USC basketball: Offense vs. defense, Simmons vs. Thompson, will be key matchup in Trojans-Washington State game
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The dossier of offensive stars Marcus Simmons has guarded and shut down is a lengthy whoās who of college basketballās finest perimeter players.
It started, you might say, in the 2008-09 Pac-10 tournament when Simmons gained notoriety for his defensive performance against Californiaās Jerome Randle, Arizona Stateās Derek Glasser and UCLAās Darren Collison.
Every game since, the USC senior guard is assigned to the best offensive perimeter player on the opposing team. This season, he has guarded Texas star Jordan Hamilton, UCLAās Tyler Honeycutt and Washingtonās Isaiah Thomas.
And most of the time, such as when he faced Randle, Glasser, Collison or the players mentioned above, he and USC win.
āHeās the defensive player of the year, not just in the league, but in the country,ā USC Coach Kevin OāNeill said this week.
But when the Alexandria, La., native thinks back to the best players heās guarded, it takes him only a second to rank Washington State junior guard Klay Thompson.
āHeās right up there toward the top,ā Simmons said. āIāll give him all the kudos.ā
Simmons will guard Thompson on Thursday night as USC (17-12, 9-7 in Pacific 10 Conference play) faces Washington State (18-10, 8-8) in Pullman, Wash. (The game will be broadcast on radioās 710 ESPN.) Thompson is averaging a Pac-10 high 21.4 points per game this season and scored 18 against Simmons and USC earlier this season when the two met in Los Angeles in a 60-56 USC win.
Thompson shot six of 18 from the field and made four of five from three-point range in that game, and Simmons said he expected Thompson to be far more aggressive Thursday.
āHeās gifted offensively, so heās the biggest challenge of anybody in the Pac-10,ā Simmons said. āHeās the best offensive player we have.ā
Thompson is the career-active points leader in the Pac-10 (1,622). He has scored 20 or more points 17 times this season and 37 times in his career. He has scored 30 or more points four times this season, with a season high of 36 in an 88-81 loss at California on Jan. 13.
āI think Klay, if he was bulked up another 10-15 pounds, would be a legit NBA prospect at the two guardā position, OāNeill said. āThat tells you what kind of ability he has. Heās a knockdown shooter. I think heās great at getting to the basket. Heās a way better athlete than people think he is. And heās so explosive that if you let down for a five-minute period, the guy can knock down nine, 11, 13 points.ā
What makes Thompson so tough to guard?
āHeās so crafty with the ball and he uses screens well,ā Simmons said.
Simmons is a physical defender, using his strong, 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame to body up offensive players.
But heās often in foul trouble. In 12 games this season, he has been whistled for at least four fouls. He has fouled out just once, though.
Simmons says he usually can tell early in the game how it is going to be officiated, which dictates how he plays defense.
āIf I get the first foul in the first four minutes, I know theyāre going to be calling it tight so I know I have to back off and be less aggressive,ā he said. āIf I donāt have it, Iāll be more aggressive and more physical.ā
Since USC is playing on the road, itās doubtful heāll get any friendly calls.
But then again, heāll know that in the first four minutes.
-- Baxter Holmes