Despite missing a five-star recruit and their starting point guard, Eric Musselman’s USC Trojans have defied the odds to post a 10-1 record this season. Speaking to Jon Rothstein of CBS, the coach divulged when he expects to have his full squad back.

“I am surprised with our record right now because when Alijah Arenas practiced one day with us,” Musselman said. “It was literally one practice. He has not suited up yet. Although his first practice will be this week. We are super excited to get him back into practice mode starting this week. We’ll integrate him very, very slowly to make sure that he is fully healthy.”

Alijah Arenas, a five-star recruit, got sidelined with a torn meniscus back in July, which has already kept him out for months and required rehabilitation. Key name Rodney Rice, too, suffered a shoulder injury last month.

“When we built the roster, our point guards were Alijah Arenas and Rodney Rice,” the Trojans coach said. “He has only played half of our games and had a great assist-to-turnover ratio… You lose two players in one position. Not a lot of teams can overcome that. Then Amarion Dickerson, who is out for the year, was our best defender, was one of our best shot blockers, and your highest energy guy.”

Rice played six games for the Trojans, averaging 20.3 points, 6.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. The point guard was a significant piece in the attack, working in tandem with Chad Baker-Mazara.

Senior Amarion Dickerson also finds himself sidelined because of a hip injury earlier this month. The last game he played was against the Oregon Ducks on December 2. The initial injury update confirmed that he’d miss three to four months.

Now, what’s the solution to this problem, and when do these players get back?

“We hope to get Alijah back once we get back off this Big 10 road first game road trip, get him back in uniform in some point in January,” Musselman said of Arenas’ inclusion into games.

Arenas will be a no-contact participant with the goal of making his Trojans debut mid-January. The road trip the coach referred to was the January 2 Michigan Wolverines game, followed by the contests against the Michigan State Spartans on January 5 and the Minnesota Golden Gophers on January 10.

The update on Rice, though, didn’t sound as inspiring…

“There’s really no timetable,” the Trojans coach said. “He’s going to go get another opinion on his shoulder, and then the decision is really, do you rehab it or do you potentially need surgery? And so that is undetermined at this moment, and we want to make sure that he and his family gather as much information.”

Naturally, with some big names gone, the responsibility of carrying the team falls onto someone else. And the Trojans instantly knew the right candidate for the job.

Chad Baker-Mazara is turning out to be the Messiah for the Trojans

Chad Baker-Mazara is putting on a delightful show for the Trojans. The senior star’s stat line also reflects his career-best scores. He’s ramped up his scoring exponentially over the last year, from 12.3 points to 21.6 points a game. Even his assists are the second-highest on the roster (2.9).

“Chad’s done a great job at throwing free throws attempted,” Musselman said of his star player. “He’s got the ability to see over the defense, so teams have now started to trap him and pick and rolls. He is a great passer. I knew he was a good passer. I didn’t know he was a great passer. I didn’t know he was a willing passer.”

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Baker-Mazara also brings high-intensity play to every game. He showed incredible leadership with key plays across the Washington State Cougars game. One of those plays was a game-changing chase-down block in the final two minutes that sealed the night for his team. Despite having an off shooting display, going 4 of 13 from the field, he still found a way to contribute effectively.

Baker-Mazara’s experience of playing for the Auburn Tigers in the Final Four will come in handy for the Trojans, who aim to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022-23. Their efficient start to this season has further ignited the hope that they might sustain decent form come the Big Dance.

Transfer Ezra Ausar is another key piece of the Trojans’ roster. He is currently averaging 16.8 points along with 5.6 rebounds and one steal a game. He’s also shooting a handsome 61.7% from the field across 11 starts.

Getting Rice and Arenas into the fold will make this team much more lethal. They’d have three guys who can score 20+ points on the board. And even without all three of them healthy, the Trojans are still ranked top-40 in KenPom and the NET.