The USC men’s basketball program has added Charles (Chuck) O’Bannon Jr. to its 2017 recruiting class, it was announced by head coach Andy Enfield. The Trojans announced the signing of Jordan Usher and Victor Uyaelunmoto National Letters of Intent in November. O’Bannon is the son of the former UCLA star. “Chuck is an excellent all-around basketball player who is a great fit for our system” said Enfield. “We are excited to add his offensive explosiveness and his size and length at the guard position. Chuck has a great passion for the game of basketball and Trojan fans will enjoy watching him play.”The five-star recruit O’Bannon Jr. of Las Vegas is ranked the No. 28 prospect on the ESPN Top 100 list and the No. 6 small forward in the 2017 class. He was a 2017 McDonald’s All-American and scored 10 points, had three rebounds and dished out two assists in the McDonald’s All-American game on March 29 in Chicago. The 6-6, 200-pound All-State wing led Bishop Gorman High to a 22-9 record his senior season while averaging 21.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists. O’Bannon helped lead Bishop Gorman to four of its six consecutive state 4A titles, including a 62-58 comeback win over Clark in the 2017 title game in which he scored 36 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. His father was a starter on UCLA’s 1995 national championship team and went on to be a second-round pick in the 1997 NBA draft. His uncle Ed O’Bannon also was a star on the 1994-95 Bruins team and was the ninth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft. The freshmen O’Bannon, Usher (6-7, F, Wheeler HS, Marietta, Ga.) and Uyaelunmo (6-11, F, Calvary Christian Academy, Miami join Duke transfer sophomore Derryck Thornton (6-2, G, Findlay Prep, Las Vegas who sat out the2016-17 season, making up USC’s outstanding 2017 recruiting class which will be added to a team that only lost one scholarship senior from last year’s team. The 2016-17 Trojans went 26-10, set the school record for wins in a season and won two games in the NCAA Tournament
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