Men's Basketball | June 24, 2024
The USC men's basketball program's revamped 2024-25 roster includes 12 new scholarship players and 16 first-time Trojans overall, it was announced by head coach Eric Musselman today (June 24). The newest Trojans are guards Chibuzo Agbo, Desmond Claude, Isaiah Elohim, Kevin Patton Jr., Bryce Pope, Clark Slajchert and forwards Rashaun Agee, Josh Cohen, Matt Knowling, Jalen Shelley, Saint Thomas and Terrance Williams II. USC has also added transfer guard Wesley Yates and walk-on guards Avand Dorian, Jonah Goorin and Kallai Patton.
Musselman was named USC's head men's basketball coach on April 4 and he immediately assembled an elite staff for the basketball program and they began working to re-tool the USC men's basketball roster for the 2024-25 season. The results are these talented and athletic additions to the USC men's basketball program.
Agbo (G, 6-7, 225) is a graduate transfer from Boise State who earned All-Mountain West honorable mention honors last season as he averaged 13.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Broncos. The San Diego native made 41 percent of his three-point attempts last season and started all 33 games. Agbo spent two seasons at Boise State, after beginning his career at Texas Tech in the 2020-21 season.
Agee (F, 6-8, 225) is a graduate transfer from Bowling Green who played in 33 games (30 starts) last season and averaged 13.3 points and a team-leading 9.9 rebounds per game to earn 2023-24 All-MAwC Second Team honors. The Chicago, Ill. native posted 17 double-doubles which ranked tied for 12th in the country and his 9.9 rebounds per game ranked 19th nationally. Agee transferred to Bowling Green after spending the 2021-22 season at Casper College, where he averaged 20 points and 11.5 rebounds per game to earn All-Region honors. He began his collegiate career at New Mexico State in the 2019-20 season.
Claude (G, 6-6, 205) is a junior transfer who played two seasons at Xavier. The Connecticut native started all 34 games for Xavier in the 2023-24 season and averaged 16.6 points, 4.2 rebound and 3.2 assists, earning recognition as the Big East's Most Improved Player. During the final month of the 2023-24 season, he led all Big East players with a 22.8 scoring average. Claude scored in double figures 31 times and scored 20 or more points 12 times during his sophom*ore season. He scored a career-high 36 points to help Xavier overcome a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Georgetown on March 2.
Cohen (F, 6-10, 250) is a graduate transfer from UMass where he averaged 15.9 points and 6.8 rebounds en route to earning All-Atlantic 10 first-team honors and NABC All-District second team selection during the 2023-24 season. The New Jersey native began his career at Saint Francis (PA) where he averaged 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds during the 2022-23 campaign, earning him co-NEC Player of the Year and NABC All-District first team. In 110 career college games played, Cohen has averaged 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds.
Elohim (G/F, 6-5, 200) is a freshman combo guard who played at Sierra Canyon High in Los Angeles and averaged 12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals as a senior. Elohim was a consensus top 50 recruit, No. 40 on Rivals and No. 45 on On3 in the national rankings of the 2024 class. He was a 2021 USA men's U16 training camp invitee.
Knowling (F, 6-6, 200) is a graduate student who transferred to USC from Yale where he averaged 11.6 points and 4.9 rebounds last season to earn All-Ivy League honorable mention. As a junior he averaged 13.6 points and 4.9 rebounds to earn All-Ivy League first team honors. The Connecticut native graduated from East Catholic High in 2020 as the state Player of the Year. He led his high school team to a 101-5 record in his career.
Patton Jr. (G, 6-8, 200) is a sophom*ore guard who transferred to USC after one season at San Diego where he averaged 9.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30 games, 16 starts. He also was second in the WCC with 42 blocked shots. The Murrieta, Calif. native was named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week four times and was voted to the WCC All-Freshman team. During his high school career at Rancho Christian High, he totaled over 1,700 points. Patton Jr. was named the 2023 CIF Southern Section Division 2A and Ivy League Players of the Year while receiving CIF All-State honors. He led Rancho Christian to the 2023 CIF Southern Section 2A title.
