What Basketball Needs?

Even before Jordan McLaughlin got hurt, I’ve heard that within the program there is a realization USC needs another point guard. So why was USC recruiting shooting guard Sammy Barnes-Thompkins last week when the Trojans were in Arizona?

It seems like the team is already heavy with shooting guards (Elijah Stewart, Katin Reinhardt, Malik Marquetti) and a point guard would be a higher priority. Or even a small forward, which seems absent from the roster.

26 thoughts on “What Basketball Needs?

  1. You know what this blog could really use – a member of the media with access to coaches, players & administrators at SC. Wouldn’t that be great? That person could ask relevant questions about the SC sports teams and pass the information along to readers thru the blog. Shame we don’t have that. We’ve got someone to put a negative spin on everything that happens at SC and 4 or 5 UCLA idiots with nothing better to do than bag on SC, but we’re missing that source of information. Shame….

  2. Scott, how about LB Uchenna Nwosu, who was listed as a “squadman lost”…… Last we were told, he could return in the fall……..maybe one of your unnamed sources could help you out with this?

  3. This team needs a competent coach. Enfield is not him. Will someone give up the ghost and call Ben Howland? Is Haden really that stubborn or inadequate? I mean he did keep his pet Kiffin around but this is too much.

    • Didn’t Howland alienate the entire Southern California high school coaches fraternity. Maybe this is something our Bruin trolls can comment on?

        • That what the Bruin poster said, that he was persona non-grata at just about every elite high school. I wonder what he did?

          • Yeah Bruin sour grapes. I have no idea why SC fans would be like the idiot loser who doesn’t want to date the hottest girl because she was jilted by someone else.

          • I suggested Howland on another board, because USC BB doesn’t need to win championships, it needs to filed a competitive team, but I was shot down by Bruin poster all saying Howland can’t recruit in SoCal high schools. Seems odd because not only did he go to final fours, he sent kids to the NBA. Love, Westbrook, Barnes, Affalo, Farmar, Holiday . . .

            Still Enfield is gonna get another year. This isn’t Kiffin II because, for all intensive purposes, Enfield is a good guy. He just isn’t a power conference head coach.

      • I think that was the post fact story that people put together but that doesn’t make sense.

        Who else in college basketball had three Final Four appearances in what was his last nine tournaments? Nobody but Tom Izzo and Roy Williams and Howland.

        Howland also has won 4 out of 8 Pac 12 regular-season titles when he was fired.

        UCLA fans know that Guerrero blew it when he fired Howland because Guerrero was feeling pressure before UCLA football and baseball turned it around. They bad mouthed Howland and Guerrero ran him out, and now look at what happened.

        How could he have alienated coaches in So Cal when his recruiting went from mediocre to incredible??? That was part of the problem.

        He built his winning off of solid 3 to 4 year players and then got a bunch of one-and-dones that he could not keep discipline over. Obviously everyone wants to have the best recruits but not everyone knows how to win with a constantly rotating cast.

        ‘When Howland came, he built a tough, responsible program on players who were there for at least three years. Heavy lifters like Luc Mbah a Moute and Alfred Aboya were invaluable.

        Then he got into position to sign NBA-ready players and, along the way, brought in and developed the sleeper Russell Westbrook. When Westbrook skyrocketed into lottery status, UCLA suddenly lost Westbrook, Mbah a Moute, Jrue Holliday and Darren Collison within a 2-year period.

        Howland somehow forgot about discipline. Joshua Smith, at 350 pounds-plus, never would have seen the basketball court if he had been playing for Rick Pitino.

        Reeves Nelson, who was UCLA’s best player for at least one year, had to play the clown on a losing bench before Howland kicked him off. He missed a plane to Maui – and who does that? – and only missed one half, against Chaminade.

        When Howland did implement discipline the UCLowns got angry. Everyone recalls when that tub of lard Joshua Smith, decided to walk from the hotel to the Staples in a rare burst of energy for him. He was benched for the first half and the UCLA alum acted like Howland was evil incarnate for trying to instill discipline.

