When Eric Musselman arrived at USC in 2024, there was a lot of work to be done. The head coach and his staff were new to Los Angeles and looking for a place to gather.
During the process, the staff asked USC if they could rent a house where they could all meet and do their work — the school agreed, and that’s where they handled all of their recruiting, roster‑planning, calls and breakdowns.
“It wasn’t a frat house,” Musselman said, “but it was a Portal House.”
The head coach doesn’t shy away from anyone. He reaches out to a broad pool of players. This season, it’s paid off, and there was intent behind every phone call.
COACH SPOTLIGHT SERIES
EP. 2 | USC HC Eric Musselman@EricPMusselman x @ThePortalReport pic.twitter.com/ZpO9L4cZvK
— The Portal Report (@ThePortalReport) August 13, 2024
There was a criteria that needed to be filled. Players needed to be tough, physically and mentally. They needed to be versatile. They needed to want to be a Trojan.
That kind of ideal can be hard to match. During the 2024–25 season, that gap showed. USC finished 17–18, a losing record. But this year is different.
Musselman’s squad has gotten off to a blazing start, winning the Maui Invitational. A big part of their success traces back to the players he brought in from the transfer portal.
The MVP of the holiday tournament happens to be one of them. Auburn transfer Chad Baker-Mazara scored 23 points against Arizona State in the championship game, making him the first player to win that tournament in back-to-back seasons.
He brought a winning mentality to the program after helping take the Tigers to a Final Four the year prior. It was evident in the way he played.
“Who wants it more at the end of the day? [We’re] all tired, all fatigued, all hurting,” Baker-Mazara said following the Maui Invitational. “But at the end of the day, who wants it more? Me and the guys and coach just kept being in our ears, like, come on, last guy, leave it all right now. I promise it’s gonna be worth it. And we listened to the coach and followed his game plan, and came out to victory.”
But USC’s reinvention isn’t about a single player. It’s about a class of transfers who bring different strengths. This group brings depth, flexibility and balance. Among the key additions beyond Baker‑Mazara are guys like Rodney Rice, Ezra Ausar and Jacob Cofie, as well as several others who round out a deep, competitive roster.
Rice, a combo guard with experience from Maryland, brings shot creation and perimeter scoring to a backcourt that needed it.
Frontcourt pieces like Ausar and Cofie give USC size, rebounding and interior presence, helping patch up what had been a weakness last season.
“I feel like we got characteristics that some of our past teams have had that had success,” Mussleman said. “We move the ball, we have multiple guys that can play point guard. We have a lot of room to grow for sure, but we’re different from a size factor standpoint as well.”
It’s a far cry from the 2024–25 squad, and perhaps that’s why, entering this season, expectations feel different.
When the final buzzer sounded in Maui, the trophy in hand was more than a souvenir. It was proof of concept. It was what happens when you believe in the portal, embrace versatility and trust a head coach’s vision.
For Musselman and his staff, it validated the sleepless nights at the Portal House. For the players, it confirmed that their leap from one campus to another was worth it.
