J.T. Terrell in early-season action (Danny Lee/Neon Tommy)

The 6-foot-3 junior college transfer is one of two Trojans averaging double figures in points, with 11.3 per game, but is shooting just 30.4 percent from the field and is coming off an 0-for-7, two-point performance in last Saturday’s loss to Minnesota.

“I don't care about the shots not falling. It's shot selection [given the] time and score, things that are important in the course of the game,” head coach Kevin O’Neill said on Thursday. “He's played nine games now. He's had an opportunity and I feel it's time to make a change. That's what I'm going to do.”

O’Neill said that his starting lineup for Saturday’s against UC-Riverside will include Jio Fontan and Byron Wesley in the backcourt, with Eric Wise, Dewayne Dedmon and Omar Oraby up front.

“What I'm going to do is play whoever's a high energy guy, whoever shares the ball, and whoever plays defense,” O’Neill said. “I'm going to find anywhere from eight to 10 to 11 [players] who will do that.”

Terrell’s move to the bench part of an ongoing series of attempts to get the Trojans’ season back on track. USC has lost its last five games after a 3-1 start, leading to O’Neill tweaking his offense last week to emphasize more motion and off-ball movement. He said that they will continue to make more in practice this week, with a greater emphasis on getting the ball inside to Oraby, who O’Neill mentioned will get more playing time moving forward.

With just four games left before conference play begins, O’Neill knows that the clock is ticking for his team to right the ship.

“Right now, we're in a position where we need to win games. We need to play harder. We need to play better together,” he said.

Among the most frustrating things has been his team’s defense, which has conceded 67.8 points per game so far this season.

“It's the first team I've ever had that hasn't guarded well. I mean, at any level, from high school through the NBA. So we've got to get better on that end,” he said.
Asked why he believes this team has failed to do so, O’Neill replied, “I have no idea.”

“I think part of that is that we need to play guys who are hard playing. Your defense should never have a night off.”

There are positive signs. O’Neill noted that his team has a 6-2-1 mark in second halves this season, and praised his players’ resilience for being able to fight their way out of deficicits.

“We do fight hard. We do make comebacks. We don't give in,” he continued. “But that has to find a way to carry over to the first half.”

“I think we're good enough to win games, but I don't think we're good enough to win if we're not playing hard all the time. We're not doing that right now. We've played well for certain stretches but we’re not playing well for 40 minutes.”

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