When the USC basketball team took the court for tipoff in its season opener Tuesday night, inexperienced sophomore Victor Uyaelunmo got the start at center instead of two-year contributor Nick Rakocevic.
Enfield was trying to send a message to Rakocevic, a junior who will be expected to take on a much bigger role this season with the departure of Chimezie Metu to the NBA.
“I missed my first three,” Rakocevic said, “and [my teammates] believed in me. They kept saying, ‘Play your game.’”
“I think Nick understood that he was playing too passive, shooting turnaround jump shots against smaller players, wasn’t going to the boards,” Enfield said.