College Basketball Analyst Has High Praise for USC Trojans' Perimeter Trio

This might be the team.

After an impressive 82-69 season-opening victory over the Kansas State Wildcats, college basketball insiders are all over the Trojans.

Here's what Jeff Goodman of ESPN had to say about this current USC group:

You won’t find many perimeter trios better than Isaiah Collier, Boogie Ellis and Kobe Johnson.

Andy Enfield got 58 points from the trio in the win over Kansas State.

Let’s also commend Enfield and Jerome Tang for playing one another on opening night.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) November 7, 2023

The Trojans' perimeter trio was terrific, as not only did the 3 of them combine for 58 points, but they played excellent defense and made timely shots, controlling the pace of the game and contributing greatly to the win. 

Kansas State was a tough draw, and taking them on in the first game of the season was a great way to see where this Trojans squad is ahead of a pivotal season, as it's almost assuredly their only one with Isaiah Collier, and their last one with Boogie Ellis.

One of the big takeaways watching the game was definitely the Trojans' noticeable size and length compared to other teams. This applies to their entire rotation, as 6-foot-3 Boogie Ellis is the shortest player receiving considerable minutes. 

USC played aggressive defensively, with big man Joshua Morgan acting as a lid on the basket, swatting 5 shots. 

That defensive approach should be applicable to every game on the calendar, as K-State ran fairly small (tallest player was 6-foot-9), and in spite of that typically causing trouble for bigger lineups, USC adjusted well, managing to capitalize on their size. 

To that end, USC's level of aggressiveness was almost an issue. Isaiah Collier fouled out in just 25 minutes, and the Trojans made a few gambles in passing lanes and on the ball that led to easy shots. 

USC has had one of the nation's top defenses across the past couple of seasons, however, so as head coach Andy Enfield gets things in order, expect fewer flaws, but equally as many positives. 

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