June 2009 Archives
It looks like Taj Gibson's twitter page was suspended. That's too bad because he made some interesting comments on it and made a worthwhile stop.
Some football recruiting and a Tim Floyd-Kevin O'Neill comparison in this segment.
Oregon's new uniforms give the Ducks the option of 80 different jersey combinations during the 2009 season.
A charity softball game will be held at Dedeaux Field on July 23 help the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of The ALS Association continue to provide services and programs to people fighting ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
The Strike Out Lou Gehrig's Disease All Star Softball Game between Team Hollywood against The USC Legends starts at 7 p.m.
Team Hollywood includes Nancy O'Dell ("Access Hollywood"), Danny Pino ("Cold Case"), Kate Linder ("Young and the Restless"), and Jessica Mendoza (USA Women's softball Olympic Gold Medal winner). Additional celebrities scheduled to play include Richard Roundtree ("Shaft"), former USC football player Matt Willig ("Year One"), Art LaFleur ("Field of Dreams"), Melinda Clarke ("The O.C.") and Michael Steger ("90210").
USC Legends celebrities include Marcus Allen, Charles White, Anthony Davis, Fred Lynn, Bret Boone, Don Buford, Inger Miller, Johnnie Morton, Sammy Lee, Tom House and Steve Kemp.
Hopefully Morton will play longer than he lasted in his MMA fight.
Tickets: (818) 865-8067.
Following up on yesterday's Snap Thought regarding baseball, perhaps we should to see if the Trojans will play 40 home games next season to try and produce a winning record.
Former USC strength coach Charr Gahagan, who was hired by Steve Sarkisian at Washington, recently quit to become head strength coach at North Texas.
It's definitely summer time when a Michael Jackson question sneaks into here.
Did Tim Floyd's decision to interview with Arizona lead to his demise? Guard Solomon Hill used the interview as his excuse to switch from USC to Arizona. Guard Noel Johnson was quoted saying it was the first thing that caused him to seek his release. That departure helped hasten the departure of recruits Lamont Jones and Derrick Williams (both to Arizona apparently).
If reports Williams will go to Arizona are true, the Wildcats will end up with three of USC's recruits (Hill, Jones, Willams). Who could predict this three months ago?
Is this going to be Kevin O'Neill's first lineup?
Forward: Leonard Washington
Forward: Nikola Vucevic
Center: Alex Stepheson
Guard: Dwight Lewis
Guard: Donte Smith
How is USC baseball going to be better next season after losing three-first first-and-second round picks, shortstop Grant Green and pitcher/catcher Robert Stock?
Remember to follow us at twitter.com/InsideUSC, where we have succumbed to providing original content.
New USC coach Kevin O'Neill said he is not opposed to bringing in another player on scholarship for the fall but only if they can help the team.
A question in here on the Rising Stars camp.
USC finished fourth in the final standings behind Stanford, North Carolina and Florida.
USC recruit Jiovanni Mier signed a pro contract worth $1.358 million. He joins USC's other first-round picks, Matt Davidson and Brooks Pounders, who signed earlier. Davidson got $900,000 while Pounders got $670,000.
USC junior pitcher Robert Stock previously signed for $550,000.
Follow our tweets on twitter.com/InsideUSC. Just like Mark Sanchez does.
It will be interesting to see if USC has any chance of convincing forward Derrick Williams to reconsider after he received his release. Arizona and Memphis are the frontrunners but it would be foolish for new coach Kevin O'Neill to not try and see if Williams would give USC a second look.
Time to start answering some of those questions that pop up during the summer.
Nadine Coyle of Girls Aloud relaxes at a Southern California hotel over the weekend.
USC basketball coach Kevin O'Neill said he expects point guard Donte Smith to return next season.
Somehow I missed this Saturday: USC golfer Jennifer Song, the NCAA Freshman of the Year, won the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship on Saturday at the Red Tail G.C. in Devens, Mass.
And now some football/basketball questions for the stragglers who did not ask in the Open Forum. One question per person please.
We just finished answering the Girls Aloud/Song Girls Forum questions, so time to start another forum!
Since he did not get drafted, former USC guard Daniel Hackett will begin his career playing for Benetton Treviso, an Italian pro club, where he signed a one-year contract.
A reader laments the relatively low profile of Kimberly Walsh.
Girls Aloud plays at Wembley Stadium on Sept. 18. Who's in?
Former USC forward Taj Gibson said it was hard to believe that USC coach Tim Floyd resigned.
``I was very surprised when Coach Floyd resigned,'' Gibson said. ``He was a great coach. I wish him the best. He called me when I declared for the draft and we talked. It was good to speak to him.''
Former USC basketball player DeMar DeRozan on playing in Canada, where the taxes are greater than playing in the United States.
``I think this is one of the best situations for me everything and at the end of the day, that's something we are figuring out about the tax system and everything else, so right now I am just enjoying it.''
From Taj Gibson's twitter: ``By reading some of the Bulls fans tweets I can tell they haven't seen many USC or Pac-10 games''
Former USC cornerback Terrell Thomas will hold a free football camp tomorrow at Rancho Cucamonga High School from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Steve Smith, Antonio Pierce, Keith Rivers, Dominique Byrd, Gerald Alexander, Malcolm Smith, Josh Pinkard and Kevin Thomas are among the players scheduled to appear.
DeMar DeRozan will make $1.92 million next season and $2.05 million his second season in guaranteed money with the Toronto Raptors. Taj Gibson will make $866,500 next season and $931,400 the following season with the Chicago Bulls.
Here's an article on how AAU clubs are responsible for the decline in skills of American basketball players.
Dodgers owner Jamie McCourt was elected to the USC Board of Trustees.
``She shares with other members of the Trojan Family an enthusiastic 'we-can-do-better' spirit,'' USC president Steven Sample said.
Hopefully, he wasn't referring to Manny Ramirez's ``we-can-do-better spirit.''
The Pac-10 might not be considered an elite basketball conference but it tied the ACC and Big East for most players selected in the NBA Draft. In the past two years, 21 players were drafted from the Pac-10.
