247Sports USC men's basketball beat writer Connor Morrissette shares his insight on the USC men's basketball program and gives his prediction for the Bulldogs-Trojans matchup in Las Vegas.
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00:00 Welcome to another episode of Gonzaga Nation. I'm your host Dan Dickow where we preview the
00:05 upcoming game against USC. Today I'm joined by USC men's beat writer for 24/7 sports
00:14 Connor Morrisett, a former colleague of ours at SB Live, one of the best.
00:20 Connor, thanks for joining. Dan, you're too kind. Great to see you.
00:24 Yeah, we did a number of projects together over the years at SB Live and then Gonzaga Nation
00:30 a season ago, but you've got great opportunities in front of you with the USC Trojan beat. Tell us
00:36 a little bit about how this USC Trojan team has started off their season because there's a lot to
00:44 like, but there's also a lot of mystery about how good they could be. You nailed it right there. So
00:51 they opened the season, everyone except for Ronnie James and Vince Iwuchukwu are fully healthy and
00:56 they beat Kansas State, a team that made the Elite Eight last season. So right away they were ranked
01:01 and it was like, okay, how good can this be? Because when everyone's been healthy, it's looked
01:05 really good. After that Kansas State game, it hasn't been as good because there've been some
01:10 injuries. Boogie Ellis missed a couple of games. Kobe Johnson missed a couple of games. USC with
01:15 both of those guys out lost to UC Irvine, which was a bad loss for them. And with everyone outside
01:21 of Ronnie healthy, they then lost a game to Oklahoma down in San Diego that they probably
01:26 should have won. So right now they're seven games into this five and two. I still think they have a
01:32 chance to have a special season, make a sweet 16. They just need to get everyone healthy and
01:37 consistently just get everyone together. That's been the big problem. Just guys have been out and
01:42 with everyone back now, they're slowly starting to find themselves again, but got a really good
01:47 Gonzaga team in Vegas this week. So it's going to be a big test for them, but they are healthy
01:51 and they should be back to their best soon. Well, you never want to see an athlete healthy.
01:55 You want them at their best. And unfortunately for USC, that's been an issue up till now. But
02:03 you know, the one player that has kind of gotten the most, I don't want to call it scrutiny,
02:09 because that's not the right word, but the most attention due to their injury and rightfully so,
02:14 because the last name is Bronnie James. From what I saw him in high school a couple of times,
02:20 I think he's a really good piece for Andy Enfield. I think he's an important recruit for Andy Enfield
02:24 to keep the momentum going, recruiting in Southern California. What's the latest that you're hearing
02:30 on his potential availability? Because the last I've read and seen is he's very close. Is that
02:36 right? And is there any chance he would play against Gonzaga or is that still too soon?
02:41 Gonzaga is still too soon. So no chance for Saturday, but I'm sure everyone saw the big
02:47 news yesterday. Bronnie James has been cleared for a full return to basketball activities,
02:51 which is great. So now he just needs to practice and needs to get up to speed. I think he has one
02:56 last meeting with the USC coaches either today or sometime maybe after the Gonzaga game, but
03:02 he is really close to return. If I was to bet on it, I'd probably look at January 3rd,
03:08 give him a month to sort of get up to speed. And then that's a USC home game. That's when the,
03:12 that's a little bit into Pac-12 play. So I think he needs a period to ramp up and get ready to go
03:18 because he hasn't practiced at full speed, but he is going to play this year and it could happen a
03:23 little bit earlier. I don't think the Long Beach State game that's coming up next week is realistic
03:27 either, but after that, could he potentially return in two weeks when USC plays Auburn on
03:31 the road? I think that's a possibility, but I think he's going to take a whole month to get
03:34 ready and look for him in 2024. Awesome. The other freshman that gets, I don't want to say
03:42 lost in the shuffle because Bronnie gets a ton of attention, but needs more attention. I think
03:48 nationally is Isaiah Collier. He's the number one ranked high school player out of the Atlanta area.
03:56 He's talked about as being a top three pick. Just how good is he and how much does that show that
04:03 USC has quietly become a power in the recruiting world, especially on the West Coast?
04:08 He is fantastic. Right now, the one thing he's dealing with, he has two things that he can
04:15 improve. The turnovers have gotten the better of him a little bit just because he plays so fast.
