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Report: USC lands four-star 2014 guard Elijah Stewart

Andy Enfield

Andy Enfield, Southern California’s new men’s basketball coach, gestures during a news conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, April 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

AP

At one point in time guard Elijah Stewart was hailed as an underrated prospect in the 2014 class, and with Loyola Marymount being his original school of choice it looked as if the Lions had themselves a steal. But LMU would change coaches at the end of the 2013-14 season, and Stewart reopened his recruitment as a result. Add to this his play as a senior at Westchester HS in Los Angeles, and the 6-foot-5 guard was one of the top remaining prospects in the 2014 class this spring.

Stewart is now off the board, as it was reported Sunday by Evan Daniels of Scout.com that the guard has committed to Andy Enfield’s USC Trojans (subscription required).

To say the least this is a big development for the Trojans, who won just two Pac-12 games (11-21 overall record) in Enfield’s first season as head coach. USC’s biggest personnel loss from last season was leading scorer Byron Wesley, who will complete his career at Gonzaga, and throughout the season it was clear that the Trojans needed more talent to compete in the Pac-12.

The hope in Los Angeles is that the 2014 recruiting class that Enfield’s put together, with highly regarded point guard Jordan McLaughlin being the headliner, will help push the Trojans in that direction. Stewart’s addition will help USC on the perimeter, as he’ll join McLaughlin, UNLV transfer Katin Reinhardt and incoming freshman wing Malik Marquetti in the rotation.

Big men Jabari Craig and Malik Price-Martin complete the 2014 recruiting haul for USC (they’ll also have Charlotte transfer Darion Clark, with rising sophomores Nikola Jovanovic and Julian Jacobs being their most productive returnees.

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