USC men’s basketball is undergoing a major offseason reset, headlined by high-profile transfers Chad Baker-Mazara from Auburn and Rodney Rice from Maryland. Sources say the Trojans invested over $6 million in NIL and portal-related costs to assemble their new-look roster.
CBB Insider Reveals USC’s High-Stakes Roster Reset Could Backfire Without Floor General
Despite a top-five national transfer class ranking, analysts remain cautious due to the absence of a proven point guard.
Following a 17-18 campaign and a Big Ten tournament second-round loss, new head coach Eric Musselman added eight transfers, with Baker-Mazara—the 6’7″ Dominican wing and Final Four contributor—widely viewed as the program’s centerpiece addition.
USC basketball is under the spotlight following a massive offseason investment that brought in high-scoring wings Chad Baker-Mazara and Rodney Rice, but analysts remain skeptical about how the pieces will fit without a true point guard running the show.
During an episode of “The Field of 68,” college basketball insiders Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman broke down what they described as a “reality show waiting to happen” in Los Angeles.
According to Goodman, USC head coach Eric Musselman “needed talent,” and in the past week, “he’s spent a lot of money to get it.”
Reports suggest that both Baker-Mazara and Rice received over $3 million each in NIL and transfer-related compensation, totaling an unprecedented $6 million-plus investment for the Trojans. Goodman emphasized the financial significance:
“Chad Baker-Mazara certainly got paid here—somewhere in the neighborhood I think of about $3 million to go to USC.”
Baker-Mazara and Rice arrive as two high-level scorers. However, both have been complementary players in their previous stops, raising questions about their ability to take on lead roles.
“Can they step forward and be a Batman and Robin together without a dude next to them? That’s the biggest thing for me,” said Goodman, stressing the lack of a lead facilitator.
Dauster echoed the concern, pointing out that,
“They don’t have a point guard which is a little scary,” a void that could undermine the Trojans’ high-stakes gamble.
While both analysts agreed that Musselman is a master at exploiting favorable matchups, the lack of a floor general stands out.
“When he is at his best… he figures out one set, one play, one matchup, one thing that will work in a game and he will go to it over and over,” Dauster said. “Chad Baker-Mazara is good enough where you could put him in a situation where he can win a lot of matchups.”
Adding to the intrigue is the potential return of Alijah Arenas, son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, who is recovering from a car accident.
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Goodman described the 6’6″ guard as “a bucket,” and noted, “He’s much further along at the same stage than Gil was.”
Still, with no true point guard in sight, the Trojans’ expensive overhaul may struggle to deliver on-court cohesion.
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