"It's affected everybody": Eric Musselman opens up on how LA fires have disrupted Trojans on and off the court

USC coach Eric Musselman gave his take on the impact the LA wildfire has had on the Trojans. During his postgame press conference after their 82-72 win at No. 13 Illinois on Saturday, Musselman talked about the situation in a video posted by Illini Inquirer: Illinois on 247Sports.

“Look, the stuff that’s going on in LA has affected us,” Musselman said (3:56). “We have three staff members that their families have been evacuated.

"My wife, although it’s not in Manhattan Beach, but the first night, she’s calling me at two in the morning and four in the morning because she’s nervous about it. So, it’s affected everybody, for sure. I think our guys are looking forward to getting back.”

Musselman also said they are praying for people who were affected.

“From all indications are that the airports open. We got to de-ice here, and then we get back home,” Musselman said. (5:51)

“And then we just have to figure out what our practice time is going to look like and some stuff that we’ll just talk with administration. But right now with USC, it’s business as usual, and just prayers and thoughts with everybody that’s been affected, which is obviously a lot of people.”

The win against Illinois saw three Trojans players scoring in double digits. Desmond Claude led the Trojans with 31 points on 80% shooting, including a perfect record from the charity stripe, one rebound and three assists. Wesley Yates III contributed with 15 points on 87.5% shooting, six rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Rashaun Agee came off the bench to contribute 13 points, eight rebounds, one steal and one block in the win.

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Eric Musselman's defensive plan for USC Trojans

Eric Musselman's first season at USC has resulted in a 10-6 record after the Trojans' tight win against Illinois. However, they have conceded more than 70 points in five of their six losses. Musselman spoke to Sports Illustrated about getting inspiration from NBA teams' defensive drills.

“Quite frankly, we called a bunch of NBA teams too and just asked them for different defensive drills,” Musselman said. "And I thought that helped us because they were completely new and different from what our guys have seen.

“All the coaches reached out, I reached out, and some teams sent us some film of some of the stuff that they’ve done in practice.”

The Trojans will face Iowa in their next game on Wednesday.