Roschon Prince is no newcomer to Long Beach.
Growing up in the city and attending Long Beach Poly High School, Prince is back and better than ever.
After one year at USC, Prince chose to transfer to Long Beach State for a better fit and more playing time. So far, it has been working out extremely well as of late.
“Just being here at Long Beach State — it’s a different atmosphere,” Prince said. “It’s a bigger campus and the gym is always a little more packed than it was at USC. The fan support here was kind of crazy right off the bat, [there is] more support for the basketball team here.”
Although USC is not that far away, Prince says there’s nothing like playing college basketball steps away from where you grew up.
Recently, the LBSU men’s basketball team has been going through some adversity with injuries to key players like starting forward Gabe Levin and sophomore guard Noah Blackwell; however, it hasn’t stopped the team from competing in the Big West Conference as they hold a 5-4 record.
Prince has been an emerging leader and player as of late for the 49ers.
On Saturday night, he recorded nine points and 10 rebounds against UC Irvine, only one point shy of his seventh double-double this season. Prince has seen an increase in playing time as Levin is out for the season.
Prince’s recent success should come as no surprise with honors such as the Gatorade California player of the year and being named a McDonald’s All-American his senior year of high school.
“Due to the injuries, I knew I would be the next man up and that it would be an increase in minutes,” Prince said. “As one of the transfer guys with some experience like Gabe, I knew that it was my time to lead. Although I wasn’t a captain, I’m just a guy that has experience and someone that our younger guys look up to. So, it was pretty much my time to make an impact.”
At 6 feet 6 inches, Prince is an undersized forward as he covers other forwards who can be close to 7 feet tall. He says that defensively, guarding opponents in the post has been one of his biggest difficulties so far.
Prince’s teammates have taken notice of his improvements and impact on the team.
“I’ve seen a huge difference from when he played at USC,” Blackwell said. “I’ve just seen a lot of poise, with all the injuries, especially to Gabe, we’ve been needing him to step up and he has been with all of his double-doubles. I think it’s really helping us.”
Prince couldn’t be any more satisfied with his choice to come back to Long Beach and play in front of his local fans.
“It’s a great experience to be able to play most of my basketball in Long Beach and have that fan support. It’s a blessing to be able to play college basketball where you grew up,” he said.