The USC Trojans are undeniably getting better. Their recent wins over Arizona State and UCLA represented a dramatic improvement from their previous standard of play this season. Boogie Ellis has raised his game when it really mattered. Kobe Johnson continues to do the gruntwork for this team, an essential piece to the larger puzzle for a team whose NCAA Tournament odds have soared over the past week. Vince Iwuchukwu’s 14 to 17 minutes per game are valuable minutes. Opponents don’t hammer USC on the glass nearly as much when Iwuchukwu is on the floor with his size and athleticism.
If only USC could get one more ingredient into the mix as the month of February arrives. The Trojans are improving, but if Reese Dixon-Waters could thrive, this team could truly take off.
Dixon-Waters had a great game for USC against Miami in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. It seemed like the perfect launching pad, a catapult into this season. Dixon-Waters is a big guard who should be able to get to the rim and earn foul shots. He should give USC different dimension to its offense compared to Boogie’s quickness and Drew Peterson’s affinity for turnaround and fadeaway jumpers.
Dixon-Waters is averaging a modest nine points and three rebounds this season. Notably, he played only 14 minutes in the win over UCLA. This marginal a role is not what he or USC had in mind for this season. He figured to be a frontline starter, but Tre White has gotten the lion’s share of minutes in Pac-12 play.
USC will need Reese Dixon-Waters to be more of a factor in February. If he can evolve, USC could be scary in March.
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