Eric Musselman: Arenas to return to practice, Rice's status TBD
USC head coach Eric Musselman gave a few team health updates after the Trojans defeated Washington State, 68-61, at home on Sunday night.
Firstly, the status of point guard Rodney Rice, who’s been sidelined with a lingering shoulder injury since Maui, is still TBD. He hasn’t played in five-straight games.
Musselman was asked if there’s a possibility Rice is out for the season:
“Yeah, I’d say there’s a possibility,” Musselman said. “But there’s no finality on what happens.”
Losing Rice would be a huge blow to the Trojans. The point guard was averaging 20.3 points and 6.0 assists before his injury and was the complimentary piece to the NCAA’s 8th leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara.
Some good news for USC, though? Its five-star recruit Alijah Arenas is nearing a return from a torn meniscus he sustained in July.
“The plan is for Alijah to start practicing on Tuesday or Wednesday,” Musselman said. “The plan is Tuesday-Wednesday he’s back in with us. Obviously we play Wednesday night, so Thursday probably off. Then Friday would be a practice practice.”
Arenas will be a no-contact participant. He’s aiming to make a his debut in mid-January.
“He’s doing great,” Musselman said. “He worked out today. He sat in my office for three hours after shoot around talking about a whole bunch of stuff. But yeah, he’ll be a shot in the arm or whatever word you want to use. And we’re desperate for that.”
Musselman admitted he didn’t expect USC’s 10-1 start with how banged up they’ve been. Healthy is a different story.
If Rice is able to return, and Arenas comes into the fold, USC will have three guys who can put 20+ points on the board. And without all three healthy, the Trojans are still ranked top-40 in Kenpom and the NET.
“Healthy, I would expect us to be 11-0,” Musselman said. “When we’re healthy, we’re as talented as any of our Arkansas teams. When we’re not healthy, I’m amazed that we’re 10-1 to be honest with all the new faces.”
“We need another body. We really really do. We’re desperate.”
To conclude his presser, Musselman said he’d like to add another player to the roster at semester.
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