He played very good D again last night.

Let's not get hasty. Max brought great energy and was all over the court. His shot will fall eventually.

Just saw a comment on this from another thread.

The kid definitely has talent and potential; he's quick and a great defender.

Max confuses me because clearly if he were throwing the ball behind the backboard on every 3 he took in practice the coaches would be telling him "no, no, no buddy..." So he's doing something right at practice time.

I think Max comes off a bad offensive game (like many of his games), feels bad and wants to do better, plays his heart out in practice, gets a lot of opportunities and watches some shots go down, then gets back into a game then gets some sort of mental block and just can't see it go down anymore. Rinse and repeat.

I think what max needs is a really solid off-season, what he was robbed of last year - where he can scrim at a fast pace with talented SC and UCLA players and just get into game rhythm.

And once gametime is no different from scrim time for him, he'll be fine.

Max has it all from the eyeball test - height, length, athleticism & also blessed with great genetics. His biggest problem as you pointed out, is that the game is still a bit too fast for him. I noticed on one of his 3 point attempt’s last night that he didn’t even bother to set his feet which of course resulted into a miss, so he’s rushing his ways into making a play. His upside is & always has been great. Just needs to focus on doing the little things right now. Always have been a fan & do appreciate his effort.

This for sure. I'd be curious to watch all of our players shoot 100 wide open 3's in practice. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Max shot the highest percentage.

Something else I noticed last night, thanks to the posters on this board: during a trip to the free throw line, Max sank the first of a one and one. On the second, he made a dribble which bounced a little errantly to one side. Instead of dribbling again and realigning himself as posters have recommended, he corralled the ball and quickly fired it up. Miss.

Yes. Exactly. I don't really like that move on a pre shot routine although he did shoot free throws better last night.

I lalso like Max a lot and wish him success. Lots of potential and talent. I like his energy and hustle. But he does not have a good feel for the game on offense at this time. He is inconsistent. But his game will.come around. Coaching staff knows that. He needs playing time now for his continued development. I agree with CJ and MNH's post but I don't think this is hasty. I actually think your post is spot on.. This kid's ceiling is high, and potentially our Kyle Kuzma, late bloomer. Fight On Max.

I’m a huge fan of Max. People don’t give him enough credit for what he does on the defensive end. His length alone will bother people, and he’s extremely quick too. My biggest critique, like most, is he needs to SLOW DOWN. Yesterday, with around 7 mins to go up 16, he dashed into the paint and caused an offensive foul. Bruins scored 4 straight after. Just needs to get rid of the freshman mistakes and he’ll be a very good player for us.

It’s gotten to the point with Max that I just mentally chalk it up as a turnover any time he shoots the ball. His defense is good, but he looks uncomfortable and out of sync on offense.

At this point he’s a liability with the ball in his hands, though he certainly has the physical tools and the time to turn it around.

Except he’s making frosh mistakes during the latter half of his sophomore campaign - though in fairness this year is a weird one that had limited practice time, etc.

As a Trojan, I want Max to do well.

I am not an athlete and never played in an organized basketball or any other team sport. My only qualification (?) is that I watched USC BB from 1963. With that said, I think, most of posters in this string are too kind to Max. Why? Because statements like Max has potential, Gee whiz, he has been with the team more than 1 and 1/2 seasons. Max is a good defender (I watched only Max sometimes during a game to see what he does defensively. I do not see that he is a good defender like some of you said. Many times I see the player that Max is guarding scores.)
I am another one that cringes whenever Max shoots or attempts a lay up and so forth. It is said that big improvements come from the first to the second year. I have not seen it. Have you?

With White gone next year and Max being in his 3rd year, Max should be a starter opposite Isaiah. But he shouldn't. The following is his stat over 18 games this year. Also presented are White's stat for comparison. White plays the same position as Max.

Max White
Field goal 0.311 0.458
3 pt 0.200 0.306
FTs 0.667 0.684
pts/game 4.2 7.7
turn over 18 21
blocks 4 3

Max's field goal, 3 pt, and points per game is the lowest for each category among those who played 18 games or more.

For a starter next year opposite Isaiah Mobley, I hope Morgan, Boubacar, Harrison, or Allen will be better than Max defensively and offensively. If not move Peterson to the position.
More production from this position will be needed with Evan gone.

I think we have to accept that Max will not reach his full potential while at USC, but I expect he'll flash and have some great games as an X-factor to win the team games. One example is Shaqquan Aaron who transferred in with a world of talent but mixed amazing play with silly mistakes and cringeworthy hero ball. Ultimately Aaron was a terrific role player for the Trojans, clogging up passing lanes on zone D with his length and helped some great USC teams and I believe he was a net positive. No one will forget his heroics against a #8 ranked UCLA blowing up for 23 pts. Max can do the same, but I don't think he'll develop into a Kuzma, Thybulle type All-Pac-12 first teamer.