Scouting report: No. 14 Arizona Wildcats vs. USC Trojans
- Updated
Prepare for Arizona's game against USC on Thursday with Bruce Pascoe's in-depth scouting report.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
Matchup: No. 14 Arizona (16-2, 5-0 Pac-12) at USC (16-3, 3-3)
Location: Galen Center, Los Angeles
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
USC is the worst-shooting team in Pac-12 games (39.5 percent), but the Trojans mostly make up for it with volume and a defense that can feed its offense with turnovers and stops. Athleticism helps USC average six steals and four blocks in Pac-12 games, while their opponents average 12.8 turnovers per game, third most in the conference. USC deploys a mix of a 2-3 zone and man-to-man. Jordan McLaughlin and De’Anthony Melton average more than a steal per game, while Chimezie Metu, Melton and guard Elijah Stewart are also effective shot-blockers. While forward Bennie Boatwright is doubtful with a sprained knee, he’s most effective as a stretch-four in the Trojans’ offense. While USC is smaller without Boatwright, they can play grad transfer Charles Buggs or Nick Racocevic to get more size alongside the offensively explosive Metu. If they go with a smaller lineup, they'll often turn to Louisville transfer Shaqquan Aaron, a big wing.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
“I think the biggest thing is their tenacity on offense and on defense. No one talks about these guys. Metu is an NBA four-man and Melton is really good. He and Jordan (McLaughlin) are so overlooked. They both play the point. Melton has really great size, he can shoot and defend and rebounds the hell out of the ball. He’s very good. They change defenses and they don’t turn it over. They’ll use a 2-2-1 press that backs into a 2-3 zone and it’s very good. (USC assistants) Jason Hart and Tony Bland went to Syracuse, and they have some Syracuse principles in it. The forwards in the wing area are up high, and they’re really aggressive on the ball. (Their type of defense) will be according to how we handle it. If we can handle the zone, they’ll play it less. If we can’t, they’ll play it more.” — UA assistant coach Book Richardson, who scouted the Trojans.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
While New Yorker Rawle Alkins says his Arizona experience has been “amazing” so far, there are times when he’s less enthusiastic.
“The thing I don’t like about Tucson is it will rain for, like, 10 seconds and then it will get sunny again,” Alkins said. It’s “bipolar.”
Not much he can do about that. Tucson does, after all, boast about some 350 days of sunshine every year.
But Alkins set out this week to overcome another issue here he can control. Since he can’t exactly take subways to get around in Tucson — and has been getting tired of paying for Uber rides — Alkins decided to study for his driver’s license. He said he has often practiced late at night while driving with a cousin who came out to Tucson with him this year.
“Haven’t done the highway yet, so I don’t know what to expect on the test,” Alkins said Monday, just before he and his cousin planned to leave for the DMV. “I know the rules and stuff. I did the written part. Practiced. So hopefully I do well.
"Pray for me, guys.”
However, upon arriving at the DMV later Monday, Alkins found it closed for the Martin Luther King holiday.
So Uber still gets his business for now.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
Alkins wasn’t the first New Yorker to arrive at UA without his driver’s license, since the city’s comprehensive transit system makes it unnecessary. Former UA forward Kevin Parrom of the Bronx, “didn’t have a clue” how to drive when arriving in Tucson, assistant coach Book Richardson said.
But not everyone has the patience for mass transit. Growing up in Harlem and the Bronx, Richardson found a different way.
“I knew how to drive when I was 12,” Richardson said. “Because you always want to get around faster. Everything in New York was faster. I hated sharing a seat on the train or the plane. Plus, what happened is my mom had a car.”
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
Majok Deng may only be a sophomore at Salpointe Catholic High School, skilled and athletic but still somewhat gangly at 6-foot-5, yet he showed off a couple of reasons why he might someday become a Wildcat.
