Heading into next season, the Trojans basketball team is going to look completely different.

Four starters from last year's team are now gone. Only a handful of players on next season's team will have any NCAA Division-I experience.

We started highlighting the incoming recruiting class with an update on Byron Wesley a few weeks back.

Now we will be shifting our focus down low to the paint, which has become an area in dire need of help for the Trojans after Nikola Vucevic's departure to the NBA.

Enter James Blasczyk.

The 7-foot-1, 260-pound big man from Houston, Texas, knew he wanted to join the Trojans basketball program after meeting with head coach Kevin O'Neill and visiting the USC campus.

"I was getting a lot of attention, but K.O. was probably the most persistent head coach. He came out and saw me every Sunday," Blasczyk said. "I just went out to Southern Cal and fell in love with it when I came to campus."

The Trojans weren't the only team vying for Blasczyk's talents. He had interest from schools such as Virginia, Boston College and Washington State.

Despite those other schools, Blasczyk was fully committed to USC's coaching staff and enjoyed the open communication he had with them during the recruiting process.

He said he always kept in "good contact" with the coaches and tried to "text them every day or almost every day".

Blasczyk originally committed to Texas A&M as a freshman in 2008. After redshirting his first season, he decided to transfer to Lee Community College in hopes of finding another big-time school.

After his seasons at Texas A&M and Lee, Blasczyk has two years of NCAA eligibility remaining.

With the departure of 6-foot-10 post players Vucevic and Alex Stepheson, Blasczyk will have an opportunity for significant playing time next season.

Yet Blasczyk is a bit hesitant to assess his role.

"I'm not sure what he has planned for me. Obviously whatever he has planned I'm fine with," Blasczyk said. "I can hit the open shot, pick and roll, pick and pop, rebound, whatever he needs."

Blasczyk says he's been compared to Brad Miller, Dirk Nowitzki and Mehmet Okur, labeling "shooting" and "running the floor" as his two biggest strengths.

At the same time, Blasczyk feels he has a few things to work on to help develop his overall game.

"Perfecting my inside game. I've always been able to handle the ball and shoot the rock, but I've never been real solid with my post game," he said. "I can do it, but it's not been my strength."

Regardless of his strengths and weaknesses, Blasczyk simply wants to play basketball after saying he's basically "sat out for over three years".

Next season, he will definitely have that long-waited opportunity.

Blasczyk arrived in Los Angeles early Tuesday morning and will take the team physical later today. Wasting no time, Blasczyk will begin working out on Wednesday.