USC’s Andy Enfield Talks To Trojan Family

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Since his hiring in April, the name “Andy Enfield” has generated a lot of buzz in Southern California. He went from being the guy that coached a little-known school in Florida to a Sweet 16 appearance to a household name as the new head coach at USC. He’s made an appearance on Jay Leno, threw out the first pitch at an Angels game, and most recently won an ESPY for Best Upset. In an attempt to keep the hype going around Coach Enfield, USC offered fans the unique experience of video chatting with the coach on Tuesday. Fans got to write in questions to Enfield for about an hour, and more still had the chance to talk to him directly over webcam.

Enfield answered many questions in exactly the way one would expect a new coach of a lackluster basketball program to answer, but he did have a few particularly interesting quotes to get fans excited about the new generation of USC hoops.

When asked about Pac-12 competition, Enfield said, “We expect Pac-12 to be amongst the best conferences in the nation,” even at that of the ACC and the Big 12. In terms of meeting that level of competition, Enfield remarked that his new squad has “made huge strides,” and that they are ready and willing to work on getting even better.

Enfield also fielded questions about USC’s 2013 schedule, which was also released on Tuesday. For the first time in a decade, the Trojans will open their season on the road: this time facing Utah State. While many in the Trojan community may not see this as a marquee match up, Enfield made it clear that this would be no walk in the park for the Men of Troy.

“We are going into one of the most difficult places in the country to play our season opener,” he said. From the very beginning, USC is in for some tough match ups this year; their schedule also features road games against Dayton and Long Beach State, and home games against Boston College and Howard University.

One of the most interesting things Enfield talked about was that he wants to market the USC basketball experience more to the social clubs on campus, thereby increasing student involvement in USC basketball. To do that, he recognizes that a key element is required: “We have to give them a product they want to come see,” he said.

Part of that means transferring the “Dunk City” culture to USC, bringing high-flying, high-tempo basketball to the Galen Center, an arena that Enfield described as one of the best on the west coast.

Enfield also touched on recruiting, saying that with the staff he has assembled USC can begin to start landing–and keeping top local talent. He strives to make USC relevant on the local and national level, a main staple of his five-year plane for Troy.

“We want to say in five years, this is no longer a roller coaster. We have sustained something.”

In four months, the Trojan family will strap into that ride yet again. Here’s to hoping all goes according to plan.