The Future of USC Basketball
By Jeff Platt
The first part of the Trojans’ off-season has been pretty good so far.
The LA Times last week said Forward Davon Jefferson would stay at USC for his sophomore season…Forward Taj Gibson said at the end-of-the-year basketball banquet that he would stay for his junior season (although some reports have said Taj is wavering on that decision and will at least test the NBA Draft waters without an agent).
We haven’t heard anything at all from freshman phenom O.J. Mayo, which is probably a bad thing. All signs indicate he will probably head to the pros.
So let’s take a look at USC’s depth chart for the 2008-2009 season:
PG: Demar Derozan probably gets the nod here—much as O.J. Mayo did in his freshman season. This is not to say Derozan will handle the ball every single time down the court. Look for him and Hackett to split the true point guard duties when they are both on the floor. Angelo Johnson had a great year as ‘SC’s 6th man at the backup PG spot. Ryan Wetherell and Lil’ Romeo will probably average anywhere from 3-5 minutes per game. (That just sounds funny talking about Lil’ Romeo as your backup point guard!!)
SG: Dwight Lewis will start at this spot again next season for sure. The coaches are very high on Lewis, and look for him to continue to improve his overall scoring ability in his junior season. A (hopefully) healthy Marcus Simmons will see a LOT of playing time this season as well. He really can provide a spark on the defensive end.
SF: Daniel Hackett starts here. But like I said earlier, the Hackett/Lewis/Derozan combo will swap through these three positions constantly depending on matchups. Incoming freshman Malik Story might see a little time off the bench here.
PF: This is where Davon Jefferson will start for the whole season. Keith Wilkinson provides 15 solid minutes a game of backup work in this spot.
C: Taj Gibson starts at the center spot if he comes back to school. Mamadou Diarra will come off the bench (here’s another player the coaches are incredibly high on—he has a very unique skill set for a big man)
So here’s your lineup….
PG: Derozan/Johnson/Wetherell/Lil’ Romeo
SG: Lewis/Simmons
SF: Hackett/Story
PF: Jefferson/Wilkinson
C: Gibson/Diarra
With this lineup…you can see a legitimate 9-10 man rotation forming, and this is a VERY CLEAR top-25 team, with a real shot at the Pac-10 Title. If by some miracle OJ Mayo comes back…hello Final Four!!!
Thx for reading
-Jeff
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