REPORTS: Basketball Coach Andy Enfield To Leave USC For SMU

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Mounting reports say that longtime USC basketball coach Andy Enfield is set to leave for SMU, ending an 11-year run with the Trojans that saw his teams make five NCAA tournament appearance and a run to the Elite Eight in 2021.

College basketball insider Jeff Goodman reported Wednesday evening that a deal between Enfield and SMU was in the works, adding to the mounting buzz that had filled Twitter and message boards the first part of this week. ESPN’s Pete Thamel had reported Tuesday that Enfield was a “person of interest” for the SMU job.

Enfield and his staff helped brought a degree of stability to a USC basketball program that had just one winning season in the four years prior to his arrival and that was struggling to resonate with top local recruits.

Enfield, who was hired after taking March Madness Cinderella story Florida Gulf Coast to the Sweet 16 in 2013, endured two losing seasons to start his Trojans tenure before breaking through with a 21-13 finish and NCAA tournament appearance in 2016 and a return the next season while going 26-10.

After arguably being snubbed from the bracket in 2018 despite finishing second in the Pac-12 regular-season standings and then enduring a losing season in 2018-19, the Trojans would have returned to the tournament in 2020 if not for it being cancelled due to Covid. USC then made three straight NCAA tournament appearances, starting with the Elite Eight run followed by a pair of first-round exits.

This season was preceded by great expectations as leading scorer Boogie Ellis returned to the roster and USC signed the No. 1 recruit in the country in point guard Isaiah Collier, plus a top-50 prospect in Bronny James among others.

James’ season was set on a different course when he survived a cardiac arrest scare during a summer workout and Ellis and Collier missed significant time with injuries during the middle of the season. USC ultimately finished 15-18 as questions mounted about Enfield’s future.

It looks like first-year USC athletic…

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Source link : https://usc.rivals.com/news/reports-basketball-coach-andy-enfield-to-leave-usc-for-smu?yptr=yahoo

Author : Trojan Sports

Publish date : 2024-03-28 03:23:40

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