This long weekend in Oregon was supposed to be the time when this year’s USC Trojans would finally be complete.
Kevin Porter Jr. returned to the lineup after a mysterious six-week recovery from a thigh contusion. His family made the trip from Seattle to watch Porter, projected as a consensus NBA lottery pick, play his first Pac-12 games. On Thursday night, Porter played 25 minutes as the Trojans lost a heartbreaker in overtime at Oregon State. After the match, Porter seemed emotionally destroyed by the loss and blamed himself.
If we had seen Porter then, we would never have been able to see what was going to happen in just a few days. What was in the basement hallway of Gill Coliseum was a frustrated 18-year-old who really wanted to lead his team to victory and couldn’t.
But those Pac-12 trips can test a young player’s focus.
“We’ve been sitting around Eugene for three days now,” USC coach Andy Enfield said.
Apparently there was also a lot of action, but nothing very good for the Trojans. Porter had an undisclosed conduct problem and Enfield felt he had no choice but to suspend the freshman.
It was no surprise that USC came out flat Sunday night against Oregon, and the Ducks happily sent the Trojans back to Los Angeles with an 81-60 whip and another grotesque wart on their resume.
This was only the beginning of USC’s problems. After the game, Enfield said Porter’s suspension was indefinite and indicated there was a chance Porter could have played his final game for the Trojans.
“We will re-evaluate his future with the program this week,” Enfield said.
“It’s very disappointing. We need all of our players to be healthy and available. The last thing you want to do as a head coach is suspend one of your players, but when there are conduct issues we have no choice.
USC’s list is short because Enfield suspended Jordan Usher indefinitely for another undisclosed conduct issue on Dec. 31. Usher quickly announced he was transferring and chose Georgia Tech as his destination.
Charles O’Bannon Jr. has been dealing with a nagging finger injury all season. Until this week, when Porter returned to practice for the first time since Nov. 22, it seemed like he might never suit up again.
It’s always something with these Trojans (9-8, 2-2 Pac-12), and, as a result, it won’t be Porter’s health that could keep him sidelined for a three-game series. home games against UCLA, Arizona and Arizona State. who have the potential to set the direction for what is becoming a lost season at Troy.
On Sunday, faced with more unwanted drama, USC chose not to fight. The Trojans couldn’t have played more lazily on both ends of the court. Defensively, they didn’t consistently close out on shooters, allowing the Ducks to make 13 of 24 threes. Offensively, they had 12 assists and 12 turnovers. Oregon was playing without big man Bol Bol, who was out for the season with a foot injury, and still outscored USC 35-24.
The biggest difference between USC’s two wins last weekend at the Galen Center and those two losses was the play of junior center Nick Rakocevic. After averaging 25 points and nine rebounds and being named Pac-12 Player of the Week, Rakocevic averaged 8.5 points and five rebounds. The drop in production was more of a symptom of USC’s guards not creating advantageous situations for the big man.
“When we were playing Stanford and Cal, I felt like collectively, as a team, we were all having fun,” Rakocevic said. “It was nice to play with each other, and to know that if you passed the ball, you would get it back and do something for yourself or for your teammates. I crave that journey, I don’t don’t know what happened.
The reality at USC is harsh. He won’t make the NCAA tournament as an at-large, so to achieve that goal he’ll need to improve enough over the next couple of months to win the Pac-12 tournament and make the field at Ancient. Now, the Trojans may have to attempt this task without Porter.
Rakocevic was asked Sunday night if USC feels cursed. “It’s not yet,” he said, “but if it continues like this, maybe it will be.” My freshman year, we went to the NCAA tournament and set the school record for most wins. We were on top of the world.
“At the beginning of my sophomore year, we were in the top 10 in the national preseason, and with the FBI investigations and everything like that, and the luck we had last year and going into this year with the injuries and all the other problems we had to go through. don’t worry, it’s been a tough two years. But this year isn’t over yet.
USC next
Saturday vs. UCLA, 1 p.m., Galen Center, Channel 2 — Both the Trojans and Bruins will be feeling desperate to win this edition of the crosstown rivalry game. USC will look to avenge last year’s game at the Galen Center, which the Bruins won 83-72.
Twitter: @BradyMcCollough
