USC men’s basketball begins its 2025-2026 season against Cal Poly at home in the Galen Center. The Trojans have a dramatically different roster compared to last season. Eric Musselman begins his second season as USC head coach. He really didn’t have time to assemble his first USC roster for 2024-2025 because nearly every player left the program following Andy Enfield’s departure for SMU. Musselman had to scramble to get players for Year 1. Year 2 wasn’t quite as challenging, but it was still complicated and less than ideal.
Wesley Yates and Desmond Claude leaving through the transfer portal represented two hits to USC basketball. Musselman’s hire of Quincy Pondexter as an assistant coach backfired, since Pondexter immediately left for Washington — where he played college ball — and brought both Yates and Claude to Seattle.
Musselman was able to get high-end portal replacements in the portal. Rodney Rice of Maryland and 2025 Final Four player Chad Baker-Mazara of Auburn were quality pickups. However, the portal departures plus the offseason injury to five-star Alijah Arenas have left USC shorthanded on offense. The general consensus is that USC has to defend and rebound really well to offset a possible lack of scoring punch this season. We will see what happens in thethe opener against the Cal Poly Mustangs.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC men’s basketball vs Cal Poly — live updates, highlights, analysis for season opener
Reporting by Matt Zemek / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
