Over the last several days, the USC men’s basketball team‘s addition of Robert Morris transfer guard Kam Woods has helped us learn a lot about the way the college basketball landscape is changing. But on Sunday, we got our first glance of how this will affect the USC basketball team directly on the court.

Woods got to make his Trojan debut in USC’s final non conference game against UC Santa Cruz, a vital opportunity for him to get acclimated to playing for the Trojans before he is vaulted into the thick of conference play in just over a week.

Here’s everything that we learned about Woods’ game and USC plan for his usage moving forward.

Woods’ place in the rotation

USC’s rotation against the Banana Slugs should be sort of taken with a grain of salt because it was nowhere close to normal. Gabe Dynes was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time, USC’s regular starters had their minutes reduced, walk-on players saw some game action.

The way that Woods was used against a DIII opponent in a game the Trojans knew they could win easily is not an indication of his permanent place in the rotation.

Meaningful minutes

But, he did play 22 minutes off the bench, more than most of USC’s starters. Ryan Cornish started over him but played less minutes. Jordan Marsh came off the bench and played more minutes, leading the Trojans with 25 minutes played. Woods’s place in the rotation will always be evaluated in the context of how much the other Trojan guards play, which is why I mention that.

Let’s revisit this conversation about what Woods’s place in the rotation seems to be after USC plays Michigan on January 2. That will give us a much better idea of what to consistently expect.

Woods is a high-effort, energetic player

When Woods was on the floor, he played with all-out effort and impacted the game in nearly every facet. He pulled down 6 rebounds despite standing at only 6’2”, dished out 6 assists, and recorded 3 steals.

He showed a fair amount of emotion and cheered on his teammates, fired up like it was a postseason game despite the inferior opponent. I figure he will continue to lead by example and fire his Trojan teammates up with high energy and effort all season long.

Woods has great court vision, which is fun to watch

Speaking of Woods’ 6 assists, he showed remarkable rhythm, timing, and court vision for a guy playing his first game for a new team in the middle of that team’s season.

Woods’s passing ability showed up in a particularly eye-popping way in the first few minutes of the second half. He had a couple of nice dishes to Gabe Dynes and Ezra Ausar to set up highlight reel dunks. Woods’s connection with Ausar seems to be especially strong early, as Woods found Ausar for easy baskets multiple times

Woods also had a nice lob to Jerry Easter II late in the game.

Woods needs to get back in a scoring rhythm

It’s important to note that Woods did not score in this game. He went 0-5 from the field and 0-2 from three point range.

Getting shots up at full game speed in college basketball is much different than shooting around or even playing scrimmage games, for obvious reasons. The stamina, toughness and levelheadedness needed to hit a shot in a game takes constant practice to maintain. Woods is going to probably need a few games before he can be an effective scorer for the Trojans.

Experience can pay off

But with five years of college basketball experience under his belt, it shouldn’t be too hard for Woods to find that groove again.

The Trojans aren’t necessarily in dire need of scoring after putting up great offense throughout their non conference slate,

Woods, Musselman preview the future

In the postgame press conference following USC’s win over UC Santa Cruz, Kam Woods and head coach Eric Musselman talked in great length about what to expect from Woods as he finishes out the season with the Trojans.

Musselman said this about the impact Woods will make:

“He’s going to force us to run more,” Musselman said. “He’s going to allow us to play in transition way more than we have because he’s a kick-ahead, pass-first mentality. He led us in assists tonight. He’s a guy that’s going to really, really help us. He’s a high-assist player and a high-steal player.”

Woods said this about what he feels that he brings to the Trojans:

“I’m just bringing that energy and that dog that I got in me,” Woods said. “I feel like that’s what the team needs. Of course we’re good, but I want to be that extra step that will get us over the hump, especially going into conference play.”

Added insight

Woods also dropped an interesting nugget about how reuniting with his former Robert Morris teammate Amarion Dickerson helped him choose USC:

“Definitely a lot. I hate that he’s hurt. We definitely got a connection on the court and off the court, but it helps knowing that he’s in my ear and that he can help me with everything. I was there for him last year at Robert Morris coming in from JUCO. He played JUCO and his first year D1 was last year, so now it’s reverse roles. He helped me now, so I definitely love that guy and it feels good being here with him.”

Musselman and Woods discussed a lot of the elements I saw, in terms of energy and court vision. I am excited to continue to learn about his game, and hopefully see him reunite with Dickerson on the court after Dickerson returns to full health.