SELECTIONS BY CONFERENCE
1. Pac-10, ACC, Big East: 9
4. Conference USA, Big 12: 4
6. SEC: 3
We asked USC forward Taj Gibson about new coach Kevin O'Neill.
``Kevin O'Neill is a great guy,'' Gibson said. ``I talked to him in his office a couple days ago and he's a great coach. He told me if I needed any help to let me know. I think he's a perfect fit to follow Coach (Tim) Floyd.''
We just talked to Taj Gibson about being selected by the Bulls in the first round.
``The whole draft I was hoping they would take me,'' he said. ``I just like the (practice) facility and the way they treated me. They know a lot about the game.''
Everything worked out as well as possible for Taj Gibson, when he went 26th in the first round after a lot of mock drafts had him going in the second round.
``Taj gives us some length and is versatile. He can pass it offensively and block shots defensively,'' Bulls general manager Gar Forman said.
USC forward DeMar DeRozan on getting drafted by Toronto.
``You know, I think I can fit in great,'' DeRozan said. ``I can bring a lot to the team on both ends. Probably be defense and offense, that's my thing I try to bring and just get the team going again. Just try to do the little things that need to be done.
``I'm going to go and give my all on both ends, go out there and try to win every game and never slack a bit. You know you might be able to have a chance to come in and try to make an impact and that's one of my main goals is try to get us to that point where we make the playoffs.''
My former Daily News colleague Gary Washburn is blogging the first round of the NBA Draft.
Not to be outdone, the SEC released a survey that says it is the top men's conference in the nation.
The Pac-10 won 11 NCAA titles, more than double any other conference. The ACC and Big Ten each won five championships while the Big 12 and SEC with four each.
Oregon won titles in men's cross country and men's indoor track, Stanford won in men's gymnastics and women's rowing, USC won men's tennis and men's water polo while Washington won women's cross country and softball. Arizona State won in women's golf, Cal in women's swimming and UCLA in women's water polo.
One of the better looking players in drills at the Rising Stars camp is linebacker Justin Maclin from Memphis. He already committed to LSU, however, which must burn Lane Kiffin more than Pete Carroll.
Oddsmakers currently list the figure of 10.5 victories for those betting the over/under on how many games USC will win this season. So far, betting favors the under.
A lot of readers ask about Serra defensive back/wide receiver Robert Woods. He is at the Rising Stars camp but is not participating.
It's going to be interesting what happens in recruiting regarding the defensive-line prospects this season because USC's young at the position. Defensive tackle George Uko and defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat dominated at Howard Jones Field on Wednesday and would make any recruiting class special if they actually went to the same school.
The other noticeable recruit, defensive end Ronald Powell, played middle linebacker at times and made some nice plays. It's probably the best collection of defensive line recruits at the camp, which is good because the quarterbacks were generally weaker than usual.
A compilation of mock drafts around the country has DeMar DeRozan going ninth to the Toronto Raptors in today's NBA Draft.
San Jose State has been added to Alabama's 2010 schedule. Of course you didn't think the Crimson Tide would play someone legit did you?
With no trip to Serbia, we hear Kevin O'Neill is meeting with athletic dept. types and he becomes more familiar with how USC works.
Back to football questions, much to your relief.
Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.
It's ``The Show,'' by Girls Aloud, because there's a never a dull moment at USC.
Jolt Cola is reconsidering its decision to pull out as a basketball scholarship if Kevin O'Neill is as fiery as some of these stories claim.
Forward Evan Smith of Calabasas is enrolled for summer school. Smith is currently the only recruit for next season, however, new coach Kevin O'Neill said he still might bring in a player for the fall if possible.
USC basketball coach Kevin O'Neill did not fly to Serbia today because a meeting with forward Nikola Vucevic needed to be rescheduled. He will instead fly to Belgrade in July to meet with Vucevic in July.
What will be the next video statement released by USC?
USC forward Taj Gibson, eagerly awaiting Thursday NBA draft, has been working out with trainer Joe Abunassar to improve his agility.
``We've spent a lot of time with Taj's hip and overall lower body and core strength,'' Abunassar said. ``Getting him to play lower and improving his endurance and flexibility has allowed to improve in many areas on the court. He has become much more agile, improving his perimeter play, footwork, and ability to play multiple positions.''
Gibson hopes he can make it into the first round of the draft.
Analysts at BetUS.com are now posting odds on which schools will commit NCAA violations. You will be shocked at the results, I'm sure.
Why should players like DeMar DeRozan and Taj Gibson go pro this year?
``I think it's as weak a draft as there's been since 2000,'' said ESPN draft analyst Fran Fraschilla.
Follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.
Time to get back to answer mode after all the things that always seem to be going on around here.
New basketball coach Kevin O'Neill took the NCAA test yesterday that would allow him to start recruiting high school athletes. Until you get certified, you cannot speak to high school athletes.
It's worth noting that James Grant, executive director of public relations for USC (i.e. President Steven Sample) attended yesterday's press conference for Kevin O'Neill. This comes on the heels of Grant's office handling the resignation announcement of Tim Floyd and also being behind the video statements on the NCAA investigation.
If nothing else, it once again shows Sample is monitoring events and taking a more hands-on role in things.
Here's comments Mike Garrett made when he took questions after the televised portion of the Kevin O'Neill press conference.
Today is the first day of the important Rising Stars football camp. But it would not be a surprise if USC did not get many commitments during the two-day camp.
Why? Because as we've previously posted, USC's taken a different approach to recruiting this year and does not want to stockpile commitments and give rival schools a chance to negative recruit for the next eight months.
Here's a story on Derrick Williams' visit to Memphis.
Key quote: "At 'SC, it was a football school. Here, it's totally the opposite. Everybody is all about basketball here, so it's cool.''
As I said yesterday, I like the hiring of Kevin O'Neill. And since his hiring antagonized the Internet crowd, I have even more reason to support his hiring.
I even like that he doesn't have a natural crew of assistants that follow him from job to job. He doesn't need one, he can do the real work himself.
