From USC’s leading scorer to gone overnight. Chad Baker-Mazara tells his side of story

Chad Baker-Mazara’s right knee buckled every time he tried to step. His hamstrings felt so tight as if they were about to pull.

He was doing whatever he could to get warm inside the Galen Center tunnel. Defensive slides. Jumping. Running, jogging in place. No matter what he did though, his body just wouldn’t respond.

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“My body was telling me, ‘No, buddy,’” Baker-Mazara told USA TODAY Sports in an exclusive interview. “‘As bad as you want to play, it’s a no-go.’”

Baker-Mazara took a hard fall while blocking a shot in the opening minutes of the second half against Nebraska on Feb. 28. It would end up being his final play in a USC uniform as everything quickly devolved into one of the most puzzling moments of the college basketball season.

The next morning, USC announced Baker-Mazara — their leading scorer in the 2025-26 season — was no longer with the team in a two-sentence-long statement with no further details given.

“Chad being Chad” is a common saying among those close to and familiar with Baker-Mazara’s energy-driven personality. Perhaps that passion, misconstrued or not, was at play here.

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USC senior associate athletic director Cody Worsham told USA TODAY Sports the university won’t comment on matters related to student-athlete discipline. But, in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY Sports, Baker-Mazara is ready to tell his side of the story.

The Trojans held a five-point lead at halftime, thanks in large part to Baker-Mazara’s game-leading 14 points, but once he landed on his lower back, the sixth-year senior felt the impact radiate to his hamstrings and knees.

“I never felt this pain before,” he recalled telling the USC training staff.

Baker-Mazara was told he was good to get back into the game, but he physically couldn’t get himself right again.

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So instead, Baker-Mazara listened to his body. He walked back out of the tunnel and straight to the coaching staff on the sideline, told them he couldn’t go back in, walked over to the baseline and took his usual seat on the crowded USC bench next to Rodney Rice.

The Trojans’ lead evaporated…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/usc-leading-scorer-gone-overnight-150609667.html

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Publish date : 2026-06-11 15:06:00

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