With star freshman Onyeka Okongwu tying USC's single-game record with 8 blocks in his debut Tuesday night, coach Andy Enfield was asked if he considered sending the big man back out there late in the game for a chance to break the mark.

"He tied it, that's great. He's concerned about winning. If he wants to break the school record, do it next game," Enfield quipped.

It's not a far-fetched scenario.

Okongwu, the 6-foot-9 5-star phenom from Chino Hills High School, made it look too easy in his Trojans debut while leading the team to a 77-48 over Florida A&M at the Galen Center.

Such as the 20 points with most coming on dunks for which the Rattlers had no defense. Or the 13 rebounds, of which 7 came on the offensive end and were a product not only of the freshman's height but also his instincts and relentless pursuit of loose balls. And yes, the 8 blocks, including 6 in his first half of college basketball.

"It's nothing new to us," Enfield said. "But he came out, he's relentless. When that shot goes up, he's going to be somewhere and it's usually towards the basketball. His mentality and his effort and his athletic … he's got some great skills, but it's really the mentality because I know a lot of guys just as athletic as Onyeka. But when that shot goes up he's going to get it."

Fellow USC 5-star freshman Isaiah Mobley -- who had a big night himself with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks -- knows Okongwu as well as anyone. They became teammates on the Compton Magic AAU team as sophomores in high school. So Mobley was asked for his take -- was "Big O's" performance impressive or just another game?

"I'd say it's both. Definitely impressive. For him, it's nothing new," Mobley said. "He works extremely hard on and off the court. He's a great guy, so when he makes milestones like this it only makes me happy. We're extremely competitive, so next time I'm going to try to get 9 [blocks]."

It's not lost that all of this came against an overmatched Florida A&M team that finished with a losing record last season and returned no players who averaged double-digit scoring. Nor anyone who could give Okongwu a reasonable challenge.

But this, again, is about how easy Okongwu made it look nonetheless, doing all that damage in 25 minutes and helping to swing the game when USC needed to finally pull away after a holding a narrow 24-23 halftime lead.

This is about the potential of a special season for a special player -- or players, not to obscure the versatile 6-foot-10 Mobley who shot 6 of 10 from the field and connected on his only 3-pointer -- and whether that might be enough to elevate USC basketball this season.

The Trojans have finished with a losing record in three of Enfield's six seasons, including a 16-17 mark last season, and have missed the NCAA Tournament in four of those six years.

The anticipation for this season centered on the influx of incoming talent with five freshmen who all had their moments Tuesday night (the sixth, Drake London, is still playing for the USC football team), two graduate transfers expected to provide a boost on the perimeter and enough returning talent to provide some veteran stability.

Aside from Okongwu and Mobley, freshmen point guards Ethan Anderson (who started) and Kyle Sturdivant combined for 11 assists and 2 turnovers and freshman forward Max Agbonkpolo scored 10 points in just 8 minutes, making all 3 of his shots from the field and all 3 from the line.

Senior center Nick Rakocevic, the Trojans' top returning player, fouled out after just a little more than 13 minutes on the court, finishing with 4 points and 3 rebounds.

The story was indeed the freshmen -- especially the freshman.

Okongwu's arrival was immediate. He grabbed rebounds on Florida A&M's first two misses and two Rattlers possessions later he blocked back-to-back shots in the paint. He'd do the same thing a minute later, blocking two shots on the same possession. This time he followed on the other end with a put-back dunk off Anderson's miss.

That's kind of how it went Tuesday night.

"It felt really good. It's been a long couple months of practices, and it's fun just to go out there and finally play for real," Okongwu said.

When USC went into halftime with that uninspiring narrow lead, well, it didn't stay that way for long. Okongwu scored on the Trojans' first two possessions of the second half. Anderson followed with a fast-break layup off a no-look feed from Elijah Weaver, Mobley later scored in the paint, Jonah Mathews hit a short jumper and Okongwu finished at the rim yet again to make it a 36-27 lead less than 4 minutes into the half.

It never got close again.

"We were a little sluggish in the first half, but our team played pretty well defensively the whole night -- which we've been doing all preseason," Enfield said. "So the defense was there. We grinded it out and eventually we started making some shots and sharing the basketball. We had a few too many turnovers on the night (17), but I thought overall the second half was excellent."

The constant was Okongwu, and if the same can be said all season, well, this might indeed prove to be a fun ride for the Trojans.

"It was pretty impressive," Enfield said. "The 8 blocked shots and the rebounding. He has a natural gift of offensive rebounding. You turn your head and he's gone. He'll chase rebounds down, which he did a couple times tonight. … Whenever you have a guy like that that can keep plays alive and get you extra possessions, and Nick Rakocevic is a terrific offensive rebounder as well -- he's one of the best I've ever coached in 25 years. … So we do have an advantage this year."

NOTES: Anderson started at point guard with Elijah Weaver at the 2-guard because Mathews -- a returning starter -- was late for some classes recently, Enfield said. "Our goal is to have him graduate on time, like every player we've ever coached here that stayed for four years. … That's the No. 1 priority at USC basketball, our program," he said.