Usc's Jazzy Davidson Is The Best Freshman In College Basketball. Here's Why.

Welcome backmost to nan Times of Troy newsletter, wherever I person emerged from my Hawaiian picnic and astir apt should beryllium stopped earlier I bargain a Maui timeshare. Please nonstop help.

All jokes (and early debt) aside, we’re fresh to rotation aft a weeklong break connected nan beach, conscionable successful clip for nan location agelong of nan assemblage hoops regular season. Both USC teams are still connected nan bubble midway done February, albeit 1 overmuch much comfortably than nan other.

The Trojan men’s March hopes are nan much tenuous of nan two. The abrupt ascent to stardom of freshman Alijah Arenas has injected caller dream into a hard-luck season. There’s still a ways to go: USC must look Illinois and Nebraska, not to mention UCLA twice, and could still usage a mates much Quad 1 wins to bolster its resume. But nan talent is location for USC to do immoderate harm successful nan tourney … if it tin make it to March.

The Trojan women are connected overmuch steadier ground, slotted astatine 22nd successful nan NCAA’s NET rankings. They’ve yet to suffer a non-Quad 1 crippled this play and haven’t mislaid a crippled at each since Jan. 25. If nan tourney started today, they’d beryllium firmly successful nan field.

Lindsay Gottlieb has recovered a intends to make it activity complete nan past month, successful spite of immoderate shortcomings successful a lineup that mislaid not conscionable JuJu Watkins, but besides each nan different stars who might’ve lined up to play with her this season. Still, USC has weathered 25 games pinch a Watkins-sized spread successful its lineup, a constricted frontcourt and inconsistent play astatine constituent guard.

Gottlieb, arsenic coach, deserves a batch of in installments for that. As does Kara Dunn, nan Trojans’ sharp-shooting grad transfer, who is shooting 51% and averaging 21 points, six rebounds and 3 assists complete her past 11 games.

But USC could not person travel this acold this play if not for nan champion freshman successful assemblage basketball.

Jazzy Davidson has been each spot nan difference-maker successful her debut play that she was advertised to beryllium arsenic nan apical enlistee successful nan 2025 class. She has been an elite defender, a move and varied scorer, a poised and wished leader. She’s delivered successful nan clutch. She’s dragged USC retired of deficits. She leads nan Trojans successful each statistical category: points (17.2), rebounds (6.3), assists (4.4), steals (1.9) and blocks (2.2).

The numbers only really show portion of nan story. When Davidson signed pinch USC, she expected to play her first play pinch Watkins. Instead, Watkins injured her knee. The remainder of USC’s Elite Eight lineup left. And Davidson abruptly recovered herself nan centerpiece of nan team’s hopes. As a freshman.

Those expectations would person weighed heavy connected astir first-year players, moreover earlier considering Watkins’ protector looming complete each nan proceedings. But successful this case, they haven’t seemed to faze nan prima freshman successful nan slightest. She’s been a image of poise done a play that asked her to beryllium conscionable that. It’s an intolerable point to inquire of astir 18-year-olds.

And yet, successful Davidson’s case, it’s working.

“You talk astir overdelivering, to beryllium a freshman and transportation nan load for us,” Gottlieb said, “she’s conscionable tin of doing almost thing connected a hoops court. She’s unique. I cognize location are respective bully freshmen successful nan country. We cognize really bully she is. We spot it each day, and we deliberation there’s nary 1 better.”

Someone successful SEC state will surely make nan lawsuit that Vanderbilt constituent defender Aubrey Galvan has been nan nation’s apical freshman. Advanced metrics, for one, will show you that Galvan is worthy 3.3 triumph shares compared to 3.1 for Davidson. She’s surely been typical connected nan violative end, pairing up pinch nationalist subordinate of nan twelvemonth campaigner Mikayla Blakes to make nan astir lethal 1-2 punch successful women’s assemblage basketball.

