USC men’s basketball may look loaded on paper, but Eric Musselman is still in the early stages of figuring out what this team actually is.
The Trojans have talent. That part is obvious.
What matters now is whether all of it can be stitched together into something cohesive, and Musselman made clear that chemistry and leadership are going to drive that process. In his conversation with USC athletics, he pointed to Rodney Rice and Jacob Cofie as two players already setting the tone.
"We're super excited with the leadership that Rodney Rice and Jacob Cofie have provided. Both of them have stepped up on the floor, but more importantly, they've stepped up from a leadership standpoint.
That's been great to see," Musselman said. "As for Alijah Arenas' growth, he got a real taste of what it takes to be successful in the Big Ten last year, which was good for him because he could have spent last year in high school.
Instead, he got the benefit of practicing, playing and observing Big Ten basketball, and he's much further ahead today than he would have been coming in as a freshman. He understands the expectations and our schemes, so we hope that it really benefits him.
From an identity standpoint, we're far from creating an identity because we've practiced without Eric Reibe, KJ Lewis and Aaron Hunkin-Claytor. Our identity is going to be evolving all the way through November."
That last part is the real story here. USC isn’t finished being built. Musselman is still waiting to see the full group together, and that means the Trojans’ identity is a moving target for now.
Alijah Arenas is part of that development too. Musselman said last season gave him a head start, even though he could have stayed in high school. Instead, Arenas got a year of practice, games and observation in Big Ten basketball, and that experience has already put him ahead of where he would have been as a freshman.
For now, USC’s biggest challenge isn’t finding talent. It’s turning a roster full of individual pieces into one functioning unit.
With Eric Reibe, KJ Lewis and Aaron Hunkin-Claytor still not having practiced on court with their teammates, Musselman’s team is still in the middle of that process. The hope is that once everyone is finally sharing the floor, the Trojans’ growth can really start to show.
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