USC Basketball: How Trojan Went From Unheralded Recruit To Pac-12 All-Defense Honoree

Never let the doubters stop him!

Kobe Johnson will be returning to USC this season for his junior campaign and even though majority of the focus is on elite freshman guards Isaiah Collier and Bronny James along with veteran scorer Boogie Ellis, Johnson proved to be the glue that held the team together last season and it's clear he'll do the same this time around.

It was a great season overall for the Trojans last year despite their season ending early in the March Madness tournament and they had en even better recruiting period. USC is becoming a top target for some of the nation's best players and now that they are preparing for a big move to the Big Ten Conference, more eyes will be on them.

Therefore, I really hope that Johnson receives his flowers from the basketball world once official games kick off because beyond just his nine points per game to go with 36 percent from deep, he makes a ton of plays that go under the radar. Johnson regularly takes on some of the toughest defensive assignments and if there's a loose ball or long rebound, he's always one of the first guys there.

It's this type of mentality that forged Johnson's path to USC despite not having a ton of hype surrounding him coming out of high school. The 6'6 wing spoke on how that motivated him to turn into a Pac-12 All-Defense honoree.

From slept on to Pac-12 All-Defense.

Don't 😴 on Episode 4, dropping tonight 👀 pic.twitter.com/9F2zALuEIl

— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) August 1, 2023

"Growing up, nobody knew who I was," said Johnson. "I never had a name, I was never on any recruiting sites and I was never on any rankings. I just used that as motivation going into college."

(Via USC Hoops)

it's crazy to think that sometimes, the players that not many people believe in wind being the most valuable. Trojans head coach Andy Enfield and his staff have a knack for eyeing sneaky talent and we cannot wait to see Johnson clamp up more stars this year!