USC women’s basketball set to keep trending in the right direction in new season – Annenberg Media

A year ago, the narrative heading into the 2022-23 USC women’s basketball season was one of turbulence, transition and unknowns.

Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb had just given birth to her second child and had missed much of the team’s preseason.

Gottlieb had added seven players from the transfer portal after losing her whole starting lineup from the prior season.

And the program’s top recruit, guard Aaliyah Gayles, had a long road ahead in her recovery from being shot several times at a house party in Las Vegas that May.

Now, the vibe has certainly shifted. There’s a new sense of confidence, stability and momentum around the program — three characteristics the Trojans’ haven’t enjoyed in years.

Let’s start with momentum.

Last season, Gottlieb guided USC to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014. Though the Trojans’ run ended quickly in a heartbreaking overtime loss to South Dakota State in the first round, it was an important step in this program’s quest to rebuild towards its glory days in the ‘80s. It also came somewhat ahead of schedule, as USC was picked to finish just ninth in its conference in preseason coaches and media polls — the Trojans went on to finish tied for fourth.

Now, Gottlieb and her squad are ready to take another step.

“I think this group comes in with already higher goals. We have a ton of respect for how hard it was to do what we did last year,” Gottlieb said. “Now, that lays the foundation for the bar to be raised. This team isn’t going to be satisfied just to make the tournament. We want to win games.”

Last year’s team laid the groundwork on the defensive end of the floor. The Trojans were a dominant defensive squad, allowing just 55.1 points per game, which led the Pac-12 and was a top-15 mark in the country. Led by assistant coach Beth Burns’ hard-nosed defensive system, the group took a lot of pride in mucking games up and allowing few easy shots anywhere on the floor.

Graduate guard Kaitlyn Davis, an offseason transfer from Columbia, perhaps explains the mentality of last year’s team as well as anyone.

“It was a tough team — full of dogs,” she said, meaning that as the highest of compliments. “Hard workers, people that are willing to get the job done, and just underdogs. They came in with an underdog mentality, and that’s something I really wanted to build on top of.”

Here’s where stability comes in, as USC’s returning corps are some of its strongest defenders, which should uphold this team’s floor in the upcoming season.

Two players come to mind: junior forward Rayah Marshall and senior guard Kayla Williams. The scrappy Williams started all 31 games for the Trojans and led the team with 48 steals while pestering opposing point guards for approximately 25 minutes each night. Meanwhile, the 6-foot-4 Marshall is establishing herself as a premier two-way player, after a season in which she averaged a double-double.

Despite finishing second in the nation in blocks per game (3.5), Marshall still has room to grow, even on the defensive end. During Pac-12 Media Day, she emphasized her offseason improvement in keeping blocks in play to force live-ball turnovers and transition opportunities.

Behind Marshall, USC will need some growth from 6-foot-6 backup junior center Clarice Akunwafo to maintain its high defensive ambitions. Her offensive game still has a ways to go, but Akunwafo showed flashes of being a legitimate presence around the rim last season. With several other talented centers in the conference, Akunwafo is ready for the challenge.

“I’m going to buy in on what coaches teach me every single day,” Akunwafo said. “My goal is to do everything I can for the team: rebound, talk and have energy.”

Additionally, look out for another versatile returning defender, redshirt sophomore guard Taylor Bigby. After seven starts last year and some encouraging performances, Bigby will compete for minutes at wing alongside some incoming transfers — more on them in a bit.

Perhaps the most relieving example of stability within the program comes in the form of Gayles’ progress over the last 18 months (highly recommend this piece from Katie Barnes on her recovery, by the way).

Gayles, the No. 8 overall recruit in the 2022 class according to ESPN, has — miraculously — been cleared to play. She still isn’t 100%, but frankly, USC will be happy with whatever production they get from her, and her first minutes this season will be incredible to watch. Gayles clearly still has a massive effect on her team off the floor anyways; countless teammates, coaches and staff members have raved about the joy and positivity she brings day after day.

Which takes us to that last tenet mentioned earlier: confidence (and just overall good vibes).

What else might give a team confidence? Bringing in the consensus No. 1 overall recruit in the country certainly doesn’t hurt.

USC’s high floor as a result of its tenacious defense has already been established, but freshman guard JuJu Watkins can dramatically raise the ceiling of this program. The Trojans’ offensive shortcomings last season forced them to drag opponents into the mud. They slowed games down to a halt and tried to win games in the 50s — or even 40s. It largely worked, as evident in wins such as their 55-46 slugfest upset of No. 2 Stanford in January. But it often wasn’t particularly fun to watch.

Now, Watkins’ dynamic playmaking potential should allow USC to change its identity on the offensive end. The Trojans lacked much of a shooting threat from midrange last season, where Watkins should be able to fill in right away. Additionally, the skilled passer can open up more space in the paint for Marshall, who could be more efficient as an interior scorer.

What might be the most noticeable change to USC’s play style, though, will be a result of Watkins’ abilities as a ball handler.

“I think our identity will be a little bit faster and better spaced on offense,” Gottlieb said, a contrast to the Trojans’ rather leisurely pace seen previously.

And don’t worry, Watkins fits the Trojans’ established defensive intensity as well.

“I’m astonished at how much she’s improved on the defensive end from the start of practice,” Gottlieb said. “There’s no reason [Watkins] can’t be the best two-way player in the country.”

Other offseason additions will contribute to this new offensive approach as well. Davis, for example, one of four graduate transfers brought in by Gottlieb, is used to playing at a fast pace from her time at Columbia. Her Lions squad averaged 73.6 possessions per 40 minutes last season, compared to the Trojans at 67.4.

“For me, it hasn’t been too much of an adjustment; more so, it’s just me finding where I fit in this new system,” Davis said. “The other transfers and even the kids who have been here have done a good job adjusting to that. … I like to run fast, I like to get out and push it.”

Davis can do a little bit of everything, as evidenced by her triple-double this past January against Dartmouth in which she recorded 19 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals. At 6-foot-2, she will be called on to support Marshall on the boards while still pushing the tempo and spacing the floor.

A former Brown player herself, Gottlieb brought in two more grad transfers from the Ivy League that will boost the Trojans’ outside scoring. Guard Kayla Padilla set several program records at Penn for 3-point shooting, including her 210 career threes in three seasons with the Quakers. Mackenzie Forbes is another dangerous threat out on the wing; she shot over 40% from three last season while at Harvard.

Even though all three are making the jump from the Ivy League to the Pac-12 — arguably the best conference in the nation — Gottlieb is confident that Davis, Padilla and Forbes will fit in and produce immediately.

“They don’t necessarily have to be the go-to player at all times, because there’s other good players around them,” Gottlieb said. “I think it’s been fun for them to figure out what’s needed from them on a daily basis.”

Behind Watkins, freshman point guard Malia Samuels, a four-star recruit, will serve as another distributor for the Trojans’ shooters off the bench. Redshirt sophomore guard Dominique Onu, who sat out in 2022-23 after transferring mid-season from UCLA, will be another intriguing addition to the Trojans’ lineup as a former top-30 recruit in 2021.

“It’s been fun, we’re all learning, we’re all growing as a team together,” Akunwafo said. “Each day we’re getting better and better.”

USC debuted at No. 21 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, alongside five other Pac-12 squads. The Trojans will open their season Monday at 11 a.m. in Las Vegas against No. 7 Ohio State.