USC Men's Basketball: Pundits Predict Redshirt Senior Wins Pac-12 POY
Redshirt senior guard Boogie Ellis is ready to go out with a bang.
The captain of the USC Trojans Men's Basketball team, Ellis is expected to lead this group to a deep run in this year's NCAA Tournament.
The San Diego native averaged a 17.7 PPG last year on 43.4 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from three (all career highs). As such, one publication feels as if Ellis is going to absolutely ball out for his last hurrah as a college player.
The Almanac (courtesy of The Field of 68) predicted that Ellis will be the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2023-24. With UCLA's Jaime Jaquez now in the NBA, the floor is cleared for Ellis to earn this honor as the prohibitive favorite.
Ellis has steadily improved in each of his four years dating back to his days at Memphis. Once he came back to the West Coast, his game truly flourished -- culminating in a monster junior year which saw Ellis garner All Pac-12 First Team honors.
There's enough talent for USC to truly contend for the Pac-12 crown this year. D.J. Rodman came over from Wazzu to add some length, defensive chops, and three-point shooting. Assuming he's starting alongside Kobe Johnson in the frontcourt, there's potentially not a better 3-and-D combo in the entire country compared to Rodman and Johnson.
Josh Morgan returns to the program as the resident shot-blocking force in the paint. The team is very excited about stretch four Harrison Hornery, and the likes of Kijani Wright, highly-touted big man Arrinten Page, Brandon Gardner, and Oziyah Sellers add depth.
Plus, two of the team's more talented players -- Vince Iwuchukwu and Bronny James -- could possibly be back in the fold later this year once fully healthy. Those are two big difference-makers to add to an already deep team.
With that said, it does come down to Ellis and his partnership with Isaiah Collier. If these two can be on the same page, playing with consistency and chemistry, USC will be a tough out for any team.
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