USC’s first game is today against New Mexico State at Galen Center. Notably, the Trojans will be without star junior guard JuJu Watkins and several key players from their last season. Sophomore guard Kennedy Smith is the only returner from last year’s starting lineup.
Despite losing players to the transfer portal and graduation, Gottlieb expects USC to compete at the highest level.
“It’s not a schedule that’s designed to win every non-conference game by an average of 40 points, right?” Gottlieb asked. “It’s a non-conference schedule that’s designed to put us on the biggest stages.”
The Trojans will have a limited time to get out any preseason jitters before they face ranked opponents. In November, they’ll face three top 15 opponents, but Gottlieb doesn’t want them to harp on any results.
“It’s the hardest schedule in the country. So any one game can’t set anyone anything right. We have to be nimble, we have to be resilient, we have to be competitive, no matter what the first game looks like,” Gottlieb said. “And going forward, there’s just a new challenge in front of us every day, and that’s exciting.”
Gottlieb is certainly right about how there will be a challenge everyday. USC is scheduled to play eight ranked teams on top of playing in arguably the hardest conference for women’s basketball, the Big Ten.
“I took the job here to build the preeminent program in women’s college basketball,” Gottlieb said. “We have a long way to go, but you certainly can’t get there if you’re unwilling to play on the biggest stages against the biggest competition.”
While it’s true that top programs must go head-to–head with other elite teams, that might do more harm than good for USC. With an almost entirely new starting five and no Watkins, it’s unlikely that they can contend at such a high level. Still, Gottlieb isn’t backing down.
“I think this team is highly capable, highly capable,” Gottlieb said. “l don’t think we would learn enough if we scheduled just to win games.”
A looming question surrounding the team is about their frontcourt and what their starting roster will look like. USC lost their frontcourt starters to the WNBA – forward Kiki Iriafen to the Washington Mystics and center Rayah Marshall was drafted to the Connecticut Sun. Gottlieb isn’t setting her starting five in stone yet, but she knows that versatility will contribute to this team’s success.
Luckily, she’s able to adjust her roster accordingly as she’s never been a coach to have a specific style and instead plays to her players strengths. Gottlieb emphasized that she instead has philosophies about the way the game is played, but never a set system.
“Everyone that steps on the floor for us has got to give a ton of effort on the defensive end and play with pace on the offensive end,” Gottlieb said.
For Smith, Gottlieb emphasized that she has to get the ball in her hands more. Especially with Watkins gone and freshman guard Jazzy Davidson’s inexperience at the college level, Smith will be taking on a bigger role.
“I think it’s going to be a real challenge,” Gottlieb said. “We want to be able to win a conference championship and a conference tournament championship and NCAA championship.”
Only time will tell if Gottlieb’s ceiling is realistic. The first real look at the team will be apparent tonight when they take on New Mexico State at Galen Center.