LOS ANGELES — At long last, they’d snapped the losing streak, and USC coach Andy Enfield was suddenly in jolly spirits after lightly torching his group at the postgame podium two nights earlier. And the lucky – or perhaps unlucky – target of his good humor was sophomore Oziyah Sellers.
For yet another night across a month-long breakout, Sellers had shouldered increased shot-making responsibilities, scoring 12 points in a blowout of Oregon State on Saturday. That wasn’t Enfield’s focus, though. The young man could score. That’s why they recruited him, Enfield said later.
“He actually had three rebounds tonight – so, you know, first three rebounds of his career, so it was pretty impressive,” Enfield cracked postgame, taking a pause and then doubling down in the middle of a subsequent question. “It fell into his hands, by the way.”
He tripled down, later, on another question about Sellers: they were his first three rebounds “since grade school,” actually. And after practice on Monday, Sellers broke into a full-bore grin when asked about Enfield’s ribbing.
“Andy, he makes his jokes,” Sellers smiled. “That’s pretty funny.”
Ah, that old saying, though: behind every joke is a shred of truth, or however it goes. Sellers’ profile in high school at Southern Cal Academy, through recruitment, was a shooter. He didn’t play much in 25 games during his freshman year at USC, taking a total of 31 shots – 19 of them from 3-point range – because his game hadn’t evolved much. You can’t play at this level as just a shooter, Enfield said after the Oregon State game, unless you’ve got four other players on the court who do everything.
Even now, Sellers pointed down to the opposite end of the court after practice on Monday, he hears the same chatter from opposing benches every game.
Shooter! Shooter! Shooter!
“I still can do a better job,” Sellers said, “so I want to keep proving that.”
Simply put, the sophomore doesn’t seem to like people putting him in a box. And after a quiet freshman year, a lanky Sellers added 15 pounds to his 6-foot-5 frame, emerging as a sneaky breakout candidate in a USC rotation ripe with guards. Still, production didn’t exactly come in waves in increased minutes through this season’s first two months.
Then freshman point guard Isaiah Collier went down with a hand injury in a loss to Washington State in early January, and a switch flipped.
“It was definitely a conversation with the coaches, and myself realizing that I have to step up and take a bigger role,” Sellers said.
Ever since, across a six-game stretch playing 20-plus minutes per night, Sellers has looked like a completely different player, averaging 11.5 points per game and assuming increased ballhandling responsibilities. His reputation from opposing benches has been well-earned, as he’s draining 3-point shots at a 45% clip this season; but Sellers’ development as a future three-level scorer has been clear, often utilizing a couple of dribbles and a high release to flash a silky midrange game.
His development defensively, as well, prompted Enfield to slot Sellers into USC’s starting lineup against Oregon State in lieu of struggling captain Kobe Johnson. And a three-guard alignment of senior Boogie Ellis, freshman Bronny James and Sellers seemed to unlock a perimeter movement and flow that had come in fits and starts for USC (9-13 overall, 3-8 Pac-12) all season, with three shooters each capable of driving and kicking off the catch.
“You can’t play that small if you don’t defend and rebound,” Enfield said after the Oregon State win. “And so, those are our three smallest guys, and I thought they really were tough on defense and they shared the basketball.”
If Enfield turns to Sellers and James again against Cal (9-13, 5-6) on Wednesday night – likely, as what’s not broken need not be fixed – it will leave Johnson on the bench for the second straight game, an odd arrangement for one of USC’s captains. The junior wing didn’t check in against Oregon State until 15 minutes into the first half. Still, Enfield emphasized Johnson’s importance at practice Monday.
“If we’re going to have success on this road trip, we need Kobe to play well,” Enfield said.
USC (9-13 overall, 3-8 Pac-12) AT CAL (9-13, 5-6)
When: Wednesday, 8 p.m.
Where: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley
TV/radio: Pac-12 Network/790 AM
