From what I've seen so far (I haven't taken any kind of guided tour, if you will), the Galen Center is a pretty cool place to watch basketball. All the seating appears very "fan friendly".
I'm surprised there wasn't anytning approaching a capacity crowd for the "men's basketball debut" in the place (announced attendance was 7,512; capacity is 10,258).
But, hey! It's football season and this USC is a football school!
As for the basketball team. . .
The Trojans couldn't guard South Carolina's half-court offensive very effectively, and some USC guys (namely Lodrick Stewart) launched a lot of ill-advised shots, which is why the Trojans lost in overitme (80-74) to a team that was beaten up pretty good at UC Irvine Tuesday night.
A couple of "older" freshmen, 21 1/2 Taj GIbson and 19-year-old Daniel Hackett (who would have been about to start his senior season at St. John Bosco if not for picking up the rest of his college requirements this past summer), were USC's best players Thursday night, with Gibson getting 16 points and 14 rebounds and Hackett 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
It will be interesting to see how much project USC will make in a week's time when it plays host to Long Beach State the night after Thanksgiving.
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