Why we will do pretty well this season

[kingofnerf]

Here's why I think we will be pretty good this year:

• We had good veteran player leadership with Thornwell/Notice/McKie during the 2016-17 season
  
• We seem to have the same combination this year with Reese/Stevenson/Martin
  
• The new guys seem to retain things and play well and that is boosting the confidence of the rest of the team
  
• Frank seems excited about coaching again because he knows he has good players this year
  

I think we will be ranked by the end of December if we keep playing well.

 

[kingofnerf]

[No message]

 

[doublea1971]

Jacobi Wright's play on Sunday certainly didn't hurt our chances of having a good year.  Frank says it well in this article ("played like a seasoned veteran")...

'Cocks looking pretty darned good so far on the season.  Defense could be downright suffocating at times.  Offense was moving ball well and shooting well overall, despite some poor shooting performances from a few key members of the team.  Get the bigs to start participating well, and we've got ourselves a squad this year.

 

[kingofnerf]

I was not able to watch the Ryder game, but we had 3 guys in double figures and 29-points off the bench. 

We finally got this guy back:

Bryant himself with 17, Cousinard with 13 and Stevenson with 10.

Frank remains very confident as a coach.

This feels like the 20-win season period way too many years ago, with the exception being Frank is not completely frustrated with the team for doing what they want to in games like he was back then.  He knows he has good players this year.

He's never been this positive before.

 

[Gary]

Now that we have a full roster available, we'll be able to judge the team better.   I believe this is certainly the deepest team Frank has had at USC.  I can't recall one with more depth.   It remains to be seen whether that will result in wins, but this team gives Frank options as to who he wants to play at a given time.   I have been pleased, more or less, with everyone who has played for us thus far.  I don't remember thinking during any  of the games that I wish Frank would replace a particular player.   My biggest concern right now is that Minott and Benson have played very little, and I'm concerned one  or both of them might transfer, which I hope does not happen.  We will need both of them next season, and maybe this season as well.   Chico isn't playing much and that is also a concern, but given the perimeter players we'll be losing for next season, he should get plenty of minutes then.

Right now, the biggest problem I see is on offense with scoring from our bigs.   I think that has to improve for us to reach our potential. Leveque and Wilson are the only bigs who are not freshmen, so I'll have to be patient with  that.  I've been happy with our defense.  Looking forward to the game at Coastal.  

 

[markymark550]

We have the potential to be a really good team at the end of the year. I'm tempering my enthusiasm and expectations until I see how we do against the P5 opponents. Buying in to some of our previous teams has me snakebit and more wary this year.

Things that need to improve are cutting down on the turnovers (I think we're averaging about 17 a game) and getting better at the FT line. Outside of Stevenson, everyone on the team has room to improve on that.

 

[kingofnerf]

I have my ticket for the Georgetown game on Sunday afternoon at the CLA.  Not many seats left.

It looks like it may be sold out before then, especially if we beat Coastal plus the Georgetown legacy and the star power of head coach Patrick Ewing.

That is pretty good for a 2:00 pm tip-off on a Sunday.

 

[doublea1971]

We have the potential to be a really good team at the end of the year. I'm tempering my enthusiasm and expectations until I see how we do against the P5 opponents. Buying in to some of our previous teams has me snakebit and more wary this year.

Things that need to improve are cutting down on the turnovers (I think we're averaging about 17 a game) and getting better at the FT line. Outside of Stevenson, everyone on the team has room to improve on that.

I agree with your points of emphasis here @markymark550.  I would add that our bigs need to learn to draw more fouls & create those opportunities at the FT line (where, as you note, we can stand to improve).  

If we can, as a team, get our FTs per game up to a decent 16-18/game, then I think we'll be competitive in each and every game.  As it stands right now, we're reliant upon the outside shooting of Stevenson and Reece to make up some of our deficits when we get behind.  I'm happy to see those guys taking shots (and hitting), but we need to be certain that we're taking care of the small things NEAR the basket instead of hoping that the streaky-ness of both shooters offsets one another on any given night.  

What happens when Reece AND Stevenson can't buy a bucket from behind the arc?  Do we simply go down without a whimper?  I argue that if we improve on the volume of FTs attempted that the volume we make will also improve AND our competitiveness in each game will improve as well.

 

[kingofnerf]

I think we still don't have that guy like Sin who could jump through the trees around the rim and either score or draw the foul.

That seems to be a rare player as the years have passed and you have to give Sin credit where credit is due.  Even back then, there was never a guarantee the refs were going to call a foul.  I don't think some of them liked Frank putting a the game on them when we weren't good in other areas.

Wildens seems pretty solid on his FT shooting, too.  We'll be okay if we can keep consistently out-rebounding the other team, I guess.

I guess we will see what happens once conference play begins in January.

 

[Gary]

IMO, this is the deepest and most talented team Frank has had at USC, including the Final Four team.   That does not mean this team will make it to the Final Four, just that I think there is more talent on this team than there was on that one.     Couisnard and Bryant have not played their best yet.   Reese and Stevenson have been streaky with their shooting.  The bigs are starting to come around a little bit.  Leveque and Wilson are the most experienced bigs and they both played well against Georgetown.  Gray, Minott, and Woodley are all talented players, but they are freshmen, so they will play better as they get more experience.  I'm very excited about this team.  The three true freshmen are all talented and have all made early contributions in games.    I have no idea how many games we will win.  The SEC is really good this year.  Nobody is talking about USC at this point.  But, if we keep winning, we'll get noticed.   I can hardly wait for the next game.