The USC men’s basketball team is further progressing in their development of a new system. With their season opener at Utah State less than three weeks away, the Trojans’ focus remains on refining their fast-paced offense.

Head coach Andy Enfield emphasized "spacing" as the key to USC's offense success on Monday. “We have that 7’2’’ player, Omar [Oraby], in the middle and if we can have great spacing around him, where we are constantly moving and getting to the open area, it’s really hard to guard,” Enfield said.

The Trojans put in two new offensive sets on Monday, one for the wings and one for the post players. With Virginia Commonwealth transfer DJ Haley back from a sprained neck, the Trojans were only missing sophomore Katin Reinhardt to injuries. Enfield complimented Chass Bryan and freshman Kahlil Dukes for their great performances during Monday's practice, and mentioned that senior Pe’Shon Howard showed “great leadership.” The Trojans continue to mix and match lineups during their scrimmages, and Enfield doesn’t expect to set his rotation until the week of the first game. Following another scrimmage and focus on transition offense on Saturday, Enfield was impressed Monday with the team's progress in reducing turnovers in transition, but noted that they "still have some work to do".

Despite being projected to finish 11th in the conference by a poll of Pac-12 writers, Enfield expressed optimism. He pointed to the quick improvements he sees as some freshmen are "developing quickly," while "upperclassmen start to be leaders." He expects that the team "will be extremely hard to beat,” and says USC has "as good a shot as anyone else in our league to do some damage.” 

Reach Staff Writer Alexander Wowra here and Sean Burch here.