USC Morning Buzz: Off To Tulsa To Face SMU In NCAA Tournament

USC”s victory over Providence offered some good and bad decisions by Andy Enfield. He waited too long to drop the zone defense as USC fell behind by 15 points at halftime. But his decision to go with a bigger lineup paid off in the second half as the Trojans rallied.

The good news for USC was winning its 12th game this season after trailing by at least 10 points. The problem is that also means USC starts off games too slowly. That becomes a problem against quality teams.

And then there was this tweet during the game.

19 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Off To Tulsa To Face SMU In NCAA Tournament

  1. Jason McIntyre made up his own fake news to try and create a buzz for Fox Sports. All about ratings! Learning new tricks from Richard Madcow!

    • It’s not “fake news.” Odds are one of the two will declare for the NBA. Don’t think McIntyre is creating fake news. When Bennie played well this summer in the Drew League, there were rumblings he would declare early. The he got hurt.

      BTW: News you would rather not hear is not “fake news.” For example, Bennie and Metu telling people they will declare early is not “fake news”, because this was rumored before the season even started.

      Now, by comparison, a headline that said, for example “Scott Wolf is a competent and award-winning journalist” is most likely fake news.

  2. In respect, who is Jason McIntyre? I have never heard of him. Boatwright and Metu are not ready for the NBA. They would be second round picks. They need another year.

    • Metu would probably get picked because of his potential/upside. I don’t think there’s any way boatwright gets drafted. He’d end up in the same boat as Jacobs and jovanovich.

    • Julian Jacobs is better than both and the NBA shunned him altogether. Boatwright and Metu must stay put to improve their value and bulk up.

      • No, because, as they say, you can’t teach size.

        Basketball is lousy with 6’3″ guards. Unless you have freakish skills, you aren’t going far in the NBA. JuJu was a good college player. It isn’t enough to be a good college in the NBA.

        Bennie is close to 7 feet tall and can shoot from the outside. That will be enough to get teams’ attention. Metu is 6″11 and can run the floor. That will get teams’ attention. Not saying either will be drafted, but they each have a much better shot than JuJu, a 6’3″ guard who wasn’t an especially a good passer and didn’t have a three point shot, or Jovanavic, who played smaller than his height and who couldn’t run the floor.

        • Both are too thin. They need maturing to get bigger. Both get lost in the game. They lose focus and where they are supposed to be. They need more mental conditioning so they can focus on the entire game instead of spurts. That will come with maturity and playing time. Pros want to see if they can hang with better quality talent. Playing will show that.

          • Bennie essentially plays Durant’s position, had a similar body size coming out of college, and Durant wasn’t “too thin.” Not sure Bennie needs to bulk up as much as needing to prove that he can be more than a spot-up, situational three-point shooter. He needs to prove, at least to scouts that he can pass, rebound and play defense. Depending on what foreign players are available, I could see Bennie being a 2nd round pick, especially if USC keeps on advancing and if he can replicate the game the played yesterday, with a 24/7/3 stat line.

            Metu is the one with the most to lose leaving early. Bennie would do well staying another year, but I can still see him making an NBA squad. But I don’t see where Metu fits on an NBA team with the limited offensive moves he has.

    • 2nd round? Neither are in any 2nd round mock drafts. They’d be free agents, D-Leaguers. Both need polish.

  3. Nice come back after a shaky first half. Maybe this will give the team some needed confidence moving ahead.
    On another point, Andy Enfield could do a lot worse than hiring recently fired Lorenzo Romar to join Enfield’s staff. Romar wasn’t able to build his program at UDUB consistently, but he can sure recruit top players and that is what Enfield badly needs!

    • Wow. He was fired? He has the #1 player in the nation coming in. Don’t ask me how Romar continues to bring in high level recruits. I didn’t expect him to be fired.

    • If Enfield adds a coach, it should be a big man coach. We scout, project, recruit and develop guards well enough. Case in point, DeAnthony Melton.

      We don’t scout or recruit big men that well. If BB and Metu leave, the only big man on the roster will any experience will be Rakocevic.

  4. Where do you find these sources?

    You name a college football preseason publication and 9 out 10 people couldn’t say they knew who the “expert” was.

    Also, this is 2000. I mean 2007. Oops I mean it’s 2017….These players are all about being on Sports Center and the NBA is the first and last thing they want to be. They should have their minds on SMU and this basketball season. But Boatwright was very playful last night and was probably being colorful for everyone at the moment. No big deal. They’re both dreaming. Back to buisness and SMU.

    Jason McIntyre?
    Who are you?
    Doesn’t matter….

  5. Before I forget.

    S C O T T…..W O L F…….

    Andy Enfield wants to here all about not beating a team with a winning record or a “quality” basketball team.

    #U Owe Him An Apology

  6. Brian Scalabrine is the man to coach the bigs if any are still here for next season. It would be criminal if Boatwright and Metu left early. One more year for them to mature, and definitely get stronger. They have proven almost nothing yet, maybe get to the final four and it would qualify as an accomplishment.

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