Ghost World
It's a good thing USC is not located in Chapel Hill, N.C., Lawrence, Kan., or even Westwood. Because if it was, people might actually care about the basketball team's four-point victory over North Dakota State or the generally shambolic play this season.
At some point there will need to be some scrutiny regarding the evaluation done for this recruiting class (I'm not referring to DeMar DeRozan in this instance) and the distribution of scholarships. Right now, USC's getting something out of one of its four new recruits (again, excluding DeRozan).
I must admit that this is a bit puzzling, although I honestly haven't watched the kids play this season. I thought that Demar might fill the scoring hole left by OJ, but we now appreciate just how special OJ was. I thought that Dwight, Hack, and Donte Smith would form a stellar backcourt, but they are weak shooting, turnover machines. And, I thought that Taj with Stepheson, Kasey, Leonard, Diarra, and Wilkinson would form our best frontcourt ever. Taj and Leonard are playing great, but two players are not enough. Imagine what the team might be like if Ryan Francis were a Sr PG? I love Coach Floyd, love his recruiting, and think that he just needs a little more time to get the right mix and longevity of talent in the program. With one and dones and NBA runners, I appreciate how difficult his challenge to build a program is.
Scott, I noticed you started blogging about this game at halftime. Admit the truth, would you have even mentioned this game had USC not been down at the half?