USC Men's Basketball: Possible Stat Deficiency Could Spell Trouble For Trojans This Fall

Should fans be worried?

In taking stock of your USC Trojans' 3-0 romp through Europe, during a preseason summer tour without the services of an ailing Bronny James, Shotgun Spratling of 247Sports has noticed one big statistical deficiency that could come back to bite the club when the games start to count in the fall: defensive rebounding.

"Something that has definitely not been cleaned up from last year is USC’s work on the defensive glass," Spratling writes. "The Trojans gave up a bunch of offensive rebounds throughout their three-game foreign tour. Against [pro Serbian club] Mega MIS, former Tennessee big man Uros Plavsic created extra possession after extra possession. That was again the case in the final game of the Trojans’ European tour. [Pro Montenegrin team] SC Derby KK went on its 16-2 run early in the second half to take a one-point lead thanks to multiple second-chance opportunities. It’s something that is going to have to be focused on throughout the fall, if USC wants to be able to play to its full potential."

The Trojans' projected best players next season are all perimeter contributors. Top frontcourt players Joshua Morgan, Vincent Iwuchukwu, and Kijani Wright, plus new transfer D.J. Rodman and rookies Arrinten Page and Brandon Gardner, will all be clawing for minutes at the four and five spots. 

Though Rodman's, Iwuchukwu's and Morgan's minutes seem relatively safe, these other guys' abilities to keep opponents off the offensive boards could determine who gets minutes at the fringes of the team's rotation.