But Galvan is nan No. 2 successful that attack. That’s nan domiciled Davidson was expected to play arsenic a freshman. Instead, Davidson has been nan focal constituent of opposing team’s crippled plans from nan start, and yet still managed to set to nan assemblage crippled connected nan fly. Her usage complaint (28.8%), which measures really often a possession ends pinch nan shot successful one’s hands, is higher than immoderate freshman successful nan country. And she’s only getting amended pinch nan shot successful her hands.

USC’s hopes this March hinge connected Davidson continuing that ascent. It wasn’t expected to beryllium that way. But present we are. And successful immoderate strange, roundabout way, nan acquisition mightiness upwind up making USC and its prima freshman overmuch amended successful nan agelong run.

Because adjacent year, USC will invited not only Watkins backmost from injury, but besides nan No. 1 enlistee successful nan nation, Saniyah Hall, arsenic good arsenic 6-foot-4 Aussie guardant Sitaya Fagan, who’s redshirting this season. That lineup mightiness beryllium nan astir talented successful USC history.

How it fits together will beryllium nan communicative of adjacent season. But successful this one, Davidson has proven she tin beryllium immoderate USC needs her to be.

Not only nan champion freshman successful assemblage basketball, but nan glue that’s kept this Trojans play together.

Mater Dei wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt pulls successful a agelong reception to people against St John Bosco.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

—One past point astir Jazzy. She could guidelines to beryllium much businesslike from nan three-point line, wherever she has made conscionable 9 of her past 52 attempts (17%). USC, arsenic a team, has really struggled from down nan arc, which is not thing you want successful March.

—Chad Baker-Mazara should beryllium backmost this week. It’s not clear if he’ll beryllium fresh for Wednesday’s large matchup. When USC welcomes No. 8 Illinois to Galen Center, it will person been much than 2 weeks since Baker-Mazara sprained his medial collateral ligament against Indiana. A Grade I sprain usually requires sitting retired a week aliases two, truthful nan timeline is beautiful normal. USC is going to request its afloat arsenal, Baker-Mazara included, to clasp its ain against nan Illini. But if not Wednesday, nan sixth-year elder will decidedly beryllium backmost by Saturday against Oregon.

—Chad Bowden wasn’t subtle astir his expectations for adjacent season. USC’s wide head told reporters that he was “on a warpath” heading into 2026. He made clear that occurrence adjacent play is “black and white. You’re either successful nan playoffs aliases you’re not,” he said. He added that fans “should beryllium unhappy” pinch a nine-win play and that he was “sick to his stomach” astir it. Strong words from personification whose sentiment matters a batch wrong Heritage Hall. Chalk it up arsenic much grounds that a Playoff quality is nan baseline of expectations for Lincoln Riley adjacent season.

—Blue-chip pass-catching prospects Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and Mark Bowman some took little money to motion pinch USC. That’s a bully sign. Bowden said USC hadn’t talked to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt successful 3 aliases 4 months while nan top-50 receiver enlistee was committed to Ohio State. But Dixon-Wyatt decided retired of nan bluish that he was coming to USC, to enactment location and play successful beforehand of family, moreover if it meant taking little money than he would’ve gotten successful Columbus. He wasn’t nan only one. On signing day, Lane Kiffin and LSU swooped successful to connection Dixon-Wyatt’s Mater Dei teammate, tight extremity Mark Bowman, “significantly more” than nan woody he had pinch USC, Bowden said. Bowman made Bowden hold astir of nan time earlier reassuring he was ever bound for USC. We mightiness look backmost connected that determination arsenic a beautiful consequential one, if Bowman lives up to his billing from Bowden arsenic “one of nan champion players successful nan country.”

—USC is putting a batch of religion successful its linebacker room for 2026. Bowden says he thinks nan room will “take nan biggest leap” of immoderate position adjacent season, but for nan moment, that would require rather a spot of projection. Riley pointed to nan advancement from Desman Stephens down nan agelong of past season, arsenic good arsenic nan precocious emergence of Jadyn Walker, arsenic reasons why USC didn’t consciousness nan request to adhd much successful nan transportation portal. USC did adhd Deven Bryant, who nan beforehand agency viewed arsenic a value tally defender, and welcomes a freshman successful Talanoa Ili who could beryllium progressive correct away.

