USC Basketball: Returning Trojans Wing Has Huge Chip On His Shoulder In 2023
USC small forward Kobe Johnson still hasn't gotten over the Bruins' Round of 64 defeat against the Michigan State Spartans, writes Matt Zemek of USA Today. The Trojans fell 72-62 during their lone NCAA Tournament contest bout.
“I was devastated knowing the work that we put in throughout the entire year, where we came from as a team,” Johnson said.
The 6'5" swingman scored 13 points, pulled down nine rebounds, dished out four dimes, and logged one steal in the loss.
Now, USC is on the comeback trail. Armed with one of the most well-regarded recruiting classes in college basketball, as headlined by top-five lottery prospect Isaiah Collier and possible 2024 first-round selection Bronny James, the Trojans could reasonably expect to finish much stronger in the Big Dance than they did this past spring.
During his 2022-23 sophomore season, the Pac-12 All-Defensive Teamer, averaged 9.2 points on .468/.360/.841 shooting splits, 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.2 steals a night. After being a fairly deep-bench role player as a freshman, Johnson emerged as a critical contributor for the club, appearing in 29 of his 33 healthy contests, averaging 28.9 minutes a night. Here's hoping he can take another leap during his junior year, though his touches may take a hit with the team's incoming guards.