LOS ANGELES — Talia Von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen danced around each other during USC’s turbo-charged schedule in late April; Two graduate transfers with the same motivation and the same thought process, but still don’t want to show their cards.

A week earlier, USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb had called Von Oelhoffen and asked if it would be OK for the Oregon State transfer agent to accompany Iriafen on a visit to USC. Of course Von Oelhoffen responded, because he was the best power forward in the country. So all through Friday Von Oelhoffen tried to probe Iriafen. It didn’t work. Iriafen, who was the subject of intense transfer portal scrutiny after graduating from Stanford, did not back down.

“Neither of us wanted to step on each other’s toes,” von Oelhoffen smiled thoughtfully.

But they both decided the next day, unbeknownst to each other, to take a piece of the fledgling dynasty they felt was being established in Southern California.

“’How can I be a part of this and help USC get back to where USC basketball is?’” Iriafen said in early September. It was something like that.”

Von Oelhoffen’s veteran ball-handling and Iriafen’s dynamic finishing combined with sophomore star JuJu Watkins will both have huge roles to play on a USC program suddenly facing national championship hopes.

But for this to happen, many things need to go right. Here are a few key questions regarding these 2024-25 Trojans:

How will JuJu Watkins and the Trojans attract attention?

All-American last month alone Signed a multi-year contract extension with Nike, He signed a major deal with Gatorade, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. 11 of USC’s final 12 games of the season will be broadcast on national television or on Peacock streaming services. In a post-Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese world after the 2024 NCAA women’s national championship game average 18.7 million viewersWatkins is arguably the brightest star the game has to offer, and his spotlight is ready to explode.

Despite all that, Gottlieb confirmed that Watkins came into his sophomore year a better player.

“I think doubting his ability to overcome anything is not really understanding who he is,” Gottlieb said.

How do Iriafen and Rayah Marshall fit?

Marshall is perhaps the easiest piece to miss in this USC puzzle; a veteran who was the program’s second-leading scorer during last year’s run to the Elite Eight.

He reduced some of his offensive workload in 2024-25, and his shots per game dropped from 13.1 as a sophomore to 8.8 last year. And it’s likely Marshall will continue to make sacrifices this season, playing alongside Stanford high scorer Iriafen in the frontcourt.

Having an ideal combination of length defensively, the 6-foot-10 Marshall is a more natural rim protector. But offensively, they will need to find a fit, just like the 6-foot-10 Iriafen did with Cameron Brink at Stanford last year.