USC Begins The 2015-16 Campaign Hosting San Diego On Friday
November 10, 2015 | Men's Basketball
THE 2015-16 USC TROJANS -- When Andy Enfield came to USC he made a conscious decision to build the program from the bottom up, bringing in high-level recruits and developing them for the future. The belief is that the future is now, despite still having only one senior on the roster. USC's core remains sophomore and junior laden, but they have had the opportunity to gain valuable experience, and the Trojans have added a pair of top 50 recruits in forwards Chimezie Metu and Bennie Boatwright which make up the freshman class.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN -- There are a total of 14 players on the 2015-16 USC men's basketball roster. The Trojan team by class are: Seniors (1): Strahinja Gavrilovic (F); Juniors (6): Darion Clark (F), Samer Dhillon (F), Julian Jacobs (G), Nikola Jovanovic (F), Kurt Karis (G) and Katin Reinhardt (G); Sophomores (5): Shaqquan Aaron (G), Malik Marquetti (G), Malik Martin (F), Jordan McLaughlin (G) and Elijah Stewart (G); Freshmen (2): Bennie Boatwright (F) and Chimezie Metu (F). Karis and Aaron are transfers and will sit out the 2015-16 season.
TROJANS HOST SAN DIEGO IN OPENER -- USC will open the 2015-16 season by hosting San Diego at the Galen Center on November 13 at 5:00 p.m. The game will be aired on the Pac-12 Network, one of 22 USC games to be shown on the network during the 2015-16 season. The Toreros were 15-16 last season and return seven lettermen and two starters from that squad. USC is 3-0 all-time against San Diego, winning the last contest 60-50 on Nov. 22, 2007.
USC IN OPENERS - USC is 16-4 in its last 20 home openers, but fell 76-68 to Portland State to start the 2014-15 season. That loss snapped a streak of six consecutive victories in home openers. USC is 74-35 all-time in season openers, but is 6-6 in the last 12 first games of the season.
USC's ROSTER FEATURES YOUTHFUL EXPERIENCE - Despite a roster with just one senior, USC has eight players that have started at least 15 games. USC's top nine scorers and any player who started at least one game last season is back for the 2015-16 season.
COMPARING ROSTERS - Last season the Trojans had the youngest roster among the Power 5 conferences and the fourth-youngest roster among all Division I schools according to Statsheet.com, with no seniors and just three juniors. USC entered the 2014-15 season with a total of 52 starts as Trojans, whereas the 2015-16 roster enters this season with 209 starts in the Trojan uniform.
USC ENJOYS TRIP TO ITALY - USC returned from its Tour of Italy (Aug. 11-22) with a perfect 4-0 record, excitement for the 2015-16 season and with a memorable cultural experience. Along the way, USC visited Lake Como, Milan, Venice, the Adriatic Coast and Rome, while experiencing the marvel of such places as Bellagio, the Sforza Castle, St. Mark's Square, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Ferrari Museum. In going undefeated on the trip, USC averaged 107 points per game, while shooting 53.5 percent from the floor, 34.0 percent from three-point range and 71.2 percent from the free throw line. Six players averaged in double-figures, five players averaged at least 5.0 rebounds per game.
MONMOUTH TWICE? – Up next for the Trojans is a game vs. the Monmouth Hawks on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Galen Center. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools, but they are both in the AdvoCare Invitational, so a rematch is possible in Orlanado, Fla. on Nov. 29 as the teams are in separate brackets. Monmouth went 18-15 during the 2014-15 season and tied for third in the Metro Atlantic Conference. They return three starters including junior guard Justin Robinson (13.4 ppg) and senior guard Deon Jones (12.8 ppg). Monmouth opens its season at UCLA on Nov. 13.
TROJANS TO PLAY AT ADVOCARE INVITATIONAL - USC will be playing in the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, Fla. from Nov. 26-29. USC's first-round opponent in the tournament on Nov. 26 will be Wichita State of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Shockers went 30-5 last season, won their league and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. They return three starters and nine lettermen from that team, including guards Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker. The second-round game on Nov. 27 will be against either Alabama or Xavier, with the final game on Nov. 29 being played against an opponent from this group: Dayton, Iowa, Monmouth and Notre Dame.
STRONG IN THE CLASSROOM - Last spring the men's basketball team set the USC record for grade-point average by the basketball roster, then during the summer it established the summer-session GPA record for the basketball program.
BETTER BE READY TO ROLL -- USC's game tonight against San Diego begins a stretch of seven games in 17 days. USC will also have home games on Nov. 16 vs. Monmouth, Nov. 21 vs. New Mexico and Nov. 23 vs. CSUN, as well as three games at the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, Fla. on Nov. 26 vs. Wichita State, on Nov. 27 vs. Alabama or Xavier and on Nov. 29 vs. TDB.
TALL AND TALENTED FRESHMAN TANDEM - USC's freshman class is comprised of forwards Bennie Boatwright and Chimezie Metu. Boatwright is 6-10 and averaged 27.8 points and 13 rebounds for Village Christian HS, en route to being named the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA Player of the Year. Metu is 6-11 and averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds for Lawndale HS, to earn the CIF Southern Section Division II Player of the Year.
