Andy Enfield, salty over USC's NCAA snub, won't commit to playing top players in NIT
USC is scheduled to face UNC-Asheville on Tuesday to open NIT play.
Whether USC fields a competitive team or not is to be determined. Trojans head coach Andy Enfield, salty over what he deems an NCAA snub after a second-place finish in the Pac-12, was openly flippant about the NIT in a Monday media conference, as relayed by the Orange County Register.
Andy Enfield said the decision to accept an invitation to the NIT was made by USC's administration. "It's really not my decision."
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) March 12, 2018
Enfield continued to voice his displeasure over missing out on a NCAA bid.
“The feeling is the same,’ Enfield said of frustration held over from Sunday’s bracket reveal. “It doesn’t go away in a day. Because we should be in the NCAA Tournament. We deserve to be, and we’re one of the best at-large teams out there.”
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He also floated the idea of sitting players in the NIT, specifically NBA prospect Chimezie Metu.
Andy Enfield did not rule out the possibility of some top USC players sitting out the NIT, similar to college football players skipping bowl games.
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) March 12, 2018
Andy Enfield on if there is a chance Chimezie Metu, a projected NBA draft pick, might not play in the NIT: "There's always a chance. Whoever says they want to play will play. I think there are certain risks, but at the same time, you can compete for a next game."
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) March 12, 2018
How USC’s players feel about all of this remains a mystery, as Enfield has apparently placed a gag order on his players joining him in whining in public about not being selected for a tournament they have no realistic chance of winning.
None of USC’s players were made available to speak with reporters after a half-hour practice this afternoon. "Anything that comes from our program needs to come from the head coach” Andy Enfield said, "so I'll be speaking to the media from here on out."
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) March 12, 2018
Enfield’s assertion that USC should have made the field is fine. His declaration that his team is “one of the best at-large teams out there” is absurd.
Maybe the Trojans are better than Syracuse or Arizona State. Maybe they’re not. In the end, it won’t matter, as none of those teams will be cutting down the nets on April 2.
And, as Yahoo’s Jeff Eisenberg points out, USC had chances to prove it belongs, but came up consistently short this season against quality opponents.
Enfield’s consideration of letting players with NBA futures sit out truly meaningless college basketball games is intriguing, though. While the comparison to football players on teams in lower-tier bowl games is an easy one, the risk of injury to body and draft stock for basketball players obviously pales in comparison to their gridiron counterparts.
But again. These are meaningless games. And nobody’s paying these players to take a risk, no matter how minimal.
While Enfield’s moaning about a snub may be difficult to listen to, he may be onto something when it comes to players’ rights.
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