I even like that he told the Tucson media he did not speak to his assistant coaches at Arizona during games. At the time, the Wildcats assistants were Josh Pastner and Miles Simon and neither was known for their X's and O's.
Maybe I'll start a list of things I like from now on.
Support group members are able to buy tickets to individual USC home games beginning at 6 a.m. The general public will be allowed to buy tickets at 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
Kevin O'Neill signed a five-year deal as basketball coach, for those who wondered.
For what it's worth, expect USC to try and convince Derrick Williams to take a second look at it despite the fact he already received his release.
USC athletic director Mike Garrett on the NCAA investigations that are currently going on.
``We're in limbo, we don't know (when it will end). We want to get it over with. We can only go as fast as they can.''
Kevin O'Neill will fly to Belgrade tomorrow to meet with USC forward Nicola Vucevic. He's not going to let distance stop him from meeting the team.
More football questions! And why not? I mean, seriously, USC can do whatever it wants in basketball because it doesn't need to make money with Pete Carroll carrying the load financially with his football program.
A football question in here for those tired of basketball.
In a bow to society, I am now posting some stuff on twitter only (twitter.com/InsideUSC).
I can safely predict the media will like new coach Kevin O'Neill after meeting him this morning and attending his press conference. He is going to be accessible and impressed the media during and after his press conference.
That's a big first step, when you are the step-child of college basketball in Los Angeles.
Before we officially begin the Kevin O'Neill era with today's press conference, here's an encore look back at former USC coach Tim Floyd.
OK, we had an overwhelming response and most of them had the same wrong answer: Tim Green.
Here's the question again: The 1984 USC team won the Pac-10 title and the Rose Bowl with a victory over Ohio State. A turning point of that season occurred in the second game against Arizona State when starting quarterback Sean Salisbury injured his knee and was lost for the season.
Who replaced Salisbury in that game and helped the Trojans defeat the Sun Devils, 6-3?
Correct answer after the jump.
Time for my take on the hiring of Kevin O'Neill, following plenty of criticism over the move from fans and national columnists. It's worth noting USC could not pay Jamie Dixon enough to lure him from Pittsburgh and late June is a lousy time to hire a coach.
That said, I kind of like the hire. Above everything else, I know O'Neill will outwork everyone. He will come to the office at 5 a.m., recruit like a madman and do everything possible to succeed in his last chance to be a head coach at a large Division I college.
Remember, I write this as the guy who championed Oregon State's Craig Robinson, so I'm not disposed to support O'Neill. But I like the fact he coached at Arizona as an assistant and also did that interim stint two years ago, which makes him familiar with the Pac-10.
And I also like that he is not Reggie Theus, who would have been all flash and who knows what else? If his stint at New Mexico State was any indication, player arrests and a lousy APR were likely.
O'Neill's got a clean reputation. He will also be a disciplinarian and to be honest, last year, the inmates ran the asylum at certain points of the season. He wants to succeed more than anything else. And USC basketball needs a jolt right now.
My only caveat with O'Neill is that he really needs to mellow as much as he claims he has since those crazy days at Tennessee.
OK, that's my thoughts. As usual I turn to English sportswriter Barry Glendenning to sum it up: ``Bear in mind it's only an opinion that's no more valid than that of anyone else ... except you, obviously. Yes you, sitting there in your office or bedroom, reading this on your PC monitor, possibly with several other screens open, each of them showing something that's probably illegal in several American states.''
New USC coach Kevin O'Neill told the assistant coaches (Phil Johnson, Gib Arnold, Bob Cantu) they will be allowed to return next season. Director of basketball operations Dwayne Polee will also return, which keeps his son, Westchester forward Dwayne Polee Jr., in the fold.
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla on the odds of USC hiring Pitt coach Jamie Dixon.
``I was with Jamie this week and I didn't get a sense he was interested.''
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla said he thinks the hiring of Kevin O'Neill is a logical fit for USC and O'Neill.
``They needed his high energy and high intensity coaching and recruiting style and he needed to resurrect his career,'' Fraschilla said. ``They weren't going to get a high-level coach right now. The perception is even without an NCAA investigation, there is not that much interest in basketball related to USC football or other Pac-10 basketball schools.''
Jenson Button finished a disappointing sixth in the British Grand Prix today won by Sebastian Vettel. He experienced a bad qualifiying run on Saturday but even more importantly, his girlfriend did not attend the race for the first time this season.
Time for questions from the stragglers who did not ask one in the Open Forum. One per person please.
From former USC forward Taj Gibson's twitter page: ``Kevin O'Neill as USC's next basketball coach is very......interesting.''
Former USC coach Tim Floyd flew to Omaha, Neb., last weekend with his friend, Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy, and attended the College World Series. They went to watch Southern Miss, which lost its first two games and was eliminated.
One source from Arizona said that new coach Kevin O'Neill treated his players like grown men during his season as interim coach. The problem, the source said, was the Wildcat players were used to being spoiled and coddled, so it led to an awkward transition.
You will be shocked to know that new coach Kevin O'Neill and former coach Tim Floyd are also friends.
New USC coach Kevin O'Neill is known for telling his teams an off-color joke before the game to lighten the mood.
Considering the fact USC basketball is under NCAA investigation (not to mention football), it's still somewhat jawdropping that Reggie Theus interviewed or was considered for the coaching vacancy.
Arizona does not hire USC coach Tim Floyd. USC does hire former Arizona coach Kevin O'Neill.
Kevin O'Neill's known for being a disciplinarian and early in his career established a reputation for being a tireless recruiter. On the flip side, he's had only one winning season in his past eight as a head coach. And that was his interim stint at Arizona two years ago, when he went 19-15.
We hear USC did not get Kevin O'Neill's phone number until Wednesday night, which is around the time we heard Jeff Van Gundy withdrew.
USC hired former Arizona coach Kevin O'Neill to take over for Tim Floyd. O'Neil filled in for Lute Olson two years ago. Well, at least he's experienced with train wrecks.
Here's the release.
We hear Monte Kiffin, Tennessee's defensive coordinator, is calling USC quite a bit these days for advice. He might be considered a defensive genius but apparently the college game contains things even he is unfamilar with after a long NFL career.
