If there was ever a time when the bickering between Bill Walton and Dave Pasch was a welcome escape for fans, it had to be Thursday night. USC basketball (8-13) put forth a dismal effort at home once again, losing 78-69 to Oregon in a game that was not as close as the scoreboard indicated. Andy Enfield felt the same way by the the sound of his postgame press conference.

“Our guys – they always blame the coaching staff when they don’t play minutes,” the head coach said, per Luca Evans of the Orange County Register, after the Trojans lost their sixth consecutive contest. “If they want to play more minutes, they can defend and rebound.”

That was not even the extent of the bold soundbites, believe it or not, as Enfield called out a specific group of players. “Our four bigs are not very good defensive rebounders,” he said. “In fact, they’re poor.” 

Enfield did not exclude the guards from the problem, either, as USC was outrebounded 17-12 on the offensive glass. Minds will be racing after those fairly revealing comments. It is easy to assume that the “playing time” jab referred to Bronny James, given his bench role, but no one outside of Jerry West Award finalist Boogie Ellis logged a ton of minutes against Oregon.

Andy Enfield, USC basketball have reached rock bottom

The blame game doesn't matter right now. Although Enfield addressed the “four big men,” this was a statement about USC basketball as a whole. The team is failing to mount a respectable showing regardless of venue. The Galen Center continues to inflict two hours of torture on its willing but increasingly worn-down inhabitants.

But the pain might be most grueling for Andy Enfield, who could be actually fighting for his job after reaching the NCAA Tournament three years in a row (Elite Eight in 2021). The Trojans can point to the hand injury suffered by No. 1 recruit Isaiah Collier last month or Bronny James' cardiac arrest incident as reasons why the team hasn't been able to get into rhythm, but this type of effort is unacceptable in February.

The question is, though, will things spiral further after this press conference, or did Enfield light a fire under his guys? The answer to that question may determine if these next six weeks are his last in Los Angeles.