USC women's basketball is expected to contend for the Final Four this season. The Trojans have JuJu Watkins back in their lineup. They have star freshman Saniyah Hall and an elite recruiting class complementing returning stars Jazzy Davidson and Kennedy Smith. This team should become very good. The key word: become. Teams don't just start the season as complete or finished products. The season molds the team into a finished product which hopefully maxes out when it really matters in March.

Analyst Cece Clay, at her USC Women's Basketball Media Lab, wrote about the Trojans' exhibition win over Cal this past Sunday:

"While the narrow margin generated plenty of discussion about a team entering the season with championship expectations," Clay wrote, "I believe the more important story is what USC learned from playing a competitive opponent. I've always maintained that exhibition games should challenge teams. Winning by 40 or 50 points might look impressive on paper, but how much does a team really learn if it isn't being forced to execute, make adjustments, or respond to adversity? Cal entered this matchup having already faced UCLA, losing 87–53 on October 14. The Golden Bears had an opportunity to evaluate that performance, make adjustments, and prepare for USC. Their improvement was evident, and they deserve credit for competing."

Cal getting an extra exhibition game to prepare for USC is a big deal in the preseason. USC was playing its first game and didn't have a dress rehearsal before the Cal game. No one should be worried about the close win over the Golden Bears, and that leads us to our one key point about the season: Expect some rough edges in November.

This is a young team, and JuJu Watkins will need some time to get back into a normal flow and rhythm after a year and a half away from live-game action. There is a ton of star power on this team, but basketball is still a team game. Individual stars have to learn how to work together. Chemistry doesn't exist the way oxygen does. It is created by the organic process of practice carried into live-game play and tested in pressure situations.

This team should become something special, but one must allow that process to take time. That process began against Cal and continues with the regular-season opener on Monday, November 2, against UNLV.

Be sure to follow Cece Clay at her USC Women's Basketball Media Lab and her YouTube channel for the best in USC women's basketball coverage and analysis all season long.