There was an overwhelming response to the DVD question and there is still time to submit an answer. I didn't realize the DVD was still in high demand. Maybe if it were a Girls Aloud DVD . . .
USC tight end commitment Xavier Grimble is playing basketball in Orange County this weekend at the JSerra tournament. He's obviously a football player but looks agile and quick in today's game against Clovis East.
The Penn State Institute for Sports Law, Policy, and Research published a paper today on the O.J. Mayo case and the potential liability. Among its findings, ``the Pac-10 Conference may be required to refund or forego a substantial sum of money that received because of USC's success in the Men's Basketball Tournament this year.
Also, ``Agent Billy Duffy and his BDA agency are potentially liable to USC under federal sports regulatory law and California law if USC suffers any financial damage as a result of the scandal.''
Read the full report here.
Carson Palmer's wife, former USC soccer player Shaelyn Fernandez, put her foot down when she heard Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco might be a houseguest.
Wide receiver Ronald Johnson recently underwent another root canal, which means he's had four since he arrived at USC. The procedures have not kept him from working or missing practices. Johnson said the problems stem from his fondness of candy.
Tailback Allen Bradford said he still expects to be 100 percent for training camp following offseason hip surgery. Bradford said he feels fine but trainers are limiting him to about 80 percent of workouts to avoid rushing him back too soon.
We hear that in the last week of Tim Floyd's tenure as USC basketball coach, his only communication with the athletic dept. was by written letter, which means lawyers were dictating things.
According to one source, USC offered the basketball job to UNLV job Lon Kruger, who turned it down.
The 1984 USC team won the Pac-10 title and the Rose Bowl with a victory over Ohio State. A turning point of that season occurred in the second game against Arizona State when starting quarterback Sean Salisbury injured his knee and was lost for the season.
Who replaced Salisbury in that game and helped the Trojans defeat the Sun Devils, 6-3?
The first person to send the correct answer to scott.wolf@dailynews.com wins.
USC wide receiver Ronald Johnson said he ran the 40 in 4.3 seconds at the start of spring practice despite stumbling at the start.
A reader asked in the Open Forum if Mitch Mustain was at passing workouts. He attended today's session, so the answer is yes.
Oh yeah, that. We will post the question tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. for a chance to win the Rose Bowl DVD.
Here's Brazilian forward Robinho giving an interview during today's 3-0 victory over the USA in the Confederations Cup. Maybe USC can have Joe McKnight give interviews during the game next season.
With Jeff Van Gundy out of the picture and Reggie Theus scheduled to interview for the basketball position today, there will be a lot of focus on the former Sacramento Kings coach. He was mentioned to us as soon as Tim Floyd resigned as a candidate.
But it is important to note it is still early in this search and a lot of things are happening behind the scenes. So it's a little early to anoint someone as the next coach.
Former New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy informed USC that he would withdraw from consideration to become the next coach.
We're getting reports from Mississippi that Tim Floyd remains disillusioned over his departure and frustrated over how it was handled. Now who does he blame? Time will tell. But he clearly feels like he was a victim, no matter what happened.
From today's AP story on the Laker celebration:
``Among those inside for the rally was USC football coach Pete Carroll, who has seen his own moments of glory on the stadium football field.
``I'm having a blast,'' he said.
How was the Laker parade on Figueroa? Any one go?
The fallout from O.J. Mayo's single season at USC reminds me that when he announced he would come to Los Angeles, a writer who covered him said, ``I'll tell you the same thing a writer told me when Mayo transferred here: `Now he's your problem.' ''
How many people would have been at the Coliseum if USC held a victory celebration there?
Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.
The Sporting News has named USC's offensive line and defensive backs as the top groups in the country.
Here's what Mark Sanchez said to Michael Kay regarding Buddy Ryan's prediction the Jets will go to the Super Bowl.
``Sure, I think this is a very special group and we're just getting our feet wet as a whole team. This camp is going to teach us a lot ourselves, our identity as a team. It's going to be a special year for us. You can't promise anything like a Super Bowl, but after being with this coaching staff and this team, I don't think any team will work harder and prepare any harder than we will. It's a blast to be a part of it and I'm blessed to do that.''
It's ``See The Day'' by Girls Aloud, dedicated to those who moved the USC-UCLA game to a night kickoff.
This segment is sponsored by Roman Meal, which is grateful for the departure of Tim Floyd, because it means Jolt Cola will probably pull its sponsorship.
Maybe Laker assistants Brian Shaw and Jim Cleamons, who seem to think they are qualified to become the next USC coach, will jump off the parade route and dash into the Galen Center to see if anyone is around to put a good word in for them on the coaching vacancy.
Actually, if either of them did get the job, there might be more coaches on the bench (Laker style) than fans in the stands.
Which Laker coach or player will city councilman Bernard Parks butcher the name of at today's celebration similar to the ``Pete Carrot'' reference for USC's victory celebration?
A member of Cardinal and Gold called us today to complain about the USC-UCLA game being switched to a night game.
``A lot of my friends are older and can't see the ball well at night,'' they said.
Now you can make a joke about this, but it's still a valid point, especially when you consider how many older fans attend USC games. And this is the biggest home game of the year.
Here's another excerpt from the Mark Sanchez interview with Michael Kay on his first purchase after his new contract,
"I'm not a big jewelry guy. I've had the same watch for the past two years. I know I want to do one for the family, maybe a getaway in July or something like that. I think the best part is that my mom probably won't have to work anymore which is nice. For her, she can just relax and follow me around the country.''
Some questions here about recruiting and scholarship offers. Follow us at twitter.com/InsideUSC.
George Belotti, who played football for three years at USC in the mid-1950s and was a member of the American Football League's first championship team, died on Monday from complications from a stroke. He was 74.
Funeral arrangements and official statement are after the jump.
Last week's Open Forum included a question about USC's decision to stop recruiting highly regarded wide receiver Markeith Ambles from Georgia. At this point, all I can say is there appears to be some issues that would make it a bad pairing between the player and school and it doesn't look like that will change down the road.
