LOS ANGELES — It was one moment of beautiful synergy that left as quickly as it came, a singular possession that set the stage for a few minutes of the best defensive effort USC had shown all season.
Down by six points at the Galen Center late in the first half on Wednesday night, after half-court probing collapsed the Trojans’ defense, Cal whipped the ball around the perimeter in a desperate hunt for an open man. Once. Twice. Three times. It was a desperate race against the sliding feet of USC defenders, a testament to the saying the ball moves faster than the man.
Except USC rotated as one, a hive mind finally in sync, a testament to the elite Pac-12 defenses built under Coach Andy Enfield in years past. And, after no open shooter was found, the Golden Bears’ Gus Larson finally drove and steamrolled right into the collapsing body of Kobe Johnson who drew a charge in a possession that electrified USC’s bench. It could have served as a play-by-play guide on how to defend a modern college basketball offense – and it spurred USC to close the half in a swarm, contesting and trapping with a fury like this group had not shown so far this season.
But it was fleeting. Too fleeting. And an afternoon later, Enfield sat in his office in a USC cap and jacket, telling it exactly like it was.
“Our team is not as good defensively this year,” Enfield told the Southern California News Group, “as it has been the last four years. And so – it’s frustrating at times.”
With every glimmer of defensive hope has come collapse. USC nearly handed away an eventual 82-74 win on a silver platter, all sense of urgency vanishing in the second half, perimeter defenders too often caught in no-man’s-land as Cal splashed a barrage of 3-pointers. For all of USC’s offensive issues with ball control and shot-making, defense has been this team’s greatest struggle during a 7-7 start, Enfield feels. As of Friday afternoon, they ranked 269th out of 362 Division I teams in opponent points per game and second-to-last in the Pac-12 in defensive rating.
On paper, there’s a good defensive unit here. Johnson and center Joshua Morgan are all-conference-level defenders. Bronny James might already be USC’s best one-on-one perimeter defender. Isaiah Collier has the size (6-foot-5, 210 pounds) to switch across a variety of positions.
But USC’s defensive depth is lacking, and improvement is needed from a variety of areas – a search that is staunchly influencing Enfield’s lineup decisions. After five games of starting energetic sophomore Vincent Iwuchukwu at center, Enfield turned back to Morgan on Wednesday, citing that he was “playing the best defender.” And USC is in a particularly difficult position with its backcourt, relying on Boogie Ellis and Collier to generate the majority of the Trojans’ offense but stuck with the reality that both struggle with their defensive limitations (Ellis with size, Collier with effort and attentiveness at the point of attack).
The solution might lie with James, who has seized Enfield’s trust so rapidly that he’s frequently been tabbed to close games despite having only a month of college basketball under his belt. James is still on a minutes restriction in recovery from heart surgery, a restriction Enfield called “week-to-week,” and it’s unlikely that he would ever move into a starting spot ahead of Ellis or Collier. But 25-plus minutes a night from James would help offset defensive limitations elsewhere on the floor.
“He’s a key part right now … we anticipate Bronny finishing a lot of games defensively for us,” Enfield said.
STANFORD (7-6, 2-1 Pac-12) AT USC (7-7, 1-2)
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: Galen Center
TV/radio: Pac-12 Network/790 AM