USC - Arizona State Notes

USC made a furious comeback against Arizona on Thursday night scoring 47 points in the second half. The scoring spree continued on Sunday against Arizona State in a hold your breath 82-79 victory. With the win, the Trojans move to 4-4 in conference play and get some momentum heading into a much anticipated match-up with cross-town rival UCLA (who they went 3-0 against last year) on Wednesday.

Game Notes:

Last year, in USC’s home game against ASU, the Trojans led by double-digits for most of the game. In the final minutes, the Sun Devils went on a torrid last minute run and even had a chance to take a lead with just over a minute left. Tra Holder missed a 3 and USC ended the game on a 10-2 run. This time around, USC was in control for the ball game until another rapid comeback by Arizona State. All of a sudden, it was a 3 point game with the Sun Devils inbounding the ball. Bobby Hurley drew up a beautiful out-of-bounds play to get Torian Graham a wide open look, but the elite athlete couldn’t knock it down. USC held on and forced a Shannon Evans miss to end the game.

Elijah Stewart had struggled in PAC-12 play. The high flying wing had scored 8,10,9,7,0, and 11 points in his first six conference games. Against Arizona, Stewart looked sluggish in the first half with just two points before he hit a 3 entering the half. In the second half, Stewart regained a missing bounce to his step and finished the game with 20 points on five 3’s. The 6’5” junior wasted no time on Sunday scoring 13 quick points in the first 10 minutes of the game on a mixture of 3’s and athletic finishes and ended the game with 29 points on seven 3’s. Stewart hunted his shot from the get go against ASU and will look to continue his hot streak against UCLA.

USC took ONE free throw in the first 38 minutes and finished just 2-3 from the game. It just goes to show that you don’t need free throws when you are cooking from the outside. For the game, USC shot 52% from outside making 14-27. In addition, the team had 22 assists. Ball movement and hot shooting is always a recipe for success.

Andy Enfield went with a different starting line-up as freshman Jonah Matthews got the start. The 6’3” guard attacked the basket in the first half and had his jumper going in the second half as he scored 14 points on 12 shots. Arizona State certainly did not have formidable big men like Arizona did, so the move provided more offensive flexibility with five scoring threats out on the floor.

De’Anthony Melton is a stat stuffing machine despite standing just 6’4”. His shot was off against Arizona State and he went scoreless for the first time in his career. Even though he went scoreless, Melton had 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Given his versatility, I wouldn’t be surprised if Melton saw a decent amount of action against Lonzo Ball on Wednesday.  

USC played just two bench players. Freshmen Nick Rakocevic turned in one of his best games of the season and Shaqquan Aaron provided steady minutes when he was in the game. Rakocevic finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds as he never forced the issue and finished when the opportunity presented itself. Aaron knocked in his first shot of the game from the right wing and added in several rebounds and a nice assist in the second half. The biggest contribution, only one turnover between the two.

Lamonte Bearden and Buffalo

Back in mid-July in Mequon, WI, senior point guard Lamonte Bearden turned out to be one of the top players in the stacked Under Armour Summer Jam tournament as he led his Wisconsin Swing AAU team to the semi-finals. While Bearden was busy winning converts with his play, Bobby Hurley, the newly name coach at Buffalo University and his assistant Nate Oats were parked on the bleacher seats throughout the five day event. In a surprise move Tuesday evening, Bearden announced that he had committed to Hurley and the Bulls.

Fresh off a disappointing 14-20 season the Bulls fired long time coach Reggie Witherspoon on March 15, 2013 and hired Rhode Island assistant Bobby Hurley less than two weeks later. It didn’t take long for Hurley and his staff to hit the AAU circuit as they were first spotted hanging out with the high major coaches at the Pitt Jam Fest in April. This trend continued in July where both Hurley and Oats were mixed in with many of the big name coaches at the Summer Jam. Their effort paid off by nabbing Bearden, the four star point guard straight out of the Midwest.

This past year, the 6’2” Bearden joined up with Indiana recruit Luke Fischer to help bring a second state championship and second straight 28-0 season back to Germantown, WI. During the year, Bearden averaged 13.1 points and 5.2 assists per game. 

After winning the state championship Bearden spent the spring and summer playing in AAU events primarily throughout the Midwest in addition to a trip to Las Vegas for the Fab 48. As noted above, Bearden led his team to the semi-finals during the second live recruiting session at the prestigious Summer Jam. He averaged 13 points per game and was very effective throughout the tournament at dribble penetration. Bearden likes to push the tempo and keep defenders off balance with his hesitation dribble. He can finish at the rim consistently and keeps defenders honest with his mid-range jump shot. While not on the same level athletically, the way Bearden dribbled the ball up the court and moved on offense was eerily reminiscent of future Florida point guard Kasey Hill.

Bearden was one of the top stock risers this past summer and the newly mined Buffalo staff cashed in with one of the surprise commitments of the year.