04:19 And half the turnovers, he's throwing perfect passes to some of the USC bigs and they're just
04:24 going off their hands and out of bounds. So half of them aren't really his fault. And then
04:27 defensively he can improve, but he is tremendous, Dan. And the three point shooting is something
04:32 that's really stood out to me. The knock on him was he can get to the basket. He is a really good
04:37 passer. He's great on offense, but what is he doing from beyond the arc? And right now he's
04:43 over 40%. So that's been a pleasant surprise. The fact that he is so good shooting the ball.
04:48 I think the sky's the limit for him. He's going through some growing pains, but he's clearly a
04:53 one and done guy. I could see him being a top five pick. And I think he really, really is a
04:58 talented player. And I've liked what I've seen. It just overall with USC right now, it hasn't
05:03 totally clicked since that Kansas state game. And I think once he gets more comfortable with
05:08 everyone and once everyone's healthy, like they are right now, and they just get a lot more reps
05:12 together. Andy Enfield was talking about how it was tough to practice because they were down so
05:16 many guards. I think with everyone healthy, Isaiah Collier, the best is yet to come because
05:20 once he gets more comfortable with some of his teammates, it's going to be great.
05:22 There's been a lot of talk around the Gonzaga community about the potential move to the Big 12.
05:30 USC is in the midst of that kind of a switch that occurs next year to the Big 10. What would you
05:38 kind of prepare the fan base for in regards to switching of leagues if it were to occur for
05:47 Gonzaga? That's a good question. I think with USC, it's just so many people are focused on
05:55 football. So just when you say Big 10 and USC, my mind immediately goes to football.
06:00 But with basketball, I just think the travel is going to affect the team. And there aren't too
06:05 many diehard USC fans for basketball who are going to every road game, but there are a few. And so
06:10 the travel is certainly a little bit different. And the Pac-12, we all know it's a lot easier to
06:15 make those road trips. But now USC is potentially having to go to Ructers across the country and
06:20 Penn State, which can be really hard to get to. So I think the travel, that is going to take a
06:24 toll on some of these guys and some of these fans. So that's probably the biggest thing.
06:28 But I think looking at Gonzaga's situation and USC's, it's similar. I do think a move
06:33 is beneficial basketball-wise. So I think overall, even though the travel would kind of stink and
06:38 there are some negatives, I do think financially there's a big positive there. The better
06:43 basketball is a big positive. It potentially gets these teams better prepared for the NCAA
06:49 tournament. And the Pac-12 has done that in the past, of course, with USC. But overall,
06:53 basketball and the Pac-12 on the men's side has been kind of down in recent years. I think it's
06:57 a little better this year. But overall, those are the two things that jump out to me, better
07:00 financial situation and just better basketball. And when you got those two things, does anything
07:04 else really matter right now? I think we're seeing that it doesn't.
07:07 Well, last question. I'm going to put you on the spot before you get on the road heading to Vegas
07:13 for that Pac-12 title game in the football world. You helped Gonzaga Nation cover Gonzaga in the
07:22 NCAA tournament a season ago. You're now fully invested in covering USC full-time.
07:28 What's your prediction for the game at the MGM Grand Arena? USC versus Gonzaga,
07:37 or do you just cover it straight down the middle?
07:41 I like Gonzaga to win the game. I think USC, they're still working some things out. And
07:45 Gonzaga, I know they are too. Of course, Drew Timmy's not there anymore. But I just look at the
07:50 interior presence that Gonzaga has. I think Anton Watson is going to give them a really,
07:55 really tough matchup inside. And that's sort of been the big question mark with USC this year.
08:00 The guards are fantastic, but what are you going to get production-wise, offensively and
08:04 defensively on the interior? Josh Morgan is fantastic at blocking shots. He can make high
08:10 percentage buckets inside on offense, but rebounding has been a problem for USC. Interior
08:14 defense at times outside of Josh Morgan has been a problem. So I just think Gonzaga, with how they
08:19 play and just the bigs that they have, I like that matchup for them. And I think even though I really
08:24 do like USC's guards, Gonzaga is a team that's good enough to limit what USC wants to do
08:29 offensively with those guards. So I like Gonzaga in this one. I'd probably pick them maybe like
08:33 75-68 over USC. I don't know what the spread is. So I like Gonzaga by seven. I kind of made that up
08:39 on the spot, but that sounds good to me. Awesome. Well, I appreciate the time. Glad to reconnect
08:44 and safe travels over to Vegas for some football and some basketball coverage in your world. So
08:50 thanks again for joining. Appreciate it, Dan. Always great to see you.