Los Angeles, CA—In an attempt to get his team ready for the MEAC schedule resuming on January 13 against Savannah State, Howard University head coach Kevin Nickelberry has opted to hold out freshmen guards James "J-Bird" Daniel and James "JT" Miller from Sunday' non-conference match at the University of Southern California and quite possibly the game on January 4 at College of Charleston.

"I think that it is important that we do everything as a coaching staff and training staff to get Daniels and Miller healthy so that they can join (Prince) Okoroh in the backcourt to set up an exciting finish in MEAC play," said Nickelberry.  "In that vein, neither will make the trip to USC and possibly the College of Charleston so that they can aggressively rehab and get close to 100 percent as possible."

Daniel, the team-leading scorer with almost 20 points per game, has missed the three of the last four games with a sprained toe.  Miller missed several of the early games but returned recently and was beginning to make his presence felt before he aggravated his knee.  He had averaged 12 points during that short period. Adding to the injury woes is red-shirt sophomore center Oliver Ellison, who had his best game of the season in the win over Delaware State before suffering a high ankle sprain that kept him out of the Liberty game.  Nickelberry says that Ellison will make the trip but his status is day to day on whether he plays or not.

Nickelberry adds that he was excited about the trio of Daniel, Miller and Okoroh and the possibilities.  The 6-5 junior and only returning starter, Okoroh is having his best season, currently second on the the team in scoring while leading in rebounds and in minutes played.  He scored a career-high 40 against William and Mary and has scored in double figures in all but one game.

Okoroh has had to take on the added responsibility of leadership for a team that is the second youngest in the country.  Solomon Mangham, Marcel Boyd, Keon Hill, Kofi Andoh, Tyler Stone, Damon Collins and Ausar Madison have all gotten extended playing time due to the injuries and Nickelberry feels that it will be a plus in the long run.

"The positive with all these injuries is that it is giving more playing time to all those freshmen," noted Nickelberry.  "As they get more comfortable with what we are trying to do, it is going to pay dividends for us."

He continued. "I have said all along that how excited I am about all of this young talent that we have on the roster and the upperclassmen, especially Okoroh."

The Bison will take on a USC team that is 8-4 under their new head coach Andy Enfield.  The Trojans are coming off a 79-76 overtime win on a buzzer beater by University of Maryland transfer Pe'Shon Howard at Dayton and have won four of their last five.  The game tips off at 5 pm Eastern time on Sunday and will be carried live on the PAC 12 Network.