Here's a tribute to USC coach Pete Carroll that Simon Cowell would label the singing as ``atrocious.''
Here's what Mark Sanchez told New York radio host Michael Kay was the biggest difference between pro and college footbal:
``What I've really noticed is when you're throwing to guys in college, if you throw it on the wrong shoulder, sometimes it gets tipped away. Here, when you throw it on the wrong shoulder, every time it gets tipped away if not intercepted. I'm getting there and learning along the way but it's been a big jump and I'm having fun with it.''
By reader request, it's an encore of Girls Aloud's version of ``I think we're alone now,'' dedicated to Tim Floyd.
Everyone's got a one-liner on the basketball program in the forum, it seems.
Despite the fact he started his twitter account only six weeks ago, Mark Sanchez's number of followers (23,678) is nearly the same as Caesar (25,682).
Derrick Williams talks about his decision to get his release from USC and other basketball items in the Morning Buzz.
For most fans, forward Derrick Williams' decision to get released from his letter is only viewed as a loss to USC. But look at it from his point of view. He is about to graduate from high school today and has about two weeks to select another college after thinking he took care of that situation last fall.
He might end up at a bigger basketball program but he won't have the luxury of having the time to do all the normal things a recruit does before making a decision.
We were told this afternoon by several sources that USC forward Taj Gibson remained in the NBA draft although Gibson's yet to make an official announcement. The deadline was 2 p.m. to withdraw from the draft.
USC recruit Derrick Williams obtained his release from his letter of intent, the third recruit to be released in the past few weeks.
That means USC's basketball recruiting class is now down to forward Evan Smith of Calabasas.
Former USC defensive end Omar Nazel worked as a coach as last weekend's football camp at USC. He spent last fall coaching at his high school in Oakland and will earn his degree this fall at USC.
Nazel also said he would like to start coaching at the college level.
Lots of questions today on topics that are understandable under the present circumstances.
Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.
And the answers continue on Answer Monday!
USC incoming freshman James Boyd lost his cool at Saturday's all-star game at Long Beach City College.
Presenting Answer Monday, brought to you one more time by Jolt Cola, now available in Mississippi.
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez crossed paths over the weekend in Las Vegas at the Palms Hotel. Ronaldo was celebrating is world-record transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid while Sanchez was in town for Warren Moon's bowling tournament.
There's a defense emerging for Tim Floyd's resignation from his friends. It goes something like this: Floyd could not reclaim his reputation following the allegation he paid $1,000 to Rodney Guillory and even though he considered the charge outlandish, there was no way to disprove it.
With the allegation (and NCAA investigation) paralyzing the program and tainting him personally, he became fed up and felt the only way to handle it was to make a quick exit.
Thoughts?
Signs of former USC forward Demar DeRozan's draft value: He works out for the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday and New York Knicks on Friday as teams try to squeeze in workouts before the June 25th NBA draft.
When the Girls Aloud tour wraps up, maybe we can get Caesar to invite them to perform after a game at the Coliseum? Who's in?!?!
Tim Floyd's basketball camp was canceled but football still ran a camp this weekend for hundreds of high school players. It was not the Rising Stars camp, which is later this month, but there were a couple interesting prospects, including offensive lineman Giovanni Di Poalo of St. Bonaventure, who was offered by Stanford and linebacker Brent Williams of Taft, who will attend Virginia Tech's camp later this summer.
This is a very important time for questions, so here is the second chance for stragglers who did not ask a question in the Open Forum. One per person please. Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.
In this segment, we set out to find a local town equivalent to Cheryl Cole's hometown of Newcastle.
A great point in this segment on why Girls Aloud is the perfect antidote to USC's clandestine nature.
Here's some available names out there for the basketball vacancy:
Bob Boyd, John Wooden, Dean Smith, George Raveling, Jim Raveling, Jerry Tarkanian, Steve Lavin, Stan Morrison, Rick Majerus . . .
Apparently, Henry Bibby, who eliminated nine losses from his record in the USC media guide for eight years, is not the only coach who fudged his record.
Is this the lineup if USC had a game tomorrow?
Guards: Marcus Simmons, Dwight Lewis
Forwards: Leonard Washington, Nicola Vucevic
Center: Alex Stepheson
An interesting change took place this week. The announcement that Tim Floyd resigned and the university response to the NCAA investigations came from the administration and not the athletic dept.
This dovetails with an item we had last week that USC president Steven Sample was upset over the allegations regarding men's basketball and shows Sample is now taking a more hands-on role with the situation.
USC finished eighth on the women's side and 10th on the men's side at the NCAA track championships in Arkansas.
With some of the klunkers the Rose Bowl's delivered recently, it probably deserves to be on ESPN in 2011.
USC sprinter Ahmad Rashad finished second in the 100 meters at the NCAA championships tonight. Dalilah Muhammad finished third in the 400-meter hurdles. The women's team is currently tied for second place while the men are sixth.
USC's women's track team is currently in fourth place at the NCAA Championships in Arkansas. Eva Orban finished second in the hammer throw while Nia Ali was fourth in the heptathlon. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Zsofia Erdelyi finished eighth.
We hear USC has not yet formally asked Pitt for permission to speak to basketball coach Jamie Dixon.
Where else in the world can we have questions about Tim Floyd and Wayne Rooney in the same blog?
We've already identified the four coaches who are candidates to replace Tim Floyd, but in the category of ``someone who could be interested,'' there is Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, a two-time ACC coach of the year and former Long Beach State coach.
A reader passed along this quote from Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, brother of USC target Jeff Van Gundy.
"But I don't want to get going in this press conference on the NCAA because I think that's about the worst organization going."
Here's ``It's Your Dynamite'' by Girls Aloud, an appropriate title for everything that's happening at USC.
Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC. We're going to finish answering all questions today.
Tim Floyd's elite basketball camp was scheduled for this weekend (now we know why he quit Tuesday). The camp's been canceled and it left some recruits from outside the state in an awkward position since they bought plane tickets to come to Los Angeles.
The parent of one recruit called the basketball office Thursday and was told no one is in charge of the program right now.
