Report: USC freshman Vince Iwuchukwu, out with heart issue, close to joining Trojans on the court

Wednesday provide a positive update about freshman USC forward Vince Iwuchukwu, who has yet to play this season due to a heart issue. According to The Athletic’s Seth Davis, Iwuchukwu is “close to joining the Trojans, perhaps as early as this weekend.”

Davis added that Iwuchukwu has been practicing with the team as he eyes making his season debut. The 6-foot-11 big man was a four-star prospect coming out of high school. He ranked as the No. 31 overall player in the 2022 cycle according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Whenever Vince Iwuchukwu sees his first game action for USC, it would make sense for him to be eased into things. However, given his talent it wouldn’t be surprising to see him become a key part of the rotation as the season progresses.

The Trojans have so far earned an 11-5 record, though they did drop a pair of games last week. They are not currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN expert Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology update.

Junior big man Joshua Morgan has been USC’s post presence so far this season, averaging 8.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. The addition of Iwuchukwu into the rotation will hopefully give the Trojans another reliable post player as they hope to finish the season strong and make March Madness for the third straight season.

USC’s next game is Thursday against Colorado. But based on the information from Davis, it seems a more likely date for Iwuchukwu to play his first game would be Saturday against Utah.