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USC Basketball: New Trojans Assistant Coach Explains Decision

The Trojans have filled out their basketball staff...

Jason Fray

USC assistant coach Will Conroy
USC assistant coach Will Conroy / Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports

New USC Men's Basketball head coach Eric Musselman had some decisions to make when constructing a staff.

Coming back to the West Coast, it only made sense to target someone who had deep ties to the region. Nabbing a coach with experience as a player themselves would be an added bonus.

Will Conroy fits the bill in this capacity. A former star player at the University of Washington, the Seattle native had a decorated professional career which included stints with three NBA teams, and a host of squads overseas.

Since 2015, Conroy has been an assistant coach at his alma mater. When Mike Hopkins was relieved of his duties, Conroy took over as the interim head coach. Ultimately, the Huskies opted to hire Danny Sprinkle from Utah State.

With Conroy in career limbo, Musselman made the smart decision to bring Conroy on board as one of his most experienced assistant coaches.

At 41 years of age, Conroy isn't too far away from his playing days. He's the type of guy noted for his immense skills in player development. Additionally, you'd have to assume he could parlay his deep ties in the Northwest with the arena of recruiting.

Seattle has always been a talent-rich city for prep basketball players, and the Greater Portland area has been making strides in that area as well of late.

For Conroy, it allows him to diversify his coaching career away from the University of Washington. Musselman is a very experienced coach himself with plenty of contacts both in the college game and in the NBA. allows him

It wouldn't be surprising to see Conroy eventually become a head coach somewhere should he want to go down that road.

More USC: USC Basketball: Former Trojan Transferring To Big East School

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Jason Fray
JASON FRAY

Jason Fray is a proud native of Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA in 2011, he's written for a number of publications -- including Bleacher Report, FOX Sports, Saturday Down South, and New Arena. In his downtime, he enjoys writing scripts, going to shows, weekly pub trivia with the boys, trying the best hole-in-the-wall food spots around town, and traveling (22 countries & counting). 

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