USC women's basketball 'potentially a national championship team' after big transfers

USC women's basketball transfer Talia von Oelhoffen believes the Trojans can contend for a national title next season, citing the team's seemingly limitless potential as one of the main reasons she joined through the portal.

Von Oelhoffen's commitment to USC quickly followed ex-Stanford star Kiki Iriafen's move to the Los Angeles program. The duo visited campus together late last week, and the trip went well enough for both players to commit within days.

"Just the opportunity to play point guard for potentially a national championship team under Coach Lindsay [Gottlieb]," von Oelhoffen told ESPN , "who sends people to the [WNBA] and is just so smart in so many ways and an amazing staff, amazing players, I loved everything about it."

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After USC reached the Elite Eight last campaign, the team will likely enter 2024-25 ranked in the preseason top 10 if not the top five. Superstar JuJu Watkins , just a rising sophomore, put together one of the best seasons in Trojans history in her debut and should be further lifted by an improved roster around her.

As a player happy to defer to others, von Oelhoffen was one of the most sought-after players in the transfer portal. The guard could fit seamlessly onto almost any roster. In her USC transfer announcement, she specifically mentioned that she expects to use her versatility with the Trojans.

"In talking to Coach Lindsay, they're exactly what I'm looking for in every way, and I was exactly what they needed: a combo guard that's a veteran, been through the wars over my career, to help the freshmen out as they as they adjust to college basketball as everyone does," von Oelhoffen said.

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She added: "Being able to play point guard and play wing depending on which freshmen are going and kind of be versatile in that way and just bring leadership and help them throughout the whole process is going to be super fun."

The freshmen von Oelhoffen brought up will be essential to raising USC's ceiling. Gottlieb secured one of the nation's best recruiting classes, stocked with three five-stars and three four-stars.

Kennedy Smith, a wing, is the highest-ranked of the bunch, coming in as a consensus five-star who is sixth on ESPN's big board for the 2024 class. Smith may benefit from having von Oelhoffen, Watkins and Iriafen shouldering offensive scoring responsibilities early in the season.

But ultimately, the Etiwanda High School product may need to grow into a dependable fourth option to help USC get over the NCAA Tournament hump, considering the strength of fellow powerhouses such as UConn, LSU and South Carolina.

In any case, USC's influx of new talent through the transfer portal and recruiting trail will make it one of the most popular spectacles in the NCAA next season. The Trojans will play in the Big Ten after the breakup of the Pac-12.