USC hits road to Auburn missing its summer magic
LOS ANGELES » Back in the summer air of Dubrovnik, Croatia, back when this USC team's unrealized potential was more of a hope than an unfortunate harbinger, Kobe Johnson leapt from a rocky outcrop and roared in glee.
“See ya!” he bellowed, plunging into crystal-clear water below after a threesecond drop, the rest of his teammates clapping and hollering from high above.
Much of this USC team dived from those rocks, then, back on their summer tour of Croatia, players and
Today: USC at Auburn, 10 a.m., ESPN
coaches soaring high amid an overseas showcase playing fast and free against international clubs. Offense flowed in those games, with freshman point guard Isaiah Collier hurtling himself downcourt with little abandon and wing Johnson pulling above-the-break off-thedribble threes without hesitation. Sure, they were rough around the edges in size and in timing, but they attacked as if they were, indeed, collectively cliff-diving into that sparkling Dubrovnik ocean.
“I think that kind of brought us together,” Johnson said in early October of the excursion. “Just, like, some of them facing their fears.”
Just nine games and a little over a month into USC's season, some of that joy — that offensive powder keg, pushing the break and pulling 3s and confident perimeter decision-making — appears left on those rocks in Dubrovnik. A loss to Long Beach State in overtime dropped these Trojans to 5-4 — they play at Auburn this morning — with their NCAA tournament future in early season doubt; ESPN's latest bracketology characterized USC as “on the bubble.”
Senior captain Boogie Ellis, who's averaged more than 21 points a game and shot better (46%) on 3-pointers, was nonetheless left to shoulder postgame blame for the Long Beach loss after passing up a shot to end regulation. Sophomore Vincent Iwuchukwu, who has become an irreplaceable big-man fixture in coach Andy Enfield's rotation, pointed the finger at himself and rattled off a laundry list of areas of self-improvement — rebounding, shot-blocking, ball control.
Collier has been overthinking in his mental processes on the court, the freshman point guard told the Southern California News Group, resulting in more turnovers than assists in his first few games.
After four games of starting the same finally-healthy lineup, Enfield mixed it up last Sunday — starting Iwuchukwu in place of senior Josh Morgan at center and Harrison Hornery in place of transfer DJ Rodman at forward.
“And we may do it again next week, we'll see,” Enfield said after the Long Beach State loss.
“There's not a lot of starters that have secured a spot right now because of our inconsistencies.”
Their last chance for a quality nonconference win — depending on how you feel about a season-opening victory against Kansas State — will come in their first true road game of the year at Auburn, these Trojans in true need of a statement. USC will have its hands full defensively with junior Johni Broome (15.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg), and needs to make good on unrealized offensive visions of consistent fast-break fury against a stout Auburn defense.