USC Basketball Goals

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Someone asked me on twitter what I thought would be reasonable goals for USC: How about a team that is consistently in the top 25 rankings, almost always finishes in the top 4 of the Pac-12 standings and makes the Sweet 16 every few years. That sounds reasonable to me for a program in Los Angeles with a nice 10,000-seat arena.

27 thoughts on “USC Basketball Goals”

  1. USC is a football school. Like it or not, that will always affect USC’s ability to compete at the higher levels of hoops.

    Many superior basketball prospects simply will not agree to go to a school where they are completely second-fiddle to football, the fan support is very mediocre at best and 25 Rose Bowl wins rules the day.

    USC will never finish consistently in the top 25 in hoops, nor should it be expected to. We blatantly lack that culture, just as our fantastic football culture allows us to always run with the elite in CFB. Once again, pre-season CFB mags will be plastered with photos of USC football and Darnold.

    That said, Enfield’s done well with USC’s long-standing limitations and an occasional very good team is all we can expect – especially when we always lose our best hoops players early, even if they don’t get drafted.

    • Jack,
      Nick Young, OJ Mayo who was “The #1 Overall Player In the Nation”, DeMar DeRozan all came to USC when we were just starting to be respected in College Basketball. Those guys were recruited by everyone who was anyone. It can happen again and it looks like Andy Enfield will make that happen. The programs came a long ways and we’re just starting to hit our stride.

      • All Mayo did was get USC on probation. So over-rated.

        How many Sweet 16’s has USC made in the last 50 years? Two, maybe three? I don’t know because nobody except fully hard-core USC fans follow USC hoops. Even our own students barely go the the games in our new arena. Reminds me of the early ’70’s when none of us went to the games either because people only cared about ucla.

        My point stands. We’re a big-time football school, always have been, and a mid-major hoops program with extremely limited success.

        I’m pulling for Enfield and like him a lot. Hope he and the Trojans make the Sweet 16 some day. Until then, bragging about USC hoops or its direction seems hilarious to me. We’re officially “decent” after barely edging into the tourney with a horribly weak out of conference schedule.

        • Jack, this is dierctly from Assistant Coach Arnold who was the head coach at Hawaii later on said Mayo did not take any money. He was there when Mayo at SC

          • Whatever he did, he didn’t do jack for USC hoops. And regardless of what USC people think, everyone else thinks he was on the take and USC got a big black eye because of it. It wasn’t nearly worth that problems and horrible pub he brought with him. What a joke.

          • Hah! Good one. I’m not sure if you are trying to make a joke or not. Not many would be able to come up with such a worthless, arcane stat as that. Good dig job. Wow. You mean USC actually made the Sweet 16 when Durant was in college? There’s some real bulletin board material for ya. USC should post it in the McKay Center.

            As far as Sweet 16’s go, USC has a whopping total of 4 while ucla has 33. USC may have even been able to beat Kareem Abdul Jabbar or Bill Walton once. Not sure though. In those days USC could stall all game long and try to win 32-30. So they changed the rules to stop that BS.

            But thanks for the Durant stat. Unless you can come up with a bunch more, it only makes USC look more feeble since it clearly shows that USC is very rarely ever able to have any impact on college basketball whatsoever.

          • What excuses? USC’s not very good in basketball and never has been. That’s not some big secret.

            As I said, you should call up the McKay Center and see how they feel about USC’s long ago last Sweet 16 appearance. Maybe they’d like to throw a party.

          • Nothing but a Downer today, Jack B. Get on the Trojan Men’s BB Express with the rest of us, or stand on the curb with your D@mn cap in your hand. FIGHT ON !!!

          • Jack B, The cap you would most likely be wearing on the curb would be a USC Trojan cap like mine. Please accept my apology for referring to your cap as that damn cap. My goof. Didn’t our Head BB Coach Enfield take a no name college to the Elite 8 not too long ago ?

          • It’s always been my position that Enfield is great for USC. I’ve been very vocal about that, so I’m not sure what your point is. What you don’t understand is you’re preaching to the choir. Weird.

            That has nothing to do with my accurate and well-substantiated point that USC basketball is historically a weak, mediocre, underachieving and laughably under-supported part of USC’s ultra-successful overall sports program.

            USC athletics stands among the truly elite, always has and new additions like women’s lacrosse and beach volleyball have only immediately strengthened the USC heritage and footprint. Basketball’s always been a USC weak point and a red-headed stepchild and that’s in part because USC is a thoroughbred football school and always will be.

  2. Flow, they’re working on it. Although the early departures continue to set the program back. As an admitted fair weather USC basketball/baseball fan, I’ve enjoyed watching the past couple basketball seasons. Assuming Metu leans towards the league as well, I just hope they both get the feedback most everyone else has: “You need another year to develop.”

  5. Is anybody completely disgusted that North Carolina, Baylor and SMU were even in the tournament? When is Carolina gonna get theirs?

  6. We must, and demand better qualities that what Scooter described. We need to raise the bar even higher. One way is to have the soft serve ice cream machine return. Also, increase the talent that is coming in.

        • Mrhawaii, seriously, that was a pretty cool machine. It brings a difference to what their is to eat. They have the same boring food all the time

      • I approve of Petros returning. He makes the games interesting. The present announcer is stiff as a board

    • How about a blogger that aims to be the best he can be……Maybe this is the best he can be…YIKES!

  7. Were you describing USC or bel-air tech? Man that sure sounds, save 1995, like the latter since woodie the peckerhead split.

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