USC HC Eric Musselman recalls how Trojans staff managed wave of transfers by renting Manhattan house: “It wasn’t a frat house. It was a portal house."

Eric Musselman became the head coach of the USC Trojans men's basketball team in April 2024, replacing Andy Enfield. When Musselman joined, the team had few players remaining on the roster, so he and his staff had to start a big recruitment effort.

As reported by ESPN, 11 players have departed from the Trojans after the 2023-24 season. Some key names who left the team are Bronny James, a Pac-12 All-Freshman Isaiah Collier, Boogie Ellis, DJ Rodman and Kobe Johnson.

As a result, Musselman and his staff devoted their efforts to recruiting players to construct a revamped roster. They stayed in a rental home for a month in Manhattan Beach to complete the roster by handling all the transfers and recruitment.

"It wasn’t a frat house," Musselman said. "It was a portal house."

Eric Musselman, along with his staff — consisting of his son Michael, Anthony Ruta and Will Conroy — worked relentlessly, often waiting for Musselman’s signal that the day’s work was done before they could rest.

"You just felt like, if Michael Musselman was over there on the phone with a recruit, and Anthony Ruta was talking to a recruit, I can’t be on FaceTime with my wife. I gotta be FaceTiming with a kid." Conroy said.

Musselman, the former Arkansas coach, and Ruta slept in a bunk bed and would routinely walk down The Strand together for their evening meals. Their unwavering effort paid off, as they finished filling the roster within a month.

"I don’t want to do what I did last year," Musselman said," but I want to do what we did in other years, which is create a team that cosmetically, people are like, 'I want to go watch that team play.' And then, a team that opposing teams respect for how hard they play."

The Eric Musselman era begins at USC

Eric Musselman has overhauled USC basketball since he arrived in April. He expanded the squad by introducing 12 new faces, comprising 10 incoming transfers and two freshmen, by May 30.

USC secured 6-foot-7 forward Saint Thomas from the Northern Colorado Bears on April 21. Thomas averaged 19.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for Northern Colorado last season.

The Trojans also plucked UC San Diego's Bryce Pope, Boise State's Chibuzo Agbo, Xavier's Desmond Claude and Massachusetts' Josh Cohen. Additionally, they recruited Clark Slajchert and Matt Knowling from the Ivy League.

Meanwhile, four-star recruits Jalen Shelley and Isaiah Elohim are among the incoming freshmen to join Musselman's team.