Eric Reibe rejected UConn to solve USC's recurring problem: Finding a real big man

Read more: For Eric Musselman and USC, the margin for error in the portal is much smaller this spring

The most glaring of those, to date, has been in the middle. In his first May as coach, with limited time to build his roster, Musselman and his staff hung their hopes on Massachusetts center Josh Cohen, who proved to be a liability on both ends. Last season, the plan was to get bigger and better protect the rim with a 7-5 giant in Gabe Dynes alongside Ezra Ausar and Jacob Cofie. But that pairing produced mixed results.

Reibe, though, comes to USC as a different caliber of prospect. A former McDonald’s All-American, he was the 36th-ranked prospect of the 2025 class. Early in his freshman season at Connecticut, with Reed sidelined, Reibe started for the Huskies in critical non-conference matchups against Arizona, Illinois and Kansas. Over those three games, Reibe averaged 11.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and two blocks per game.

“Eric was a soldier and a warrior for us,” Hurley told reporters earlier this week. “He saved us in the non-conference. He played great.”

Reibe didn’t play nearly as much down the stretch of his freshman season at Connecticut. After Reed returned, Reibe scored in double figures just three more times over three months. He played just 40 combined minutes and scored six total points during the Huskies’ six-game NCAA tournament run.

Read more: Freshmen standouts, OL battles and other post-spring takeaways on USC football

Reibe entered the transfer portal four days later — and stepped into a booming market for big men. According to analytics site EvanMiya.com, centers in this transfer cycle have been valued on average at $1.3 million in the portal.

Within 48 hours, Michigan called Reibe. So did Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Louisville and a host of other top-tier hoops programs.

But Reibe says he clicked immediately with Musselman, whose experience developing NBA prospects was particularly convincing to the 7-footer.

He expects he’ll be able to “play a little bit more freely” at USC. That includes, he says, “facilitating off the dribble” and “showing off my three-pointer a little bit more."

Eric Reibe is confident he can be a valuable contributor for the Trojans next season. (Jessica Hill / Associated Press)

That would be a much more substantial contribution on offense than USC has gotten out its big men the past two seasons. But Musselman has yet to have as much talent in the frontcourt as he’ll be working with this fall. Reibe will start next to Cofie, while the Trojans will have three top-25 prospects in Christian Collins and Adonis and Darius Ratliff to fit in somewhere alongside.

The backcourt should also be in a better place, with Cox, a former Loyola High standout, stepping in with experience orchestrating an offense. He averaged 17.9 points and 5.2 assists per game last season as Colgate’s floor general.

He’ll give the Trojans insurance at point guard, pending a decision from Alijah Arenas, who’s still mulling over whether to enter the NBA draft, return to USC or transfer.

But at the one position that’s given USC the most trouble in the transfer portal, the Trojans are in a better place this spring than the past two. That’s on account of Reibe, who said “a big part” of his decision to come to USC was “to leave a place better than how you came into it.”

“We have all the pieces,” Reibe said. “And if we just stay healthy, I think we’re in a great way to have a great season.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.