Answer Saturday! | Inside USC with Scott Wolf

Baseball questions dominate this segment.

Q: Trojan Conquest said:
What are your ideas of how to get the baseball program back to competing for a PAC title? How do you get enough good players to come to an expensive private school, when there are only 11.7 scholarships available? How does Stanford and others do it?

A: It is certainly a hurdle for private schools but not impossible. For many years, Mike Gillespie had USC among the best programs in the nation. There are several things you need to do because the job is much tougher than at the Cal State or UC schools. First, you need to recruit a core of top players. But some of these players need to be from the JC level. Why? Because it is often a guessing game on whether the elite high school players will get drafted high enough to turn pro. So you need to be plugged in with JC coaches to find the guys that maybe didn’t have grades out of high school but are going to offer immediate help.
The other thing you need is walk-ons. That means working hard to get players who can receive financial aid and can afford to pay some tuition. When USC went to the College World Series about 10 years ago, there were walk-ons starting.
That is why if you are the USC coach, you need to be able to really hustle and put the program together in unconventional ways.

Q: twenty-twenty said:
After two losing seasons, why should SC retain Frank Cruz as baseball coach? On paper, we look weaker next season. The rest of the conference is strong. Why not chart a new direction and hire a big-name coach who can attract great players and productive walk-ons. This season was a mess in batting, fielding, pitching and base running.

A: I give Frank Cruz some leeway because he inherited the mess left by Chad Kreuter. But I do feel this next year needs something positive to happen. I think a big part will be whether someone Rio Ruiz actually shows up or turns pro. USC needs some top players like him to make an immediate impact. The Pac-12 is really tough right now and USC’s going to be mired at the bottom of the standings if it doesn’t bring in some bona-fide stars. Whether that happens under Cruz remains to be seen.

Q: steve49 said:
What is USC planning to do to the Coliseum now that they are in charge?

A: As I’ve said, replacing all 90,000 seats is one of the first things that will happen. The locker rooms will also be redone and I think parking will also improve. I’ve also heard the restrooms will be upgraded.

Gnossos

TC, this is how Stanford does it……

http://www.gostanford.com/marketplace/boosters/baseball.html
W.E.B. Dupree

Bill has some things to say about Bill and stuff that has to do with Bill.

I will stay quite now and wait for Bill.
Trojan Conquest

Not to be making excuses, but top players from Southern California have some pretty good, inexpensive, schools to choose from. Cal State Fullerton & Long Beach, ASU & Arizona, and UCI & UCLA.
Trojanfan

Fuck Bill!!!….LOL!!!!
Trojan Rewind

Frank Cruz hasn’t seen the postseason in 15 years now…you can keep giving him excuses, but he has been with the program for the last four years so you can see what he has done in that time.
BiII

You all have a joke now, but trust me you will all pay for the disrespectful comments about Bill. You all have problems and need help. I tried to help you, but I can only help those who accept help. trust me you will pay. Nobody talks that way to Bill and gets away with it. You just wait, idiots.

Bill
BiII

You idiots do not know the trouble you have gotten yourselves into.

Bill
LAWYER JOHN

I see UCKLA’s baseball team is doing well. I once rooted for UCKLA sports, but its fans turned me off years ago, and now I always root for them to lose. Winning baseball games is tough, especially against a hot pitcher, and I predict UCKLA will not win the title this year.

And, Bill, your act is already getting old. Or have you ever tried to get a laugh from a crowd by telling them the same joke twice in a row.

Just sayin
Bill

I guess the top baseball players don’t want to comCruz at Southern Cal…

Talk to Lame Kitten about gettting the slush funds, hookers, and access to agent’s runners for you guys to comChete.
BiII

Idiots
BiII

Bill
ProbationU

@Trojan Conquest mentions 11.7 scholarships. Is that less than other schools? If it is the same number of scholarships, then SC should be able to compete with anyone. Don’t tell me they can’t afford it…makes no sense. SC is flush with cash. They do great in non-revenue sports such as tennis and water polo. Why should baseball be different? UCLA added seats to Jackie Robinson Stadium this year and draws well. Both schools should do well in most sports every year with the amount of great athletes availabe.
Trojan Conquest

ProbationU…seriously? Most players on college baseball teams get partial or half scholarships. A half scholarship will cost a player over $25K a year to attend USC. Do the fracken math. That’s why I’d recruit from rich areas, since baseball in the USA has become a year round sport with expensive club teams and private coaches. That’s why the African American MLB player has become an endangered player. I almost hate to admit it, but Wolf’s idea of recruiting junior college players makes sense. Only 2 years of expensive tuition to get a degree from USC.
dtksr1

Highschool baseball players with top talent will take the baseball draft offer over college just about every time. The exception is where a teenager is really good at say football and is offered top scholarships and will follow his dream in a more popular sport but still has the baseball fallback in case.
I agree with Scott that you have to look at the JCs more who have developed the skill of a player from his less exceptional highschool baseball playing days. You will find some players that are late bloomers who have improved accordingly. You better have a coaching staff that has the ability to see this potential rather than end of the line overachieving.