LOS ANGELES >> In the weeks before his much-anticipated return from a knee injury, Bennie Boatwright often turned on his iPhone, where he would check the upcoming games on USC’s schedule. He longed to play.
“I was looking at it all the time,” Boatwright said.
It marked his longest absence since he first began playing organized basketball in middle school.
His moment at last arrived last week.
After missing nine consecutive weeks, a span of 15 games in which he had a Grade II sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, Boatwright was back on the court.
Facing Washington in Seattle, the 6-foot-10 forward showed few ill effects, scoring 23 points to equal a career high in 21 minutes off the bench. It was a notable spark for the Trojans, who outscored the Huskies by 18 points in the second half to grab a victory.
“He didn’t look like he was thinking about it,” coach Andy Enfield said. “He was just playing basketball.”
For USC, Boatwright’s return came at a beneficial time.
He will see a third game under his belt on Thursday night against Oregon State at the star of perhaps the most difficult stretch of the regular season.
The Trojans host No. 5 Oregon on Saturday in the second game of the homestand before they venture to No. 10 UCLA and No. 9 Arizona for the next two games.
As Boatwright monitored the schedule the past two months, he remained aware of the timing and the lift he could provide to a team aiming to solidify its NCAA Tournament credentials.
“It’s nice, definitely,” he said, “being in the second half of Pac-12 going into the last stretch of the season.”
USC had survived without Boatwright, managing an 11-4 record during the two-plus month stretch without the talented sophomore, but his presence bolsters its lineup.
As a freshman last season, Boatwright emerged as one of the Trojans’ more reliable scorers, averaging 11.5 points and showing extended range despite his size. He shot 35.9 percent from 3-point range, on par with some of their guards.
Entering this season, Enfield sought to pair Boatwright with Chimezie Metu, a 6-foot-11 forward, in the starting five, an opportunity now available.
The frontcourt presents defenses with a dilemma.
“When other teams have two bigs on the floor, it’s hard to guard Bennie,” Enfield said. “If they go smaller, he can use his size to do other things. So, he’s a tough matchup.”
It doesn’t solely put pressure on defenses. Boatwright can defend bigger players on defense and also spread the floor on offense, creating more openings in the lane for teammates to charge the basket.
“He’s skilled,” Enfield said, “and gives Chimezie room to operate.”
With both players starting in the Trojans’ win at Washington State last Saturday, the promise showed.
Metu, freed up, scored a career-high 29 points on 12 of 14 shooting.
“There’s just a lot more space,” Metu said.
Boatwright assisted two of his dunks, including a second-half alley-oop.
“I like to say I’m a playmaker, get my teammates involved and then score myself,” Boatwright said.
USC is glad to have I’m back, too.
“We were fortunate and talented enough to win enough games to be where we are now without him,” Enfield said. “Now we gotta keep getting better as a team.”
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