Andy Enfield credits Tre White for battling through offensive struggles

USC guard Tre White struggled in the Trojans’ 74-71 win over No. 23 Auburn, but head coach Andy Enfield gave credit to his star player for battling through a down offensive day. USC made a run in the second half, outscoring the Tigers by seven in the final 20 minutes.

“Tre was two-for-seven, but he had that big layup,” Enfield said. “Tre is so valuable to us from a, he had three offensive rebounds, he came in out of nowhere, out of his area and got two of them. So Tre makes a lot of plays that don’t necessarily show up in the stat sheet because you say well, three offensive rebounds, but those two in the second half were huge plays for us.”

White finished the game with just seven points, four rebounds and one assist in 26 minutes. On the season, he averages 9.1 points per game, 5.2  rebounds per game and 0.9 assists per game, so he came a little under his averages in the win over Auburn.

As a member of the Class of 2022, White was a four-star prospect out of Los Angeles (Calif.) Prolific Prep, according to the On3 Consensus. He was the No. 6 overall prospect in the state, the No. 14 small-forward prospect in the class and the No. 39 overall prospect in the class.

Despite some misfires, USC gutted out a win ahead of a Wednesday matchup against Colorado State. Enfield credited his team’s mental toughness.

“Well, we had some words with our players after giving up 22 offensive rebounds to Long Beach,” Enfield said. “We had scored 88 points. But we’ve hung our hat on defense last few years. And I think someone just told me the stat, last three and a half seasons, I think we’re third nationally in field goal percentage on defense for the opponent. It’s a pretty impressive stat, to have have that sustained defensive intensity and system. And they know that today we have 13 steals. So obviously our defense really played a big part. 

“And so we know we’re going to have to win games with their defense. But if you can’t make open shots that that puts a lot of pressure on your defense. And so I think right now we’re playing pretty well on both sides of the ball. And that comes from mental toughness. It comes from quick decisions on offense. It comes with a pace you run with a pace on offense, and then you have to make some shots.”