USC Basketball: Trojan Vet In Early Running For First-Team All-American Honors

The nation's best backcourt?

Fifth-year USC Trojans guard Boogie Ellis has been named a Preseason First Team All-American by Sporting News. 

.@sportingnews has named @BoogieEllis a Preseason First Team All-American! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/37DiyXdzNM

— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) November 13, 2023

As the season kicks into full swing, Boogie's progression is something to monitor after he ascended into USC's No. 1 option last season, averaging 17.7 points on .434/.386/.805 shooting splits. 

The addition of Isaiah Collier will both help and hurt Ellis' All-American bid, as his presence will generate more opportunities for Ellis off the ball, it'll limit his usage on-ball, which will likely decrease his scoring output. 

Moreover, expect Boogie's already-low assist figures (3.1 per game) to potentially drop even further, as he put up those numbers while being the primary initiator last season.

With Collier in the fold and him subsequently having a high usage rate, the onus of creating shots for teammates and making the offense flow will fall off of Ellis and onto Collier. 

Regardless, Boogie is indisputably one of the nation's top guards, and whether or not he receives an All-American nod or not, he'll continue to be turned to as a player who can put up 25 to 30 points on any given night, creating a lethal 1-2 punch with Collier that may be the nation's best. 

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