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USC signee fails to qualify, to enroll in Junior College

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

USC’s front court depth got that much weaker over the weekend as incoming freshman Jabari Craig was ruled a partial qualifier and ineligible for the upcoming season.

He will enroll in Junior College instead, according to reports.

Craig was a 6-foot-10 product of Fishburne Military Academy (Va.) and rated a three-star recruit by Rivals. He was one of two front court players in a promising but not overwhelming first recruiting class for Andy Enfield with the Trojans.

USC is going to be in a tough spot this season, as they lost their top four scorers from last year’s team that finished 2-16 in the Pac-12. UNLV transfer Katin Reinhardt will be eligible this season, and Enfield did land four-star recruits Elijah Stewart and Jordan McLaughlin, as well as Malik Price-Martin, but that’s not going to be enough to make USC relevant in the league race this year.

Without Craig, Enfield will once again rely heavily on a pair of Serbian big men, Nikola Jovanovic and Strahinja Gavrilovic.

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