USC men’s basketball has best roster under Eric Musselman: ‘We look the part’

Eric Musselman is part coach, part salesman. He has to be, given his DNA.

His father, a journeyman basketball coach known for packing arenas wherever he went, taught him that an essential portion of his job was to raise fan interest.

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So after taking the USC men’s basketball job a little more than two years ago, Musselman has invited fraternity brothers to practices, bought food for students and played pickleball with men’s tennis players — all in an effort to fill the Galen Center.

USC coach Eric Musselman is embracing the sky-high expectations heading into his third season with the USC Trojans. MediaNews Group via Getty Images

In his third season with the Trojans, Musselman might finally have a team that sells itself.

The roster features five McDonald’s All-Americans. The highest-rated freshman class in program history. Three players with Southern California ties.

If one put out a casting call for elite college basketball players, these guys fit the bill, which is important when you play in the shadow of Hollywood.

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“You know, only time will tell,” Musselman told the California Post during a wide-ranging exclusive interview, “but yeah, when you’re getting off a team bus or getting off an airplane, we look the part as far as length and size and good positional size and all that.”

Musselman said these Trojans have a similar feel to his Arkansas teams, which twice reached the Elite Eight and made an additional appearance in the Sweet 16. USC fans would be giddy with either of those destinations given a program that’s made the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament only three times since the turn of the century.

The roster was completed after star freshman Alijah Arenas committed to coming back for a second season with the Trojans. Musselman said he didn’t give Arenas a hard sell about returning, providing space to make his own decision.

Beating out the NBA wasn’t the Trojans’ only concern.

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“One, there’s the decision to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/usc-men-basketball-best-roster-124043807.html

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Publish date : 2026-06-10 12:40:00

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