I'm still finishing up the answers today, but I want to get started on the next edition because there's so much going on this week.
USC took the unprecedented step of releasing video messages Thursday regarding the two NCAA investigations.
Point guard Lamont Jones, who obtained his release earlier today, will transfer to Arizona, according to sources.
A few people have floated P.J. Carlesimo's name as a potential candidate but nothing I've heard shows any interest on USC's part in the former coach. Now if Jamie Dixon and Jeff Van Gundy fall through, who knows what the next move will be.
Actually, I'm guessing Dixon will fall through and that leads to a serious courtship of Van Gundy.
I asked a member of the basketball program today what would happen to recruits Derrick Williams and Lamont Jones, who were thinking of leaving USC before Tim Floyd resigned.
``They'll go somewhere else,'' he said.
Nick Montana talks here about his decision to commit to Washington.
Quote: ``I just felt they had the best opportunity for me with Coach Sark (Sarkisian) and Coach (Nick) Holt, the whole staff he's put together, energetic and everything. All they did was win and I know that's what's going to happen as soon as they can get it turned around, and that's exactly what they're going to do.''
With Tim Floyd, my favorite quote from him came on the Monday after the loss to Washington at the Galen Center. After I wrote a story recounting all the drama and turmoil of that game, Floyd held a team meeting, which he started off by saying, ``Who's been talking to Scott Wolf?''
The replacement of Tim Floyd is as good a time as any to remind those who didn't read our post a couple weeks back that baseball coach Chad Kreuter will return for next season.
Will Tim Floyd ever tell his players that he resigned?
Things have been a little hectic the past couple days, but now back to the Forum!
According to the Houston Chronicle, USC senior associate athletic director Brandon Martin was one of two finalists for the University of Houston's athletic director's job. Akron's Mack Rhoades was hired today.
The Chronicle story quotes a search committee member as saying Martin is a ``a superstar.'' It seems only a matter of time before Martin, who is also a faculty member at USC, becomes an athletic director at another university.
The NCAA rules former USC wide receiver Vidal Hazelton will not be immediately eligible at Cincinnati.
Here's the AP story.
USC's wooing of Jeff Van Gundy reminded me that one time when I was in Tim Floyd's office, he called the former NBA coach, who was a friend. And Larry Eustachy is Floyd's closest friend in coaching.
Maybe Floyd should be running the search for his successor.
Mark Sanchez signed a five-year contract with the New York Jets today worth nearly $30 million guaranteed. Not bad for someone who was told he made a mistake when he turned pro in January.
So why didn't Tim Floyd take the Arizona job, which in retrospect seemed like a good idea? We hear the main reason was his wife wanted him to stay at USC.
Of course this would be the time where that all-mighty twitter account for Caesar would be worth reading, but no mention of Tim Floyd in the past 24 hours.
It's ``Wake me up,'' by Girls Aloud, dedicated to all the fans who can't believe what's happened to the basketball program.
When Tim Floyd left Iowa State for the Chicago Bulls, he said it was because he would make in four years in Chicago what he would need more than 10 years to make in Iowa.
So it's no surprise he resigned at USC for money. If he remained on the job and the NCAA investigation found him guilty of direct violations, he could be fired and receive no buyout money.
Instead, Floyd wanted to quit now and get some of that buyout in his contract. And USC, which was going to fire him if he was implicated in the NCAA investigation, eventually agreed on a settlement. It's all business.
USC's track team is relying on a team effort at the NCAA championships in Arkansas.
I'll be on ESPN2 around 7:30 a.m. today to discuss, what else, Tim Floyd's ``resignation.''
Former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy spoke to my colleague Ramona Shelburne tonight at the NBA Finals in Orlando.
``I'm not going to talk about other jobs,'' Van Gundy said.
But Van Gundy didn't deny he had been contacted by USC.
``I'm not going to say that,'' Van Gundy said. ``Tim Floyd is a helluva guy and a helluva friend. That's my quote.''
Here are the candidates to replace Tim Floyd: Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, former New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, former Sacramento Kings coach Reggie Theus and Southern Mississippi coach Larry Eustachy.
Dixon's the top choice and we hear USC started the process last week to make contact with him regarding the job.
He is not on the list of names we're going to publish later tonight but if we were in charge, we'd make a run at Oregon State's Craig Robinson.
We hear Tim Floyd's lawyer was on campus last week to negotiate a contract settlement before he resigned. That would explain his absence from the coaches' tour as details were being finalized.
USC could find itself in a similar situation to Indiana last year, which signed Marquette coach Tom Crean to a 10-year contract because he about one scholarship player returning following Kelvin Sampson's NCAA woes.
It might not be that drastic for USC, but a coaching candidate might drive a hard bargain with an NCAA investigation still in progress.
Right-handed pitcher Brooks Pounders from Temecula Valley goes 53rd to the Pittsburgh Pirates, which just about wipes out the recruiting class.
The St. Louis Cardinals select Robert Stock with the 67th pick, which means he's gone and pitcher Brad Boxberger goes 43rd to Cincinnati.
USC recruit Matt Davidson, a third baseman from Yucaipa, goes to the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 35th pick.
Did anyone notice USC changed Tim Floyd's reference to ``Southern Cal'' from his original letter of resignation to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger to its official statement?
Here's the full USC statement on Tim Floyd's resignation. Note that it includes a comment from general counsel Todd Dickey on the NCAA investigations.
We just confirmed Tim Floyd's resigned and we'll have some names of candidates later.
That's what the Jackson Clarion-Ledger is reporting today. USC is expected to comment shortly.
Remember the drill: Twitter.com/InsideUSC.
USC football recruit James Boyd will play in the Gridiron All-Star Classic on Saturday at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach at 4 p.m.
The Wall Street Journal analyzed each baseball draft from 1996-2008. Every baseball program that produced a minimum of four major-league players from those drafts was ranked by adding its total "runs above replacement" for hitters and pitchers.
This statistic measures how much better (or worse) a player is compared to a theoretical, average replacement.