        USC was very foolish to have hired Enfield over Howland and Brian Shaw, etc., and we are foolish if take a gamble on Enfield and lose out the remaining coaching prospects including Howland.

        • Guerrero ran Howland out and his replacement beat SC by 30 last time around. And every one of Guerrero’s men’s coaches has beaten SC in every sport this academic season. Oh and PS, you guys pay Haden twice what we pay DG.
          I forgot, what was your point again?

          • You make mt point exactly. UCLA is happy because you won against a team that is dead last for two years and is 4 out of 32 games in the PAC 12??? HAHAHAHAHA!

            Oh come now, I know UCLA football fans only care about beating USC but UCLA basketball fans who consistently made final fours under Howland are not happy with UCLA perhaps not making the tourney this year! Post Howland UCLA hoops has tumbled. Welcome to basketball irrelevance, glad to have you here with us. LOL

          • You make my point exactly. UCLA is happy because you won against a USC team that is dead last for two years and is 4 out of 32 games in the PAC 12??? HAHAHAHAHA!

            Oh come now, I know UCLA football fans only care about beating USC but UCLA basketball fans who consistently made final fours under Howland are not happy with UCLA perhaps not making the tourney this year! Post Howland UCLA hoops has tumbled to mediocrity. Thanks DG! Welcome to basketball irrelevance, glad to have you here with us. LOL

        • It wasn’t foolish at all. It actually created a splash. Hiring a BB Coach at USC has never made headlines, other than when Majerus quit after a week. When he was hired most people thought it was a bold, program defining move.

          This is all 20-20 hindsight. No one could have predicted that a coach who went to the Sweet 16 would have no idea how to coach fundamentals.

  4. BTW, Scott. Those shooters you mention really can’t shoot. Maybe Stewart in a few years. Marquetti doesn’t look like he will be anything than a poor man’s Daniel Hackett. And KR, besides have no ball sense whatsoever, is also a major tool.

    And Enfield really skrooed the pooch with JMac. He bet that USC wouldn’t need to recruit another PG until 2016. And even JMac were completely healthy, any decent coach would see that JMac is not an every game, high-minutes PG.

    • PG’s like QB’s. It helps to have more than one that can play. UCLA has none. The Bruins wanted McLaughlin and lost him to SC. During Howland’s best years, we had Farmar and Collison and Westbrook and Holiday. That was a pretty strong group.

      Regarding Howland and So Cal High Schools: he reportedly burned some bridges by pulling back an offer from one player and also because of his playing style and demeanor. The guy went to 3 Final 4’s so he can coach. He seemed to lose his way and recruited some bad apples as well.

      • He would have done better at UCLA. Would not have been asked to do as much — just control the tempo and set up the offense.

        Enfield wants him to be Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook. He ain’t.

      • Jordan McLaughlin has been garbage. He shoots at 35% and probably has as many turnovers as assists. USC’s two Pac-12 victories came when McLaughlin was out. Elijah Stewart, who was interested in UCLA supposedly has made just 20 of 78 shots (26 percent) in Pac-12 play. I don’t know if they are no good or if our coach is making them no good.

        I don’t get the bit with Howland. Outside the poison pen piece in SI, he was winning and recruiting well. That gets you press, and usually negative press if people will buy it. UCLA cut their own throats, Howland’s record was about as good as it gets without a NC, and UCLA was probably on the verge of one of those with the Final Four appearances. I’m happy Guerrero fired him.

  5. wolfman, when Chickie Burger was in his prime, Jerry Buss dint make a MOVE without at least TALKING to Chick about it first.

    here, DumbCoach U has a beat writer who has FORGOTTEN more about this game than half the Pac12 coaches will EVER know…yet do they consult with you??? NO!!

    a school of Southern Cal’s allege stature eating basement dung EVERY YEAR in basketball?? it would be almost sad if it wasn’t so deserved!!

    #Wolfman4NextCoach

  6. So the new players received their numbers and Issac Whitney #8, o no, he’s #15. Porky didn’t you say George Farmer left because he had to compete against Issac? Yes you did, just another lie. You are a miserable excuse for a human being and the worst kind of journalist. You are a cancer on journalism.

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