USC’s hire, has women’s college hoops arrived, and what’s the mood among Angels fans? – Daily News

Jim Alexander: We will get to the Women’s Final Four in a moment – and believe me, there’s a lot to get to, because the competition on the women’s side has been far more compelling than that on the men’s side. (Right now that competition seems like Connecticut’s coronation, though I won’t be surprised if I’m proven wrong).

First, though, there is men’s hoops business to discuss, specifically Eric Musselman’s hiring by USC, which was confirmed this afternoon. Andy Enfield’s departure for SMU earlier this week wasn’t a shock, given the feeling – or maybe it’s just my feeling – that Enfield’s Trojan program had hit a ceiling. (Pro tip: When your coach spends so much of his time reciting his program’s accomplishments, it’s a sign there really aren’t enough of them to truly brag about).

Our Luca Evans compiled a list of potential replacements for Enfield but Musselman, most recently Arkansas’ coach, was at the top of the list, as he should have been. From the standpoints of past success (two Elite Eights in 2021 and ‘22 and a Sweet 16 in 2023) and breadth of experience (as a head coach with the Warriors and Kings as well as college head coaching stints at Nevada and Arkansas, plus assistant jobs in the NBA and head coaching jobs in pro basketball’s minor leagues), this would seem to be a really good fit. (This season’s 16-17 record at Arkansas may be an indication of something, or apropos of nothing. Hard to tell.)

Hiring an established power conference head coach with a good résumé was essential, regardless of cost. A big city program getting ready to enter the Big Ten couldn’t afford to bring in a coach on the rebound, an upward striver from a lower level or the assistant coach flavor of the month. The Trojans needed a splash, and they got it.

And here’s a fun fact for anyone wondering if he can handle L.A.: He’s done it before, though hardly anybody noticed. He was the coach of the L.A. D-Fenders, as the Lakers’ team in the then-D League (now G-League) was known, in 2011-12. Finished 38-12, too, with a roster that included Kareem Rush, Jamaal Tinsley and Jamario Moon, among others.

Mirjam Swanson: I love that callback, Jim!

A real win for Jennifer Cohen. Musselman reinvigorated the Razorbacks fan base – the Trojans’ men’s basketball program could use some of that energy – and made the program nationally relevant. And he’s known as someone who’s capable of making the transfer portal work for his program. Also, I’d expect a slew of SEC talent to follow him west – starting, looks like, with Arkansas’ Khalif Battle and possibly UMass transfer Josh Cohen, who was committed to Arkansas…

But still there’s another just-as-big question regarding USC hoops, of course: What’s up with Bronny? There were reports – so far unconfirmed by Luca and others who patrol the beat every day – that he was entering the transfer portal. And he may yet, or he may go pro, whether he ends up drafted or not. Or maybe he stays put? Maybe he’s waiting to see who the new coach is? But, as LeBron said: There are “tough decisions” to make.

Bronny wouldn’t be the only Trojan to bow out. Guard Kobe Johnson made news Thursday morning when UCLA announced the two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive team selection will be headed across town to play his senior season for the Bruins.

Jim: Waiting on the coaching hire is the most sensible explanation for Bronny’s indecision. Unless I’m missing something, or a lot of somethings, I can’t see how Bronny is anywhere near ready to turn pro. Better that he stays in school and works to increase his potential NBA value. (NIL considerations, of course, make it a lot easier to justify returning to school than it used to, and I can just hear the traditionalists howling. Too bad. We are not going back to the days of so-called amateurism.)

In a related subject, it’s interesting that both Caitlin Clark – whose Iowa Hawkeyes will face UConn in the women’s Final Four tomorrow night in Cleveland – and LSU’s Angel Reese are turning pro with a year of college eligibility left. Wait until they find out that the travel conditions in the WNBA are probably … no, not probably, definitely worse than what they’ve enjoyed in college.

I’m not sure if we can announce that women’s college basketball has definitively arrived, but it damn sure is on the doorstep, banging on the door and ringing the doorbell and demanding our attention. It’s been a great show, and I hope that the 12.3 million TV viewers who watched Iowa defeat LSU on Monday night is a trend rather than an outlier. That 12.3 million, incidentally, was not only the largest ever to watch a women’s college basketball game but outdrew all but one of the five games in last year’s NBA Finals.

It’s also an indication of what star power can do, and we may not always be comfortable with the selection of heroes and villains surrounding big events, but I’ve got to believe that the Clark-Reese byplay last spring compelled people to watch this time.

Mirjam: I mean, if drawing more viewers than every ESPN college basketball game ever, every MLB game last season, every NHL game last season, every MLS game last season, every NBA game last season except one and every college football regular-season game last season but one isn’t arriving …

But yes, as the discourse grows, the discourse will grow dumber. Buckle up, women’s basketball fans – but also, it’s tacky but it’s effective, the way ESPN and its cohorts promote sports. Whether it’s billing them as individual matchups (Caitlin vs. Paige) instead of Iowa and UConn facing off, or whether it’s Scalding (Asinine) Hot Take City (see Paul Pierce’s comments on FS1’s “Undisputed”), it’s the blueprint for driving ratings. And, well, another sign of a sport “arriving” in America.

But damn, if those players aren’t living up to the hype. What a show Clark put on in the Elite Eight. I got to be there in Albany’s MVP Arena on Monday and apparently there was a rousing national anthem performed, but because Clark was standing right in front of me, I barely noticed; I was distracted, trying hard to read her mind: Is all this pressure weighing on her? The mortals among us would’ve been quaking with that kind of weight on our shoulders. Was she hyped? Like, fired up for a chance to get her lick back against LSU? … but no, she had this steady, steady gaze. Like an almost angry-focused look about her for those couple minutes and I swear, it brought to mind Kobe Bryant during his playoff runs. And I knew, right then, she was absolutely gonna unfurl something like the 41 and 12 she did in that victory.

And then she went and quoted Kobe postgame: “Job’s not finished.” So … can’t wait to see what happens Friday.

Jim: We already have our first storyline, by the way: Caitlin saying she dreamed of playing for UConn growing up – didn’t every girl? – but was not seriously recruited by the Huskies, and Geno Auriemma suggesting that all she had to do was pick up the phone and call. Right. I don’t think Caitlin wanted to be a Husky badly enough to walk on, and if a school isn’t actively recruiting me I wouldn’t call them either. (I do have eligibility left, by the way, but that ship sailed decades ago.)

Meanwhile … the Angels’ home opener is tomorrow night against Boston, and who imagined they’d come home 4-2 and tied for first in the AL West? It’s early, and they had the good fortune of playing a Miami club that as of this morning hadn’t won a game yet. (I like to think this is the Curse of Kim Ng, who walked away from her job as general manager of the Marlins when they wanted to hire a president of baseball operations above her.)

The good start aside, the conditions that have led to fan unrest remain. Arte Moreno remains the owner, and Anthony Rendon is still in the lineup (until he gets hurt again). I have heard enough from Angel fans over the last few seasons to realize this is an intensely loyal lot. I don’t expect them to walk into the ballpark tomorrow night wearing “Sell” T-shirts or anything like that, but I’m curious how many will show up and what the mood will be.

Mirjam: I get the feeling those fans will show up, they’re that kind of loyal – as you write. And it seems they’re on board with Ron Washington, that not all of them want to see Trout traded and that they think the young guys are worth rooting for. I mean, putting aside the Marlins as the opponent, and it’s been a promising start (though, so was last season…)

But if they can keep playing pretty well, then clearly it will have been that Shohei Ohtani guy that was the problem.

Jokes! Jokes.