USC basketball, as expected, gets shut out at 2025 NBA draft
After a disappointing debut season in the Big Ten, the USC Trojans failed to have any players hear their name called the last two days at the 205 NBA draft. Instead of having their top players getting drafted, the Trojans had top players hit the transfer portal. Last season's leading scorer Desmond Claude hit the portal and committed to Washington two weeks ago.
This isn't the first time this has happened. It marks the second time in the last seven years a Trojan has not been drafted. This occurrence still goes against the standard for USC. The Trojans, within the last 10 years since the 2015 NBA draft, have had the fifth-most selections of any team in the country.
Some of the notable names that have been drafted in that 10-year period include Isaiah Collier, the promising role player for the Utah Jazz; Bronny James, the son of Lebron James; and this season's NBA Defensive Player of the Year, No. 3 pick (2021) Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
USC currently sits in eighth place for the most active players in the NBA. Taking a step back and having a year in which no Trojans are featured anywhere near the top 100 prospects in a draft class is less than ideal.
With this year's promising upcoming class featuring talented freshman guard Alijah Arenas, the son of former NBA player Gilbert Arenas, the Trojans should be back to business as usual, supplying the NBA with talent. Alijah Arenas will also look to help the USC Trojans make their presence felt in the Big Ten this upcoming season.
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