USC men’s basketball returned from the Venice Beach concrete to its familiar hardwood Monday afternoon. At Galen Center, they hosted several NBA scouts in a Pro Day-like environment.
“It wasn’t like a true Pro Day like we’ve had in the past where we actively promote it with NBA teams,” head coach Eric Musselman said. “It was more of a ‘we wanted to open the doors to you guys [media] knowing that we were going to have some other people in the gym.’”
While the exact number of NBA teams represented was unclear, USC supplied the plain-clothed scouts with height, weight and wingspan measurements for players. However, Musselman clarified that full-fledged Pro Day testing didn’t occur.
Noticeably, the faux Pro Day was incomplete without the team’s top scorers in junior guard Rodney Rice and graduate forward Chad Baker-Mazara.
Rice, in team-issued attire, and Baker-Mazara, in red practice gear, guided their teammates from the sideline while recovering from upper body injuries.
“I’m gonna call it neck stiffness for Chad, he had it during Friday’s practice as well and is day-to-day,” Musselman said. “Rodney is out for at least a month.”
Musselman revealed that Rice is sidelined with “some sort of” shoulder injury and has been out of practice for a week.
With both of these players sidelined, Musselman noted how going deep into the rotation can be reassuring.
“The good thing is when you have players out — without Alijiah, Rodney and Chad, that’s a big part of our nucleus — but it gives other players an opportunity to showcase what they can do,” Musselman said. “So I think we’re starting to see some clearly defined roles that could happen but could change based on productivity.
Newly-minted Trojan sophomore point guard Jordan Marsh, who is expected to be the team’s starting point guard, echoed Musselman’s sentiment.
“It’s not a good thing for our guys that are injured, but I see it as a stepping stone, in terms of stepping up and being the next player up to be a good point guard for this team and help us win,” Marsh said.
After eight weeks of limited offseason workouts, the Trojans are one week into their official preseason practice schedule, allowing Musselman and his crew to hold longer practices — up to 20 hours per week, with no more than four hours per day.
Initially focusing on two defensive coverages, the team has now implemented a third and will add on a fourth later in the week.
University of Virginia sophomore forward transfer Jacob Cofie said that practices at USC are significantly different from his year with the Cavaliers.
“I came from a program where we had one defensive coverage and that’s it,” Cofie said. “I’m learning all these new plays and that’s how it is in the NBA so I like that.”
Before practice started, Musselman showed the Major League Baseball standings to remind his players that, just like in basketball, every game counts — and a single result can determine whether a team reaches the postseason or goes home early.
Coach Musselman emphasized that his team’s pursuit of the ball has sharpened and the Trojans’ pace has clearly improved over the past two weeks. Throughout the two-hour practice, the words “opportunity” and “execution” echoed across the court, underscoring the day’s focus.
Even without two of the team’s leaders involved in the action, the energy and intensity was on a different level compared to a few weeks back, with intensity carrying through every drill and scrimmage.
Even a missed shot meant 10 pushups.
While it may have been easy to chalk up the Trojans’ heightened energy to the presence of scouts, the consistency of their effort suggested otherwise. This level of intensity looks like the new standard as USC gears up for its pair of exhibition games starting Oct. 18, with the regular season tipping off Nov. 3.