USC ranked No. 1 overall but the Journal noted some of the top players (pitcher Mark Prior, hitters Jacque Jones and Morgan Ensberg) contributed little in recent years.
The MLB draft begins in two hours. The first round could determine USC's future with two high school stars projected as possible picks (Matt Davidson, Jiovanni Mier).
It's Lane Kiffin denying to ESPN he told former USC commit Alshon Jeffrey he would pump gas for a living if he signed with South Carolina instead of Tennessee.
During the segment, Kiffin again denied telling a recruit that he would end up pumping gas ``No, there's no way that I said that. I wouldn't say anything like that. First of all, if you look at, I don't think that anybody pumps gas because everything is self-serve nowadays. There's no full-serve stations, so I'm smart enough to not have said it because of that, number one. But number two, we don't negative recruit.''
So the charge is false because he doesn't think anybody pumps gas anymore? Uh huh.
By reader request, its Girls Aloud's version of ``I think we're alone now,'' dedicated to Tim Floyd.
The NCAA track and field championships begin tomorrow in Arkansas. USC has several athletes who could win individual titles, including javelin thrower Corey White and hammer thrower Eva Orban.
TCU announced this morning that former UCLA running back Aundre Dean transferred there.
USC recruit Derrick Williams said he is ``up in the air'' about whether to seek his release from his letter of intent.
``I thought I was going to be part of a top-10 recruiting class in the nation,'' Williams said. ``As it looks right now, we're not even top 10 in California. That's the main reason why, if I choose to leave.''
We hear Washington's tweaked the ``Win Forever'' slogan for next season and coined the phrase, ``Win One Game.''
The Pac-10 announced some recommended cost-cutting measures and said it met with ``bowl game organizations regarding affiliations for the 2010-13 bowl cycle.''
The conference also approved in concept holding the 2011 Pac-10 Women's Basketball Tournament at USC's Galen Center. Was the North Gym unavailable?
Looks like Tennessee might have committed another NCAA violation during an ESPN report. And here's the statement the Raiders issued for the story:
``Lane Kiffin is a flat-out liar. He lied to the team, he lied to the fans, and he lied to the media. He will try to destroy that university like he tried to destroy the Raiders, and will eventually clash with (women's basketball coach Pat) Summitt and (men's basketball
coach Bruce) Pearl.''
Here's the Associated Press story.
Did everyone see the Neuheisel video?
Since there is a twitter question here, remember you can follow us at twitter.com/InsideUSC.
Of course it would not be a baseball draft without USC in danger of losing its top prospects. Third baseban Matt Davidson of Yucaipa and shortstop Jiovanni Mier of La Verne are both potential first-round picks. Davidson hit 11 home runs and was 5-0 as a relief pitcher while Mier is considered the best prep prospect at shortstop.
It's ``Biology,'' by Girls Aloud, dedicated to the growth and behavior of the basketball program.
USC shortstop Grant Green is projected as a top 15 pick in tomorrow's baseball draft. But maybe the real question for USC is whether Robert Stock goes pro. He's projected as a pitcher but wants to play catcher, so we'll see if he goes high enough to skip his senior season.
Virginia and Southern Miss will make their first appearances in the College World Series.
As for USC, well . . .
OK, it's our traditional answer day, sponsored by Jolt Cola, which recently signed a three-year deal provided it can make Tim Floyd its national spokesman.
We will be giving away a DVD this week, once again, we're open to suggestions for the contest.
Summer workouts officially begin this morning. This means somewhere during this period, you will read that more players are lifting fill-in-the-blank amount of weight than ever before, which makes you wonder how previous teams ever survived when no one could apparently match the grit and determination of the team of the moment.
It happens every offseason.
A fan threw a Lakers mini-ball that hit Fox Sports analyst Matt Guokas in the face during the post-game show outside Staples Center tonight. ``Ooooh ... not good. Obviously we need much better security out here,'' host Joel Meyers said.
With point guard Nic Wise returning for his senior season, Arizona's added three top 100 recruits and their senior point guard since Sean Miller was named head coach. USC's lost eight players since Tim Floyd turned the job down and the roster remains in flux as Donte Smith could return while Derrick Williams and Lamont Jones could depart.
Who really benefitted from Floyd's decision to remain to USC?
USC starts official summer workouts (weights, running, etc.) tomorrow morning. The Trojans are starting a little later than usual because Pete Carroll decided to give the players more time off following a later-than-usual conclusion to spring practice.
The players will also continue their informal passing drills this week.
Incoming USC offensive lineman Kevin Graf finished third in the state track finals in the shot put, with a mark of 59-07.75.
If it's Sunday, it's time to note that Jenson Button won the Turkish Grand Prix today, his sixth win in seven races. Wonder who improved his performance?
Time for questions from those who did not ask in the Open Forum. One per person please.
When Oregon's men's track team won the Pac-10 title in Eugene three weeks ago, the public-address announcer informed the home crowd the Ducks won before the meet officially ended and a trophy was present to the champions.
When USC's men's track team won the NCAA West Regional title in Eugene last week, the PA announcer waited for the conclusion of the pole vault, nearly an hour after the Trojans actually clinched the title, by which time most of the crowd departed. And there was no trophy presentation.
``We had our own celebration on the track,'' USC sprinter Ahmad Rashad said.
New women's basketball coach Michael Cooper is busy working today, coaching the Sparks at Staples Center. Maybe he'll stop by the Galen Center after the game.
Should the San Francisco boosters who attended the coaches' tour dinner on Thursday night have gotten a 50 percent discount since Tim Floyd did not attend?
Or should they have paid double the regular price since it meant Pete Carroll could talk about football for twice the normal time?
The CC stands for Cheryl Cole, of course.
USC coach Tim Floyd did not attend the coaches' tour event in San Francisco last night. Pete Carroll told the crowd Floyd had another engagement.
A school spokesperson said Floyd is scheduled to attend the next event and said Floyd missed at least one of the tour stops last year as well.
Of course we have a song of the day. It's Girls Aloud with ``Something Kinda Ooh,'' dedicated to Tim Floyd, apparently a no-show at last night's coaches' tour stop in San Francisco.