Deng, who received a scholarship offer from UA earlier this month, first opted to leave home Monday wearing a pair of Arizona basketball socks without thinking much about it. Then he realized he’d be wearing them in a game against Sahuaro at McKale Center that evening.
“Everyone started asking me about them,” he said.
During the game, while Deng had some rough moments against a Sahuaro defense that keyed on him, he picked up a foul with 3.7 seconds left and wound up hitting a pair of game-winning free throws to give Salpointe a 43-42 win.
Deng said he was nervous, with the second free throw bouncing around the rim before falling in, “but it’s something I’ve been practicing.”
Salpointe coach Brian Holstrom said it was reminiscent of Salpointe’s 56-55 overtime win over Buena at McKale two years ago, when a guard named Cameron Miller hit the game-winning free throws … in the same building where his father works as Arizona’s head basketball coach.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
While highly touted UA signee DeAndre Ayton was unsurprisingly named to the McDonald's All-American Game last Sunday, another UA signee broke out before a national ESPN audience last weekend.
Brandon Randolph was named the MVP of a Hoophall Classic game after scoring 28 points to lead his Westtown School team to a 66-54 win over Ayton and Hillcrest Prep on Saturday in Springfield, Mass.
Richardson was on hand to see it happen.
“It was cool to watch,” Richardson said. “They played hard, they competed. That was a great (sign for) our program. Coach (Miller) always talks about having a highly competitive environment.”
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
The game scout for USC, Richardson says he’s preparing as if the Wildcats will face stretch forward Bennie Boatwright, who hasn't played since Nov. 30 because of a knee sprain.
But a USC spokesman said earlier this week Boatwright probably would need another week, his sprained knee having recovered at a slower pace than initially expected.
A onetime UA recruiting target, Boatwright suffered a Grade II sprain in the medial collateral ligament of his left knee, according to the Orange County Register. But while USC initially estimated he would miss six weeks, USC coach Andy Enfield said earlier this month that he hoped to get Boatwright back for the second half of Pac-12 play.
“Before that would be great,” Enfield said, “but with an injury like that, you have to be patient.”
- Bruce Pascoe
USC is the worst-shooting team in Pac-12 games (39.5 percent), but the Trojans mostly make up for it with volume and a defense that can feed its offense with turnovers and stops. Athleticism helps USC average six steals and four blocks in Pac-12 games, while their opponents average 12.8 turnovers per game, third most in the conference. USC deploys a mix of a 2-3 zone and man-to-man. Jordan McLaughlin and De’Anthony Melton average more than a steal per game, while Chimezie Metu, Melton and guard Elijah Stewart are also effective shot-blockers. While forward Bennie Boatwright is doubtful with a sprained knee, he’s most effective as a stretch-four in the Trojans’ offense. While USC is smaller without Boatwright, they can play grad transfer Charles Buggs or Nick Racocevic to get more size alongside the offensively explosive Metu. If they go with a smaller lineup, they'll often turn to Louisville transfer Shaqquan Aaron, a big wing.
- Bruce Pascoe
“I think the biggest thing is their tenacity on offense and on defense. No one talks about these guys. Metu is an NBA four-man and Melton is really good. He and Jordan (McLaughlin) are so overlooked. They both play the point. Melton has really great size, he can shoot and defend and rebounds the hell out of the ball. He’s very good. They change defenses and they don’t turn it over. They’ll use a 2-2-1 press that backs into a 2-3 zone and it’s very good. (USC assistants) Jason Hart and Tony Bland went to Syracuse, and they have some Syracuse principles in it. The forwards in the wing area are up high, and they’re really aggressive on the ball. (Their type of defense) will be according to how we handle it. If we can handle the zone, they’ll play it less. If we can’t, they’ll play it more.” — UA assistant coach Book Richardson, who scouted the Trojans.
- Bruce Pascoe
While New Yorker Rawle Alkins says his Arizona experience has been “amazing” so far, there are times when he’s less enthusiastic.
