The USC Trojans men's basketball program will need to fill at least one more scholarship spot after one of their three commits in their 2025 recruiting class announced his de-commitment from the Trojans.
Four-star small forward Elzie Harrington flipped to USC just before the new year from Harvard and is now back on the market as one of the top uncommitted prospects on the board.
With USC coach Eric Musselman targeting experienced forwards that can play a good chunk of minutes right away in the transfer portal, the thought of Harrington's path to playing time right away was quickly shelved.
USC reeled in CSUN transfer Keonte Jones and Virginia transfer Jacob Cofie from the portal. Both players bring immense amounts of experience to the forward position within the program and would overshadow Harrington on the depth chart. The Trojans will have potentially only one forward returning back to the program in Rashaun Agee.
When he committed to the Trojans, it was a huge win for Musselman. Not only was Harrington a local recruiting win as he is a top in-state prospect hailing from St. John Bosco, but he was thought of as a perfect fit for type of "position-less" basketball that Musselman wants to run at USC.
Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports said that his versatility is what made him stand out among his peers.
"Harrington’s backcourt size, floor vision, and passing ability have always been the basis of his upside. Now, he’s a versatile two-way player, capable of playing multiple spots on the floor and making those around him better...is a skilled lay-up maker around the rim, good passer off the dribble and potentially a nice secondary pick-and-roll threat on the second side of the floor," Finkelstein said.
On3's Recruiting Predicition Machine has San Diego State as the new favorites for Harrington's services. The RPM gives the Aztecs a 95.4 percent chance of landing the four-star recruit.
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Harrington's de-commitment comes at an interesting time with USC top target Brayden Burries expected to make his commitment on Thursday, April 9. If the Trojans land Burries, consider it a good trade off as Burries ranks as the No. 11 player in the country and No. 2 player from the state of California.
USC has only two commits remaining in their 2025 recruiting class as it drops to the No. 10 class in the country with the loss of Harrington. If the Trojans seal the deal with Burries it would jump them up to the No. 4 class in the country according to the 247Sports Class Calculator.
After Burries makes his decision, the Trojans will more than likely look towards the transfer portal to fill in the remainder of the program's open roster spots as they look to move past Musselman's 17-18 inaugural season in Los Angeles.
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