Alex Stepheson's broken hand overshadows freshman Maurice Jones' breakout night as USC won 86-73 over Santa Clara. (Note: Kevin O'Neill's post-game presser will be available on USCTrojans.com after every game NOT the blog.)
First, here is Stepheson on his courageous effort and his injury prognosis...
And, the player of the game, Maurice Jones...
- USC's rock in the middle took a chip on Saturday when he broke a small bone in his left hand. He played tonight with a soft cast, but will hard cast it when he is not playing. He expects it to be fully healed in three weeks. "To play 40 minutes with a broken hand says a lot about him," head coach Kevin O'Neill said. "It was his choice and he wanted to play." Stepheson was obviously limited, but he made up for his one-handedness by setting hard screens, deterring shots and tipping the ball to teammates.
- The Trojans have found their MoJo and it did not take long. Diminutive freshman Maurice Jones carried USC past a solid Broncos team by pouring in 29 points and dishing out five assists. "That looked like a high school rerun to me," said O'Neill, who watched Jones play many prep games in Michigan. "He's impossible to guard one-on-one." For most of the second half, O'Neill trashed the set offense in favor of Jones using a Stepheson screen to penetrate and create for himself and teammates.
- Depth is the number one issue facing the Trojans right now. While Jio Fontan counts the minutes until he's eligible, O'Neill has trimmed his rotation to seven players, including three players (Stepheson, Nikola Vucevic and MoJo) who never came out. Bryce Jones also played 38 of a possible 40 minutes. USC will have issues with foul trouble and leg weariness (8 games in 16 days to start the season) until Fontan returns. O'Neill's practices are nothing but walk-thrus and shoot-a-rounds during this brutal stretch.
First, here is Stepheson on his courageous effort and his injury prognosis...
And, the player of the game, Maurice Jones...
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