USC Basketball: Former Pac-10 Star May Join Eric Musselman's Staff

Alex Kirschenbaum | Apr 16, 2024

Mar 13, 2024; Nashville, TN, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman reacts during the / Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

A former Pac-10 star may be switching sides.

That's because ex-UCLA Bruins guard Earl Watson, a former NBA head coach, has been floated as a potential assistant coach under new Trojans leader Eric Musselman, according to Scott Wolf of Inside USC.

Musselman, one of the great modern NCAA recruiters who defected from the Arkansas Razorbacks (and was promptly replaced by another great NCAA recruiter in ex-Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari) to replace now-SMU head coach Andy Enfield, is no doubt looking to build out his bench.

The team has lost all of its top nine players from the club's ill-fated 2023-24 NCAA season (during which USC finished 15-18 and missed Marc Madness entirely) to the NBA draft and the NCAA transfer portal. Several prior Enfield prep school commits have also abandoned ship. So in all facets, really, Musselman is starting from scratch.

Watson was a 6'1" point guard for the Bruins from 1997-2001, and was selected with the No. 39 pick by the then-Seattle SuperSonics. He enjoyed an extended NBA career through 2014 as a journeyman reserve. Watson was an assistant coach on various NBA programs before being promoted to a (brief) head coaching gig with the Phoenix Suns. He most recently was an assistant under Nick Nurse with the Toronto Raptors.