The new look USC men’s basketball team held an open scrimmage Tuesday inside the Galen Center. The scrimmage was broken down into four 10-minute periods, and head coach Eric Musselman switched up the teams after every period.
Here are our VIP observations from the session:
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Overall:
– Desmond Claude and Matt Knowling were great in their specific roles. It’s clear Claude has the highest ceiling on the team. His ball handling, foot work and interior offensive game is elite. Claude primarily played point guard and did well outside of a late turnover in scrimmage three. It doesn’t seem like his elbows are bothering him too much (he had surgery on both in the offseason), and his jump shot is improved as a result. I expect Claude to be USC’s best player this season.
– Knowling had a terrific second scrimmage. He has a very high basketball IQ, and he’s one of those players that’s seemingly always in the right place at the right time. Knowling has great touch with his left hand, and he’s a solid passer. Coming into the scrimmage, I wasn’t sure exactly what role Knowling would have on the team, but he certainly looked like a contributor at small forward and power forward.
