The Muss Bus made its way from Fayetteville to Los Angeles last year when Eric Musselman, formerly Arkansas’ head coach, landed the USC gig ahead of the program’s first season in Big Ten play. This past offseason the bus spent plenty of time traveling north, all the way across the country, to Archibishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York.
It seems Muss took the scenic route on the way back, right through California’s lush, towering forests to the north.
USC landed a statement recruiting
win when Darius and Adonis Ratliff, a pair of 4-star twins standing at 7’ tall, announced their commitments to the Trojans this fall. If the novelty of landing twins isn’t enough, they’re capable of sharing the court and did so in high school. Darius plays center while Adonis plays power forward. It’s a two-for-one deal in the frontcourt.
Darius ranks in as Rivals/On3’s fourth highest-ranked center and 28th highest-ranked prospect overall while Adonis checks in as the outlet’s 2nd highest-ranked center and 24th highest-ranked prospect overall.
Both obviously share the same general body type and play similarly. They’re capable of running the floor and can push the ball themselves, either looking to get to the rim on their own before the defense is set or finding one of their teammates if they face resistance and a better shot is available. Sometimes the teammate benefiting from the pass is the other brother. Adonis is a bit more prone to making something happen in space with the ball in his hands while Darius looks for the open man
Their gravity in transition can open up some opportunities for teammates, drawing attention before a defense has time to get set and swinging the ball under the rim or out to the perimeter for an open look. They’re not just looking for their own shots out there.
They’re both also willing, capable shooters from long range who give a defense something to think about if they’re on the perimeter. Adonis is capable of getting hot from long range and punishing defenses that fail to account for him.
When they’re both on the floor, Darius spends most of his time on opposing centers defensively while Adonis is on the perimeter more dealing with guards or other forwards. They’re both of slight build, which can present issues when going against more powerful players in the post, but use their length to recover if they’re caught out of position under the rim.
This won’t be the first time USC has landed a pair of highly-touted brothers (nickel, weird it happened twice, etc.) but it’ll be the first time under Musselman.
In short, they play like modern big men capable of doing a few different things with the ball in their hands. Each has room to grow as a player, but there’s a definite path to them sharing the court at center and power forward for a combination that can prove tough to handle for opposing offenses. Musselman and co have an intriguing frontcourt for the future.
Musselman had excellent defenses during most of his years at Arkansas, and having two 7-footers will certainly help him do the same at USC. The Trojans’ defense has taken a step up so far during his second season in Los Angeles, where his two teams have leaned a bit more on the offensive end.
If the staff can maintain that offensive strength while building out the defense, USC can be a real factor nationally sooner rather than later.
