Answers, Part 6

Q: Are the Trojans actively recruiting top BB candidate Renardo Sidney and what are the chances they will be successful? I heard that he prefers to stay in SoCal.

A: Yes, he is one of their top targets, if not the top targets. Remember, Sidney is originally from Mississippi. Floyd is originally from Mississippi. So that's worth something.

Q: What people in the local media do you respect? Petros? Jim Hill? Fred Roggin? Lindsay Soto? Gary Pascowitz? Pete Arbogast...just kidding on the last one.

A: Since I am part of the local media, I do not respect any group that would include me as a member.

Q: We all know deep-pocket alumni contribute to the football program (as do football alumni) because it's a prestige sport. With that in mind, do you think USC would be wise to start a baseball fund-raising effort involving so many of the great stars from the past - Tom Seaver, Randy Johnson, Mark McGwire, Fred Lynn, Dave Kingman, Barry Zito - who undoubtedly have a lot of money and can contribute to the program? I'm pretty sure that there are very few full scholarships in baseball (don't most players get half-scholarships at most?) and there are a lot of walk-ons who have to pay the high tuition at USC. Let's face it - if you're a good high school player in Southern California, are you going to pay $20K-$40K a year and go to USC, or Cal State Fullerton or Long Beach State where it's much more affordable, and they also have terrific baseball programs? We should also mention that USC has lost a few really high MLB draft picks who had committed to play baseball for the Trojans over the past few years. It's a difficult sport for any coach, wouldn't you agree?

A: Baseball is probably the hardest sport to coach at a private school because of scholarship limitations. Let's not forget that Mark Prior's donated quite a bit of money to the baseball program. And I previously discussed Mark McGwire's lack of participation. Money is not really the issue. Baseball just got a million dollar scoreboard with video screen and is upgrading the facilities.
Remember, you can't just award money to walk-ons via fundraising.