big 12.
In addition to that, they also played a return match against the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia. Likewise, the Trojans took part in the neutral floor games against the Memphis Tigers. The game was conducted at the Jimmy Valvano Classic in New York City. After the completion of the regular season and Pac-10 Tournament, USC Trojans Men’s basketball earned a #6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans were placed to face the #11 seed Kansas State Wildcats. The first match of the ground game made heavy sensations and gained significant media attention. This was mainly because of the match-up between college phenoms O.J. Mayo and Michael Beasley. According to Rivals.com, the USC Trojans Men’s Basketball secured 3rd rank in the nation during the 2008-2009 match. They further added that USC has received a commitment from point guard Percy Romeo Miller, Jr aka Lil Romeo, the son of Master P.
Evolution of the USC Trojans Men’s Basketball Coaches
Over the years, the USC Trojans men’s basketball team has gone through tremendous development and achievements. The following are the USC Trojans men’s basketball coaches who guided the team against conference competition. Before fielding the conference teams, USC Trojans men’s basketball was also managed by notable USC coaches such as Dean Cromwell (baseball) and Elmer “Gloomy Gus” Henderson (football).
Here is a list of all the coaches that led the team over the years:-
- Bill Hunter (1922)
- Les Turner (1923-27)
- Leo Calland (1928-29)
- Sam Barry (1930-41, 1946-50)
- Julie Bescos (1942)
- Ernie Holbrook (1943-44)
- Bobby Muth (1944-45)
- Forrest Twogood (1951-66)
- Bob Boyd (1967-79)
- Stan Morrison (1980-86)
- George Raveling (1987-94)
- Charlie Parker (1994-1996)
- Henry Bibby (1996-2004)
- Jim Saia (2004-05, temporary head coach)
- Tim Floyd (2004-07)
- Kevin O’Neill (2009–2013)
- Bob Cantu (2013, temporary head coach)
- Andy Enfield (2013–present)
The Sam Barry Era (1929–50)
Sam Barry has been a remarkable coach to the USC Trojans men’s basketball team. He was appointed as the coach of the football team when basketball head coach Leo Calland left USC in the summer of 1929. He sought to become the football head coach and athletic director of the University of Idaho. That is when the legendary USC football coach Howard Jones, went on a search to find a new assistant and a new basketball head coach. Jones thought of Sam Barry, one of his former assistants at the University of Iowa. Sam has always coached and trained the Hawkeye Basketball for seven consecutive years.
Luckily, He agreed to follow Jones West, once more joining his football staff while also looking after the basketball program. Barry trained and coached the USC Trojans men’s basketball team to come up stronger and gain significant value. However, during World War II, Barry left to join the Navy. The war had a great impact on team development and created drawbacks. But, he came back and again decided to coach the team in the year 1945. He kept his decision and training straight until he died in 1950. During this period, the team gained significant value and success with various winning championships. That is why the Sam Barry Era is famous across the world.
Recent News about the USC Trojan Men’s Basketball
The USC Trojans men’s basketball team was selected to finish second in the conference in the 2023-24 Pac-12 preseason poll of league media. Official announcements were made today regarding the polls i.e. on October 11. In the poll, USC received 264 points, including four first-place votes, second only to Arizona, anticipated to finish first with 303 points and 18 first-place votes. The rest of the predicted finish for the Pac-12 teams is as follows:-
- 3rd – UCLA (249, 4 first-place votes),
- 4th – Oregon (228)
- 5th – Colorado (210)
- 6th – Arizona State (148)
- 7th – Utah (139)
- 8th – Stanford (131)
- 9th – Washington (108)
- 10th – Washington State (94)
- 11th – California (67)
- 10th – Oregon State (42).
Latest Reports on the USC Trojans Men’s Basketball Team
The USC Trojans men’s basketball team reached 22-11 during the 2022-23 season. This also includes a 14-6 record in Pac-12, tied for second in the conference. USC also made it to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive edition.
The season was the Trojan’s fourth consecutive 20-win season, a record for back-to-back 20-win. In addition to that, USC has accomplished a combined 95 games in the past four seasons. It is tied for the sixth-most among Power 6 conference teams.
USC returns leading scorer and 2022-23 All-Pac-12 guard Boogie Ellis, as well as 2022-23 All-Pac-12 Defensive Team members Kobe Johnson and Joshua Morgan. In addition, it has added the No. 4 ranked recruiting class in the country which includes the consensus No. 1 overall player, guard Isaiah Collier, and graduate transfer DJ Rodman.
Yesterday, on 10 October 2023, Ellis and Collier were announced to the 2023-24 Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference First Team. Additionally, Johnson was named to the Second Team. This is the fifth consecutive season in which the Trojans have made the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team.
USC will start its season competing with Kansas State during a Hall of Fame Series game in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 6. The game will start at 7 p.m. and can be carried on TNT.
The USC Trojans men’s basketball team will come to compete with CSU Bakersfield at the Galen Center on November 9. The game will start at 6 p.m. and will air on the Pac-12 Network.
Conclusion
The USC Trojans men’s basketball team has gone through swift changes of events and challenges over the years. Now, the team stands as one of the most prevalent basketball teams to play various ground tournaments. In this blog post, we have discussed the evolution of the team, the latest reports, and highlights.
FAQs
USC Trojans Men’s Basketball official Twitter ID is (@USC_Hoops) / X. You can visit their page on the Twitter app and go through their profile. You will find the latest news, reports, and updates on their page regularly.
The USC Trojans men’s basketball ranking is 9 in the PAC-12. You can check the highlights from their Twitter, Instagram, or search on Google.
The USC Trojans men’s basketball team plays inter-college championships and represents the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.
Percy Romeo Miller also known as Romeo (formerly Lil’ Romeo), is an American rapper, actor, and television personality who played for the team.
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