The USC Trojans men's basketball head coaching job is open, and it is one of the most intriguing vacant positions in all of college basketball. Andy Enfield had success with USC basketball over the last 11 years after rising to prominence with his miraculous Sweet 16 run with Florida Gulf Coast.
He made it to an Elite 8 and appeared in five NCAA Tournaments in those 11 seasons. But perhaps the transition to the Big Ten and a disappointing 15-18 season was enough for Enfield to move on from that job and become the next head coach at SMU.
The resources available to USC should garner the attention of many coaches nationwide. They are in the middle of perhaps the biggest basketball hotbed in America. Los Angeles is a great place to live and can attract top talent in high school or the portal.
The right coach can win big in Southern California. Two coaches, in particular, seem like great fits for this job. They are Colorado State's Niko Medved and UC Irvine's Russell Turner.
Niko Medved, Colorado State
All Niko Medved has done at Colorado State is win games. Medved has won at least 20 games in four of his six seasons in charge of the Rams' basketball program. He's made the NCAA Tournament in two of those four seasons, including this year, where he won a First Four game against the Virginia Cavaliers to make the field of 64.
Unfortunately, he hasn't made it past that round. But that takes nothing away from him as a coach. He prioritizes a spread floor with plenty of movement, shooting, and playmaking around it. It's a style that would work well in Southern California and the type of players they can recruit around the area.
Medved isn't from LA, but that could work in his and USC's favor with their ensuing move to the Big Ten. He's from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota and spent a season as an assistant for the Gophers as well.
Minneapolis is another burgeoning basketball hotbed that Medved has already poached some top talent. Former Ram David Roddy, now in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns, is from Minneapolis. He followed Medved to Fort Collins before he went pro. Two players on Colorado State's 2023-24 roster, Josiah Strong and Joe Palmer, are also from Minnesota.
Medved can recruit that area of the country and poach players from his primary competition.. The fit is there to help USC basketball as it embarks on its transition to the Big Ten.
Russell Turner, UC Irvine
If USC wants to stay in-state with their next head coach, it would be hard to find a coach who has had more sustained success in California than Russell Turner. Turner has only made the NCAA Tournament in two of his 14 seasons with the Anteaters, but he does have a Tournament win in that span. USC should know how good of a coach Turner is. His Anteaters beat USC on their home floor earlier this season.
UC Irvine has finished the season with at least 21 wins in nine of the 14 seasons Turner has been in charge. On top of that, the Anteaters have finished first in their conference (the Big West) seven times. They have two more second-place finishes to boot.
Not only does he know how to win, but Turner knows the area. UC Irvine's campus is only 42 miles away from USC. Turner does play more of a defensive style of game. However, that approach has worked for USC's crosstown rival UCLA with their head coach Mick Cronin. That's a style of basketball that should work in their favor with their move to the Big Ten.
Turner has been at UC Irvine for a while. Perhaps he simply wants to stay put somewhere he is very familiar with. But he and his family wouldn't have to move very far if USC came calling. He is a good coach who could win big with the Trojans. There is a fit here with both parties.
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