The significance for the USC basketball team Wednesday night was not that it blew out an overmatched Stetson squad -- it's that the Trojans did so with two of their expected key contributors back in the lineup.
Senior forward Bennie Boatwright made his season debut in his return from offseason knee surgery and scored a team-high 16 points in USC's 95-59 victory at the Galen Center.
Freshman guard Elijah Weaver, who was working his way back from ankle surgery, chipped in 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting in his first action for the Trojans.
Coach Andy Enfield had said after USC's loss to Vanderbilt on Sunday night that before this team truly started to grow, it first had to have a healthy roster. Sophomore guard Charles O'Bannon Jr. is out for a few weeks still with a broken finger, but otherwise the Trojans were close to whole on Wednesday night.
"Bennie played good team basketball," Enfield said. "I thought he came in the game, he shared the ball, he made some great plays for his teammates. He should have had about 3 or 4 assists -- I think we dropped a couple passes and missed a couple open shots for him when he made the right play. And then we got him going in the second half. ...
"We need his perimeter shooting, his size, his experience and it looked like he was in total control when he played."
Boatwright came off the bench and started slow, finishing just 1 of 3 from the field in the first half -- all from long range. But he scored 11 of his points after halftime, going 3 for 3 on 3-pointers in the second half and draining a smooth mid-range jumper on his only other attempt. He also went 2 for 2 from the foul line and chipped in 4 rebounds overall.
The star senior drew the requisite applause from the sparse crowd when he checked out of the game for good with 6:57 left to play, having played only 18 minutes but nonetheless showing all he needed to show in this one.
"It felt good finally getting out there, getting a rhythm. It's been a tough nine months not playing basketball, but like I said it felt good out there," he said afterward.
Boatwright is USC's top returning scorer after averaging 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds last season before a left patella injury on Feb. 15 sidelined him the rest of the way.
He delayed his return until the third game of the season until, he says, he felt fully ready.
"I just listened to my body. Of course, I'm a hooper, I want to play, but just taking it one day at a time and just trusting the process and I figured it was the best time to come back," he said. "... I just wasn't ready [at the start of the season]. I wanted to play, of course, but I felt like it was best for myself and the team for myself to come back healthy."
Junior forward Nick Rakocevic had a third straight double-double to open the season, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds, freshman Kevin Porter Jr. added 12 points and redshirt-senior Shaqquan Aaron scored 10.
As for Weaver's debut, Enfield said: "He's a great passer. He's very athletic and he shares the ball. He just sees the floor. He's a very unique talent with his court vision. He's like a quarterback of a football team -- we'll say from the Rams, because they're 9-1."
NOTES: O'Bannon had surgery on his pinkie finger Tuesday and will be out three or four weeks, Enfield said.
Senior forward Bennie Boatwright made his season debut in his return from offseason knee surgery and scored a team-high 16 points in USC's 95-59 victory at the Galen Center.
Freshman guard Elijah Weaver, who was working his way back from ankle surgery, chipped in 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting in his first action for the Trojans.
Coach Andy Enfield had said after USC's loss to Vanderbilt on Sunday night that before this team truly started to grow, it first had to have a healthy roster. Sophomore guard Charles O'Bannon Jr. is out for a few weeks still with a broken finger, but otherwise the Trojans were close to whole on Wednesday night.
"Bennie played good team basketball," Enfield said. "I thought he came in the game, he shared the ball, he made some great plays for his teammates. He should have had about 3 or 4 assists -- I think we dropped a couple passes and missed a couple open shots for him when he made the right play. And then we got him going in the second half. ...
"We need his perimeter shooting, his size, his experience and it looked like he was in total control when he played."
Boatwright came off the bench and started slow, finishing just 1 of 3 from the field in the first half -- all from long range. But he scored 11 of his points after halftime, going 3 for 3 on 3-pointers in the second half and draining a smooth mid-range jumper on his only other attempt. He also went 2 for 2 from the foul line and chipped in 4 rebounds overall.
The star senior drew the requisite applause from the sparse crowd when he checked out of the game for good with 6:57 left to play, having played only 18 minutes but nonetheless showing all he needed to show in this one.
"It felt good finally getting out there, getting a rhythm. It's been a tough nine months not playing basketball, but like I said it felt good out there," he said afterward.
Boatwright is USC's top returning scorer after averaging 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds last season before a left patella injury on Feb. 15 sidelined him the rest of the way.
He delayed his return until the third game of the season until, he says, he felt fully ready.
"I just listened to my body. Of course, I'm a hooper, I want to play, but just taking it one day at a time and just trusting the process and I figured it was the best time to come back," he said. "... I just wasn't ready [at the start of the season]. I wanted to play, of course, but I felt like it was best for myself and the team for myself to come back healthy."
Junior forward Nick Rakocevic had a third straight double-double to open the season, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds, freshman Kevin Porter Jr. added 12 points and redshirt-senior Shaqquan Aaron scored 10.
As for Weaver's debut, Enfield said: "He's a great passer. He's very athletic and he shares the ball. He just sees the floor. He's a very unique talent with his court vision. He's like a quarterback of a football team -- we'll say from the Rams, because they're 9-1."
NOTES: O'Bannon had surgery on his pinkie finger Tuesday and will be out three or four weeks, Enfield said.
