Cal State Bakersfield loses to USC in the home opener as Isaiah Collier shines.
The rookie point guard leads a balanced effort with 19 points and five assists as the Trojans (2-0) open up a 24-point lead at the half and win 85-59.
Thursday night at the Galen Center, USC guard Isaiah Collier, left, weighs his options while Cal State Bakersfield guard Marvin McGhee III defends. Collier led the Trojans to an easy 85-59 victory with 19 points, five assists, and four steals. (Ryan Sun/AP Photo)
One high-pitched voice could be heard through the sanctuary of USC’s early warm-ups on Thursday night before the Galen Center filled up.
One young fan wearing a USC jersey exclaimed, “Isaiah!” as he leaned toward the court to greet Isaiah Collier.
The 19-year-old Trojans’ electric freshman floor general turned to face him, a smile lighting up his face. He gestured directly at him.
It has been a while since the USC basketball program has had a player who combines one-and-done talent with style and charisma to match. And when Collier emerged from the tunnel during pregame introductions to the tune of Soulja Boy’s “Pretty Boy Swag,” the crowd went crazy, temporarily drowning out the public address announcer, amid an otherwise somnolent crowd for the 6 p.m. start in the team’s home debut.
And when Collier chose to shift gears from 0 to 60, the Roadrunner defense looked like tumbleweeds. Collier’s first-half display was exceptional, as the engine of a No. 21 Trojans team that built a 24-point lead by halftime and boat raced Cal State Bakersfield, 85-59. After committing six turnovers in his debut, he displayed remarkable patience in the first fifteen minutes of play, driving the pace in transition and dishing assists to big men on pick-and-rolls or launching torpedoes at shooters positioned in weak-side corners.
But with just one minute remaining in the first half and a 20-point advantage, Collier switched to attack mode, demanding a transition pass that he never got. However, after a gesture from senior guard Boogie Ellis, a powerful Collier closed the distance, driving baseline and hanging long enough to split the arms of two possible shot blockers.
Defying the laws of momentum, he flipped a right-handed layup over his head that appeared to be about to clank off the backboard but instead dropped through with perfect spin.
Collier contributed to a dynamic USC offense that has significantly improved in shooting and ball movement from the team that played a year ago, finishing with 19 points, five assists, and four steals. In an 82-69 victory over Kansas State on Monday night in Las Vegas, Washington State transfer DJ Rodman finished with 13 points after making back-to-back 3-pointers at one point in the first half. He also drained a wide-open transition look later in the game.
Last week, Rodman declared, “I really feel like I’m going to step into a role that’s going to be more of a scoring, more assertive role here.” On Thursday night, his prediction came true.
In the first half, USC shot 59% from the field and took advantage of Bakersfield turnovers to score 19 points.
However, Collier found himself in some trouble in the second half, misfiring three times in a row after committing six errors in his collegiate debut on Monday. For a lead guard who attacks at a fast pace and is occasionally prone to tripping over his own feet or getting stripped, it’s a noticeable problem, but it’s also a characteristic of Collier, an agent of chaos on the open court.
As Enfield noted, they also couldn’t depend solely on a rookie point guard. Even with wing Kobe Johnson out for the day due to an injury sustained in the season opener, Enfield stated that USC benefited from balanced scoring overall.
Oziyah Sellers, a sophomore guard for Lithe who Enfield has noted has significantly improved, scored 16 points with efficiency. With some excellent passes from Collier and Ellis, formidable big man Joshua Morgan scored 12 more points. Meanwhile, the USC big men and perimeter defenders rotated effectively, limiting Bakersfield to 42% shooting.
After scoring 24 points in the season opener, Ellis was limited to 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting, including 1 for 6 from 3-point range.
