SAN DIEGO — After last year’s March Madness bid fell flat against Michigan State, as Andy Enfield’s offense ground to a sputtering halt in the first round of the NCAA tourney with a scant lack of perimeter buckets, the USC coaching staff’s messaging to Kobe Johnson was simple.
We need you to be a scorer.
To that effect, at least. Because that’s what they told Johnson before his sophomore season, seeing the outlines of a premier shot-creator in a prototypical 6-foot-6 frame; it materialized at times, but never quite took, in Johnson’s eyes. His summer became about honing his ball-handling and his pull-up jumper, determined to show himself he was more than just a stopper.
“My confidence right now is at an all-time high,” Johnson told the Southern California News Group in October, “and I don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.”
The all-around game has further grown in his junior year, the last year Johnson will play at USC if he’s satisfied, a blur of limbs who makes the simple art of throwing a perimeter pass difficult. But the offense, that desire to expand his game, has come and gone; he’s averaging 11.4 points a night on 40% from the floor and just 28.2% from 3-point range.
His offensive consistency will be a major key to the rest of USC’s season, with Pac-12 play kicking off Thursday night against Oregon (8-3). And amid a shaky 6-5 start, let’s expand on some of the most pressing questions for the Trojans (6-5) as the conference schedule gets underway.
Can shot-creators outside of Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Collier step up?
USC’s 79-59 victory over Alabama State last week was an important step, even if it was a victory against a weaker opponent. Boogie Ellis, USC’s top scorer, was pulled after just 11 minutes of play with a left hip contusion – and the Trojans still were able to stabilize offensively, points coming from sources up and down the roster.
Through 11 games thus far, though, USC has been done in largely by two interconnected concepts: a struggle to build offensive flow and limit turnovers, and consistent perimeter shot creation outside of Ellis. Freshman point guard Isaiah Collier is making steady strides in decision-making, but USC desperately needs another source of consistent offense within Enfield’s perimeter-heavy system. The most likely candidate is Johnson, who is a better shooter and scorer than he’s demonstrated thus far. Sophomore Oziyah Sellers is needed, too, to provide more of a spark off the bench.
And then there’s Bronny James, too. Which leads to …
What should USC expect out of James?
Take a breath, here. No, seriously. Inhale. Exhale. Now accept this: James was never going to put up dominant scoring numbers on this USC team.
Part of it is the needed recovery time from, you know, heart surgery. But as said by radio host Big Boy – father of former Sierra Canyon teammate Jayden Alexander – James was “a star that knew how to play team ball in high school.” His best profile to contribute, as a Trojan, would be as a 3-and-D guard who could occasionally create his own shots in transition and pick-and-rolls.
Still, though, he hasn’t quite fit that profile through three games since a much-hyped return. James has averaged five points per game, shooting 33% from the floor; he’s been solid defensively, but the offense has been slower. Once he’s fully in game shape, USC needs him to be more assertive as a scorer and take closer to 10 shots per night.
Who will assert themselves in the big-man rotation?
As Enfield told it, in USC’s loss to Oklahoma in late November, big Vincent Iwuchukwu finished an and-one – and promptly shot an air-ball because he “got too excited.”
“He has to be able to keep that energy going,” Enfield said, “and be able to control it.”
When Iwuchukwu is finishing around the rim and playing within himself, it unlocks a new dimension to this USC team. But his impact has wavered game-to-game, and Enfield has experimented with various lineups in search of a consistent presence in the paint. Senior center Joshua Morgan has played fewer minutes than he did last year; sophomore Kijani Wright has been solid but not particularly effective as a shot-blocker; freshman Arrinten Page offers some floor-spacing upside but is raw. USC will need to establish a stable rotation come conference play.