—The Big Ten is still pushing nan 24-team Playoff – *shakes head* – but its scheme isn’t all bad. I americium not a instrumentality successful nan slightest of doubling nan size of nan Playoff. That would importantly devalue nan regular season, while lining nan coffers of assemblage football’s ruling class. The Big Ten has dominated nan past 3 years of nan 12-team Playoff, and yet it wants to unfastened nan section up more? It doesn’t make sense. What does sound logical to me, amid an different insane plan, is nan elimination of nan convention title games. Not only would that trim a afloat week retired of nan calendar, which needs to happen, it would do distant pinch immoderate questions astir whether teams tin wounded their resume conscionable by playing different game. Go to 16 teams, do distant pinch convention title games and please — I request you — extremity tweaking nan system.

—USC baseball’s play opened pinch a mixed no-hitter. After beating Pepperdine successful its play opener, nan Trojans went 1 measurement further successful their Saturday matchup, serving up nan school’s first no-hitter successful 8 years. Sophomore right-hander Grant Govel went 7 innings and struck retired 10 batters while stepping conscionable one, and freshman Cameron Fausset closed nan doorway pinch different hitless inning earlier Andrew Lamb deed a two-run homer to invoke nan 10-run rule. Hard to ideate a amended commencement to USC’s first play backmost connected campus.

Olympic sports spotlight

After winning its first indoor NCAA title successful 53 years past season, nan early of USC men’s way has looked beardown this indoor season.

Jack Stadlman, a Temecula native, group nan indoor 400-meter freshman grounds astatine USC, finishing successful 2nd pinch a 45.51 connected Day 1 of nan Don Kirby Elite Invite connected Friday. Stadlman really didn’t commencement moving way until his inferior twelvemonth astatine Temecula Valley High and didn’t commencement moving nan 400 until past spring. Now already he’s tally nan fastest indoor clip ever for a freshman astatine USC and nan fourth-fastest clip successful nan NCAA successful nan arena this season. That should group Stadlman up nicely for adjacent month’s NCAA indoor championships.

Freshman Cordial Vann besides made a beardown impression, tying nan indoor freshman grounds astatine USC pinch a 6.60 successful nan 60-meter sprint. The NCAA champion truthful acold this twelvemonth is simply a 6.49.

In lawsuit you missed it

USC coach Lincoln Riley completes unit featuring caller protect blood, continuity

‘She’s unique.’ Jazzy Davidson helps USC climb retired of early spread and triumph 5th successful a row

USC men travel up a spot short against Ohio State

What I’m watching this week

Timothée Chalamet successful “Marty Supreme.”

I yet had nan chance this past play to watch “Marty Supreme,” nan champion image nominee starring Timothée Chalamet and directed by Josh Safdie. And boy was it worthy nan wait.

Let maine commencement by saying that I mostly dislike sports movies. There are exceptions to this rule, of course. But arsenic personification who spends a batch of clip reasoning astir nan beauty and romance and play inherent to sports, I americium a documented hater of nan genre.

“Marty Supreme,” though, was nary mean sports movie. This was a propulsive, anxiety-inducing roller coaster thrust arsenic we travel Marty Mauser, played by Chalamet, arsenic he tries to go nan look of nan emerging athletics of array tennis successful a post-World War II America. Those plans, arsenic you mightiness imagine, unravel on nan way, and successful nan process, Chalamet gives 1 of nan champion performances of nan year.

I’m still partial to “One Battle After Another” if we’re talking champion image successful adjacent month’s Academy Awards, but “Marty Supreme” is nary uncertainty 1 of nan champion movies of nan past year.

Until adjacent clip ...

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