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Musselman on USC’s capacity: ‘Through the roof’
LOS ANGELES– Eric Musselman finally had a chance to catch his breath. Sitting beside athletic director Jen Cohen, he calmly surveyed the crowd at his intro as USC’s guys’s basketball coach Friday.It was the conclusion of a rushed courtship. Andy Enfield left the job earlier in the week after 11 years to coach at SMU. Cohen instantly targeted Musselman, who was coming off his first losing season in five years at Arkansas.
“It ended up being extremely clear that he was the best person at the right time for USC men’s basketball,” Cohen said of her very first significant training hire considering that taking over in August. “He’s a proven winner. He not just constructs elite, high-performing teams, he understands how to sustain them.”
For his part, Musselman was interested, saying, “I knew immediately it was something of great interest.”
The Trojans went 15-18 general and 8-12 in the Pac-12, the first time in 5 years they didn’t win a minimum of 20 games under Enfield.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated”We believe
the capacity here is through the roofing,”Musselman stated.” Coach Enfield did terrific things for 11 years here. We want to continue to do things that he’s done and try to develop on a few of those things too.”
Musselman is already under the gun to hire a training staff and assemble a lineup. Guard Boogie Ellis runs out eligibility, and junior Kobe Johnson said Thursday that he has dedicated to crosstown rival UCLA. Freshman Bronny James, kid of LeBron James, said Friday that he is declaring for the NBA draft while likewise retaining his college eligibility and getting in the transfer portal.
“I require to attempt to obtain Bronny. I have actually texted him,” Musselman stated. “Definitely he’s got a great deal of alternatives, and we appreciate those options. We simply want him to understand that, hey, this opportunity here, if you want to play at USC, we ‘d enjoy to have him. Such a gifted young man.”
Star freshman Isaiah Collier, who could declare for the draft, participated in the press conference and stayed later to chat with Musselman. McDonald’s All American guard Trent Perry of close-by Harvard-Westlake decommitted from USC after Enfield left, although he stated he is keeping the Trojans as an option.Musselman said he would
be speaking to other current players later in the day. He occurred at 5 a.m. PT and started texting players at schools back East. He suggested he’s likely to bring along a number of staff members from Arkansas to join him.”The most essential thing is recruiting,”Musselman said.”I believe you can build a roster relatively quickly if you have the suitable strategy.”USC placed on rather a program in inviting Musselman
at the Galen Center. Members of the band and cheer team were on hand, in addition to Traveler, the white horse familiar at football games, who stood in the corridor. Seeing from the front row were Musselman’s better half, Danyelle; their daughter, Mariah, wearing USC colors; and his kid Michael, who is director of hiring at Arkansas. He has another child, Matthew.The Trojans, together with crosstown competing UCLA, are heading to the Big 10 next season. They balanced 6,302 fans in 15 games at 10,258-seat Galen Center. Arkansas, meanwhile, balanced capacity crowds of 19,267 fans over 17 games at Bud Walton Arena. “We require an elite home-court benefit,”Cohen said.”Eric has actually shown that he can unite the
trainee body, he can unify the fans, he can unite the neighborhood to fill Galen Center and show everyone in the Huge Ten that we have that home-court advantage, too.”Musselman noted the success of the USC ladies’s team, which reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA competition for the very first time
in thirty years. He already has chatted with coach Lindsay Gottlieb.”Throughout the interview procedure they were making a huge run, and it was so cool to view, “he said.It’s Musselman’s third go-round in Los Angeles.
He said his very first task out of the University of San Diego was with the LA Clippers as an account
executive offering tickets in 1987. He later coached the Lakers’G League team.He’s been texting with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten, whom he understood throughout his days with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.”I do not think there’s any concern that this resembles a dream task for us,”Musselman said, “not just me however for my family.”