USC men’s and women’s basketball unveiled their latest highly-anticipated rosters on Thursday night at the brand-new annual event HoopLA that combined hoops with live performances. Fans waited for over an hour and a half to enter the Galen Center to snag the best seats in the arena.
HoopLA put on a wide variety of contests that featured players from both the men’s and women’s teams, and even surprise guests from the football team, including junior quarterback Caleb Williams, junior safety Calen Bullock and senior wide receiver Brenden Rice.
“I am most excited to see all the players,” Ahori Yadav, a sophomore studying computer science and business administration, said. “I grew up around Los Angeles, so I have been watching the basketball team for a long time.”
Kicking off the event was a DJ set from USC alum Zach Bia, who was sporting a black USC jersey, with the No. 6 on the back to represent freshman guard Bronny James. Bia pulled out fan favorites, remixing songs from Bad Bunny, Sexyy Red, Drake and Peso Pluma, getting the crowd energized early for a night of madness.
The long-awaited reveal of the new women’s and men’s basketball teams had fans on their feet to see all the new recruits and returning players. This offseason, USC was able to land the top-rated freshman recruits in both men’s and women’s basketball, guards Isaiah Collier and JuJu Watkins. Both were awarded the Naismith Prep Player of the Year award last year, given to the best high school player in the country. USC became the first school ever to sign both Naismith winners in the same year.
The player introductions started with the women’s team. Watkins got a huge cheer as she was announced for the first time in the Galen Center this year. Many fans were excited to see No. 12 walk-out, as it begins a new chapter in the women’s program.
“I am really happy that [Watkins] is bringing a lot of rep to women’s basketball,” Yadav said.
Following suit was the men’s team, giving fans the first opportunity to see highly-touted freshmen Isaiah Collier and James take the court. Out of the men’s rosters, Ben Llados, a freshman studying business administration, said, “By far, Isaiah Collier,” as the player he is most excited to watch.
While Collier and James were the spotlights of the introductions, sophomore center Vincent Iwuchukwu — a native of Imo State, Nigeria — stole the spotlight with his walk-out in a traditional Imo outfit over his uniform that featured an overflowing jumper covered with lion heads.
The event started with a skills competition, which had four teams of three players: one from each of the men’s and women’s basketball teams, plus one football player. The Veterans, a trio composed of juniors guard Kobe Johnson, center Rayah Marshall and Bullock, from the football team, came out victorious. In an impressive 29 seconds, the squad scored from close-range before sinking a half-court heave to win the HoopLA skills competition.
The highly anticipated dunk-contest came next, which featured some high flyers with freshman forward Brandon Gardner, Collier and even the First Team All-American safety Bullock, who got to show off his multi-sport athleticism by throwing one down. But Gardner had the highlight of the night at HoopLA, as he cleared Heisman quarterback Caleb Williams for a tenacious slam dunk. The crowd erupted into cheers, as Gardner tried to do his best Aaron Gordon impersonation. The freshman showcased what fans can be expecting to see from the freshman this year on a fast break: Showtime.
The 3-point competition was a thrilling showdown between graduate guard India Otto and fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis, who both cruised through the first round. With 21 points, including a clutch finish, Ellis defeated Otto to win it. That didn’t come to a surprise to many Trojan fans: one of them being Llados who picked Boogie Ellis to win the 3-point contest right before the event. Over the last few seasons, Ellis has had some clutch finishes to seal victories, with the most notable one being last year’s game-icing three that capped his career-high 31-point performance versus crosstown rival UCLA.
During a quick intermission between contests, the men’s and women’s team broke out into a spontaneous dance-off. Boogie Ellis and redshirt freshman Aaliyah Gayles put on the moves, going back and forth to see which USC basketball team had the best dancers.
A great night of celebration for the men’s and women’s teams, and welcoming of new recruits at HoopLA, was capped with a performance from another USC alum, Saweetie. She was accompanied by the Cardinal Divas, USC’s majorette team. However, the Divas weren’t the only ones to share the stage with Saweetie during her performance. Los Angeles native and rapper YG made his entrance to his song “BPT,” which had both players and students surprised and excited. The two artists performed their familiar fan-favorites, giving fans a great end to the first annual HoopLA at the Galen Center.
While both teams crashed out of the NCAA tournament in the first round last season, the hype surrounding men’s and women’s basketball has never been louder. Both the men’s and women’s teams will begin this season ranked No. 21 in the nation.
“I think they have a lot of potential to do good,” Yadav said. “I just want them to live up to their potential.”
Both teams will tip-off the new season in Las Vegas on November 6 in the Hall of Fame Series. Women’s basketball will face off against future Big Ten opponent Ohio State at 11 a.m., before men’s basketball takes on Kansas State at 7 p.m. College hoops are back!