“The thing I don’t like about Tucson is it will rain for, like, 10 seconds and then it will get sunny again,” Alkins said. It’s “bipolar.”
Not much he can do about that. Tucson does, after all, boast about some 350 days of sunshine every year.
But Alkins set out this week to overcome another issue here he can control. Since he can’t exactly take subways to get around in Tucson — and has been getting tired of paying for Uber rides — Alkins decided to study for his driver’s license. He said he has often practiced late at night while driving with a cousin who came out to Tucson with him this year.
“Haven’t done the highway yet, so I don’t know what to expect on the test,” Alkins said Monday, just before he and his cousin planned to leave for the DMV. “I know the rules and stuff. I did the written part. Practiced. So hopefully I do well.
"Pray for me, guys.”
However, upon arriving at the DMV later Monday, Alkins found it closed for the Martin Luther King holiday.
So Uber still gets his business for now.
- Bruce Pascoe
Alkins wasn’t the first New Yorker to arrive at UA without his driver’s license, since the city’s comprehensive transit system makes it unnecessary. Former UA forward Kevin Parrom of the Bronx, “didn’t have a clue” how to drive when arriving in Tucson, assistant coach Book Richardson said.
But not everyone has the patience for mass transit. Growing up in Harlem and the Bronx, Richardson found a different way.
“I knew how to drive when I was 12,” Richardson said. “Because you always want to get around faster. Everything in New York was faster. I hated sharing a seat on the train or the plane. Plus, what happened is my mom had a car.”
- Bruce Pascoe
Majok Deng may only be a sophomore at Salpointe Catholic High School, skilled and athletic but still somewhat gangly at 6-foot-5, yet he showed off a couple of reasons why he might someday become a Wildcat.
Deng, who received a scholarship offer from UA earlier this month, first opted to leave home Monday wearing a pair of Arizona basketball socks without thinking much about it. Then he realized he’d be wearing them in a game against Sahuaro at McKale Center that evening.
“Everyone started asking me about them,” he said.
During the game, while Deng had some rough moments against a Sahuaro defense that keyed on him, he picked up a foul with 3.7 seconds left and wound up hitting a pair of game-winning free throws to give Salpointe a 43-42 win.
Deng said he was nervous, with the second free throw bouncing around the rim before falling in, “but it’s something I’ve been practicing.”
Salpointe coach Brian Holstrom said it was reminiscent of Salpointe’s 56-55 overtime win over Buena at McKale two years ago, when a guard named Cameron Miller hit the game-winning free throws … in the same building where his father works as Arizona’s head basketball coach.
- Bruce Pascoe
While highly touted UA signee DeAndre Ayton was unsurprisingly named to the McDonald's All-American Game last Sunday, another UA signee broke out before a national ESPN audience last weekend.
Brandon Randolph was named the MVP of a Hoophall Classic game after scoring 28 points to lead his Westtown School team to a 66-54 win over Ayton and Hillcrest Prep on Saturday in Springfield, Mass.
Richardson was on hand to see it happen.
“It was cool to watch,” Richardson said. “They played hard, they competed. That was a great (sign for) our program. Coach (Miller) always talks about having a highly competitive environment.”
- Bruce Pascoe
The game scout for USC, Richardson says he’s preparing as if the Wildcats will face stretch forward Bennie Boatwright, who hasn't played since Nov. 30 because of a knee sprain.
But a USC spokesman said earlier this week Boatwright probably would need another week, his sprained knee having recovered at a slower pace than initially expected.
A onetime UA recruiting target, Boatwright suffered a Grade II sprain in the medial collateral ligament of his left knee, according to the Orange County Register. But while USC initially estimated he would miss six weeks, USC coach Andy Enfield said earlier this month that he hoped to get Boatwright back for the second half of Pac-12 play.
“Before that would be great,” Enfield said, “but with an injury like that, you have to be patient.”
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