Pac 12 Preview: USC

Pac 12 Preview: Southern Cal

Last Season: 19-13, 6-12 in Conference play.

The Coaches:
Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is a former All American at USC and was great pro player and now in her 4th season as Head Coach.

Beth Burns is in her 3rd season as an assistant. Beth has been a Head Coach for many years and worked at Stanford once. Of course we all know Beth sued San Diego State and won.
Jualeah Woods is in her 4th year as an assistant. Ironically she replaced Burns briefly at San Diego State and was a Burns assistant for 6 years.
Taja Edwards is in her 3rd year as an assistant.


Losses:
Tami Fagbenle led the team in scoring and rebounding with almost 14 points and 9 rebounds per game.

Khaedin Taito averaged 15 minutes but just 2 points per game and didn’t return for her Soph season.

Brianna Barrett missed the last half of last season after being ruled ineligible. She averaged 7 points and 6 assists per game.



Additions:
The big addition is 5th year Grad Student Jordan Adams, see more under The Team.
Dani Milisic is a 6-3 Redshirt Frosh Forward who joined the Trojans in December of last year. Milisic is from Australia and has played for their National 16U, 17U and 18U teams.

Minyon Moore is a 5-8 Frosh Guard from Northern California and is the sister of Louisville’s Mariya. Moore was ranked # 98 but having watched her 5-6 times I love her game. Super quick, can drive and sees all on the floor.

Ivana Jakubcova is a 6-6 Sr Post and a transfer from Kentucky. Ivana is a grad student so eligible now and getting her Masters in Sports Psychology. At Kentucky she didn’t play much as a Sr and missed her Jr season. She played at a JC her first two seasons.

Ja’Tavia Tapley is a 6-2 Frosh forward from Florida. Tapley was ranked # 81 by PN however # 39 by another Site.

Valerie Higgins is a 6-0 Guard from Southern California. Higgins was ranked # 24 and played on our 18U national team. Just a super all around player. Her Dad played for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Asiah Jones is a 6-3 Frosh Forward from South Carolina. Jones was a 3 star recruit and born in Sacramento.



The Schedule: The Trojans play at Texas A&M and at home maybe against Mississippi State and other than that very low key. USC plays only at Stanford and Cal and plays Washington and Washington State only at home.



The Team:
Jordan Adams is a 6-1 5th Sr Point Guard, and working on her Masters. Adams was a McD All American and a top 10 player out of HS. Last season Adams averaged 13 points per game and 8 rebounds per game before being rules ineligible.

Courtney Jaco is 5-8 Sr Guard who played 29 minutes per game last season, starting when Adams and Barrett were ruled ineligible. Jaco averaged 10 points and made 72 threes, tops on the team, at 39%. The 72 made three’s were half the total for USC. Jaco has graduated and is working on her Masters.

Kristen Simon is a 6-1 Jr Post who averaged 11 points and 8 rebounds starting every game last season. Simon was the # 47 recruit out of HS.
Sadie Edwards is a 5-10 Jr Guard who started her career at UConn. Sadie became eligible December 18 last year and averaged 30 minutes, and 11 points per game. She was a McD All American.

Alexis Lloyd is a 5-10 5th year Sr Guard. Lloyd was ranked # 81 out of HS and played at Virginia Tech as a Frosh averaging 3 points. She sat out 2 years ago after transferring to USC and last season averaged 4 points for the Trojans.

Aliyah Mazyck is a 5-9 Soph Guard who averaged 8 points per game last season in only 18 minutes.

Marquerite Effa is a 6-3 Soph Post who averaged 2 point and 2 rebounds in 10 minutes per game this past season.

Candela Abejon is a 6-1 Soph Guard from Spain who played sparingly last season.



Predictions: Two or three Frosh will play a lot for USC and combined with a weak pre season schedule will open Conference play with a very good record. After that a struggle to be top 6 in the conference.



2017 Recruiting: Ayanna Clark is a 6-2 Post player ranked # 38. Interesting she committed long ago and was ranked in the top 10 at that time.
Shalexxus Aaron is a 6-1 wing ranked # 57.