Another baseball question highlights this round.

Q: Do you think the USC band is going to be “invited” to the Rose Bowl when USC plays that school across town, in football, on 12/6/08?

A: Football operates on its own set of rules and there might be a revolt if the USC band is not invited. And Art Bartner’s ego would not be able to handle it. So the band ban only applies to non-football events.

Q: With all the negative rhetoric recently concerning the baseball team it got me to wondering – is it even possible to turn this thing around? With Title IX, the fact that USC is expensive, and the multitude of baseball powerhouses in Southern California it seems nearly impossible. Is USC baseball destined for mediocrity in the foreseeable future? If you were to draft a plan to get things moving in the right track, what would you start with?

A: It is possible for USC to be a baseball powerhouse, but there is little margin for error. Mike Gillespie took USC to the regional finals and College World Series on a fairly regular basis so that proves it is possible.
‘But the hiring of the coach is extremely important at a private school. You need someone who knows Southern California high school coaches intimately because you need to find hidden gems or players who might qualify for a lot of financial aid and are good baseball players. Walk-ons are essential and Gillespie excelled at finding them. Really, you need a guy who might have some JC experience because you have to put a program together in a precarious manner because of the lack of scholarships or half-scholarships.
That’s why George Horton probably fit the profile when he was at Cal State Fullerton. It didn’t take Oregon long to figure out Horton was the man to start their baseball program. John Savage used to be the heir apparent but frankly, he’s been disappointing at UCLA. But at least he had head coaching experience and built the UC Irvine program.