The less poetic truth was he’d been elevated Saturday night out of necessity. An ankle injury had forced starting center Josh Morgan out of the lineup, leaving the Trojans down to the freshman and a few reserves in the frontcourt, none of whom had ever contributed more than a handful of minutes in a handful of games.
The consequences of that arrangement would become painfully clear early on against Washington, even as the Trojans fought their way to an 80-74 victory, their sixth in seven tries.
They’d need a career-best effort from freshman Tre White and another stellar showing on both ends from sophomore Kobe Johnson to make it happen. Both finished with season highs Saturday, as White scored a season-high 22 points, adding eight rebounds, while Johnson scored a career high of 21, also stuffing the stat sheet with five assists and four steals.
Both would have to shoulder more work than usual, with the Trojans left paper-thin on the interior.
Depth in the frontcourt had been a major concern even before Morgan was lost to injury. But never did it seemed so pressing as on Saturday.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
Iwuchukwu lasted all of two minutes before he was pulled by coach Andy Enfield, having twice been caught out of position defensively. He was replaced by Iaroslav Niagu, who struggled to do much better, as Washington big man Braxton Meah ran roughshod in the paint early on.
Enfield experimented with his frontcourt throughout, rotating in Harrison Hornery and Kijani Wright as well. But none seemed to find his footing for long. At one point, Enfield shirked his frontcourt altogether, playing five guards while his four big men sat next to each other on the bench.
Iwuchukwu, who remains on a minutes restriction, led the way among that group, tallying six points and two rebounds. Though, in spite of earning his first start, he’d play fewer minutes (10) Saturday than he did Thursday, when his two late blocks gave USC a major lift late against Washington State.
He wasn’t nearly as sharp against the Huskies, a reminder of how far he still has to go before he’s at full strength.
Iwuchukwu wasn’t the only one who struggled.
Drew Peterson shot four for 14, one of his worst shooting performances of the season. Boogie Ellis bricked an array of open looks, also finishing four for 14.
The Trojans’ two leaders combined for 25 points after scoring 43 in their previous outing.
USC was especially anemic from behind the arc, where it had made a point of improving in recent weeks. That wasn’t the case Saturday, as the Trojans shot four for 22, their worst showing from deep this season.
Two of those deep shots, though, came when USC needed them most.
With less than four minutes remaining and the score tied at 60, Johnson was left wide open in the corner.
After hitting a critical three-pointer just two nights earlier, he hit another, giving USC a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
A minute later, he hit another, handing USC a victory, even on a night when its perilously thin frontcourt proved to be a problem.