Pope (G, 6-3, 185) is a graduate transfer guard from UC San Diego. He led the Tritons with an 18.3 scoring average and finished fifth in the Big West in scoring. He was the first UC San Diego basketball player to be named NABC All-District and was a finalist for the Lou Henson Award, which honors the top play in mid-major college basketball. The San Diego, Calif. native finished his Triton career fourth all-time in program history with 1,627 points scored. He played in 105 games, starting the final 104, and made 193 three-point baskets.
Shelley (F, 6-8, 190) is a freshman who played his senior season at Link Academy in Benson, Mo. where he helped lead them to the semifinals of the 2024 Chipotle Nationals. The Little Elm, Texas native was ranked No. 50 on the 2024 ESPN Top 100 list. As a junior he attended Plano Prestonwood Christian High and helped lead them to a 26-6 record and the TAPPS 6A state basketball title. He was named first-team 6A TAPPS All-State and second-team All-Area by the Dallas Morning News. He averaged 18.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
Slajchert (G, 6-1, 170) is a graduate transfer guard from Penn. He started all 22 games he played in as a senior and led the Quakers with an 18.0 average. He made 42.2 percent of his three-point attempts during the season. The Los Angeles native was named 2024 All-Ivy League second team. He graduated from Oak Park High where he scored 2,833 points in his career, finishing second in Ventura County history and 17th in California history.
Thomas (F, 6-7, 220) is a senior transfer forward from Northern Colorado who averaged 19.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 32 games last season. His 19.7 scoring averaged ranked 39th in the country. He made 118 out of 136 free throws for an 86.8 percentage from the free throw line. The Omaha, Neb. native played his first two collegiate seasons at Loyola Chicago.
Williams II (F, 6-7, 225) is a graduate transfer forward who averaged a career-best 12.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 31 starts at Michigan. He scored in double figures 24 times and made 39.7 percent of his three-point shots (52-for-131). The Maryland native played four seasons for the Wolverines, appearing in 114 games, 58 starts.
Yates (G, 6-4, 200) is a sophom*ore transfer who spent his freshman season at Washington. He did not compete for the Huskies due to injury. Yates graduated from Beaumont United High in Beamont, Texas in 2023 where he averaged 19.7 points and 4.0 rebounds as a senior to lead his team to a 36-2 record and the state 6A title. His teams won three state titles and he graduated at Beaumont United's all-time leading scorer.
Dorian (G, 6-3, 195) is a sophom*ore wing who graduated from AGBU MDS in 2023. As a senior, he averaged 23.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. His team won the 2020-21 league championship. He scored 1,678 points in his high school career. He played for Armenia which defeated Ireland to win the Los Angeles International Cup on June 23.
Goorin (G, 6-3, 175) is a freshman guard from San Francisco, Calif. He graduated from Sacred Heart Cathedral High in 2024. He averaged 10.7 points and 6.5 rebounds as a senior, while winning the CCS Division 3 title. His team also won the 2023 CCS Open Division championship. Goorin played for the 2023 Maccabi team USA U18 team which won a gold medal in Argentina.
Patton (G, 6-4, 180) is a freshman who graduated from Rancho Christian High in Temecula, Calif. in 2024. As a senior, he averaged 10.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 3.5 steals and 2.0 blocks per game As a junior he helped lead Rancho Christian to a CIF Southern Section title, along with his brother and current teammate Kevin Patton.
These athletes will be joining USC's lone returning scholarship player Harrison Hornery (F, 6-10, 230). Hornery averaged 3.3 points and 28 rebounds in 26 games (4 starts) last season. He has appearned in 62 games in his three-year career at USC.
Also returning is senior JD Plough (G, 6-3, 180), who has been on the USC men's basketball roster the past two seasons. Last season, Plough appeared in five games and grabbed two rebounds.
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