Somehow, USC junior guard Julian Jacobs kept his faith in the Trojans' future through two occasionally turbulent seasons and two Pac-12 Conference last-place finishes. After each loss — there were 21 in 2013-14, the team's first under Coach Andy Enfield, and 20 last season — Jacobs would remind himself there was a process to grind through, a plan to respect, a path to follow.
That's why Jacobs couldn't restrain his excitement this week after USC was ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 2008, coming in at No. 21 in the Associated Press poll and No.