With a game in Hawaii in 2013, USC is still allowed to schedule another non-conference game for that season because trips to Hawaii do not count against the schedule. The question is whether that game will be another San Jose State-Idaho caliber opponent or a real team from a real conference.
It's worth asking because USC's future schedules lack marquee opponents. USC does play Boston College in 2013 but that's not likely to stir too many people.
We spoke to someone who knows USC recruit Derrick Williams today and were told that he remains undecided about his future plans.
We hear USC president Steve Sample is not hiding his displeasure around campus over the fact the basketball program finds itself under NCAA investigation.
You can never make enough Cheryl Cole references in this forum.
Tight end Blake Ayles, who is participating in summer passing workouts, said his injured knee is about 85 percent recovered from the operation he underwent six months ago.
Here's DeMar DeRozan being interviewed following today's workout for the Golden State Warrors.
Here's CoachSark's latest twitter entry: ``The recruiting process never ends. Get'em DAWGS!''
And that was after Seattle quarterback Jake Heaps committed to BYU over Washington.
You're not watching the Lakers are you?
The GA stands for ``Girls Aloud,'' of course.
Phil Steele devised a formula for ranking teams on experience and lists USC as No. 90 out of 120 schools.
Maria Hernandez, a senior at Purdue, was chosen as the nation's top collegiate female golfer. USC freshman Jennifer Song and sophomore Lizette Salas were finalists for the award.
It's all available on twitter.com/InsideUSC.
After Steve Sarkisian went after several USC commitments following his hiring at Washington, Pete Carroll returns the favor and goes after Sarkisian's top commit for next year and makes him re-open his recruitment.
We're on the ever-popular Song Girls Forum answers.
USC forward DeMar DeRozan works out for the Golden State Warriors today. It's a big workout because the Warriors have the No. 7 pick in the NBA draft.
If you're going to use Caesar as a role model, you better land the best recruit in your backyard.
With USC's roster in flux, there's roughly nine players right now who are either no longer in the program or not entering the program that were scheduled to be on the team as of early April.
That's the key reason for Tim Floyd to give the public a little more information on what he thinks of the state of the basketball team right now. And if you think the coaches' tours are the perfect venue, Monday's event was down about 150 in attendance from last year.
Quarterback Aaron Corp on Tuesday's passing workout at Cromwell Field.
``Everyone looks in pretty good shape for the first couple days,'' Corp said.
On how things have changed for him since being named the starting quarterback in April.
``Maybe I have to lead a little bit more,'' he said. ``Nothing's really changed for me. Maybe I'll get recognized and someone says, `Good luck.' ''
USC playing Hawaii every year could be worse. Michigan will face UMass and Bowling Green during the 2010 season.
In case you had not heard earlier today, USC and Hawaii will play each other to open the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The 2012 game is at the Coliseum while the 2013 game is in Honolulu.
The date of the 2010 opener with Hawaii was moved from Sept. 4 to Sept. 2 and will be shown on an ESPN station.
Great news for those you who enjoyed all the non-competitive meetings between the teams in the past 10 years, and that was with June Jones as the coach. USC is 6-0 against Hawaii.
Girls Aloud continues its streak of USC-appropriate songs. Here's ``Life Got Cold,'' for Tim Floyd.
Quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates is starting to look at film of San Jose State this week after being on the road recruiting last month.
TCU, Florida and Texas are the only schools nationally this season to finish in the top 10 in football and have a Super Regional baseball team.
USC center Kris O'Dowd said he is fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery and is not restricted from all drills in summer workouts..
OK, here's another lineup projection now that Marcus Johnson is gone. We'll leave Derrick Williams and Lamont Jones in even though Tim Floyd said this week USC might lose both.
Forward: Leonard Washington
Forward: Nicola Vucevic
Center: Alex Stepheson
Guard: Dwight Lewis
Guard: Lamont Jones
Reserves
Guards: Marcus Simmons, Mike Gerrity, Romeo Miller, Donte Smith (if he returns), James Dunleavy, Ryan Wetherall.
Forwards: Derrick Williams, Kasey Cunningham, Evan Smith.
Center: Mamadou Diarra.
About 20 players showed up for a players-only workout at Cromwell Field this afternoon as Aaron Corp and Matt Barkley threw passes to wide receivers and running backs. Joe McKnight and Allen Bradford also participated.
Although UC Irvine did get eliminated from the NCAA baseball tournament, it's worth noting the Anteaters won more postseason games last weekend than USC's won in the past three years.
Of course, Petros Papadakis will be calling the USC-UCLA game, so at least now we know who to blame for the night kickoff.
At least the basketball woes take attention away from Chad Kreuter.
The USC-UCLA game at the Coliseum will kickoff at 7 p.m. and be televised on Fox Sports Net. This is not the first night game of the series, but to play the crosstown rivalry in the evening ruins a lot of the atmosphere and traditional feeling associated with the game.
It isn't cheap to schedule a cupcake these days. Georgia is paying $975,000 to Division I-A North Texas for a non-conference game in 2013.
Remember you can follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.
Tennessee is among the nonconference teams that will play USC next season in basketball.
USC coach Tim Floyd appeared nervous and restless at last night's coaches' tour stop in Pasadena, according to some onlookers.
Just to highlight the lead of my column, basketball recruit Derrick Williams is now uncertain whether he will come to USC and might ask for his release. He spoke to Coach Tim Floyd on Monday. Sources said point guard Lamont Jones is also considering whether to ask for a release.
Here's my column on what ails the basketball program and it's not just the NCAA investigation.
USC forward Marcus Johnson told Coach Tim Floyd today that he will skip his senior season and enter the NBA draft.
Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.
USC's offered a scholarship to Lakewood quarterback Jesse Scoggins. And yes, it's as a quarterback.
We hear USC point guard Donte Smith's been asked to reconsider staying after he decided to transfer to Cal State San Bernardino. Is that a sign point guard recruit Lamont Jones is not going to come in the fall?
Who would be your offensive MVP for next season? Damian Williams? Aaron Corp? Stafon Johnson? I'm leaning toward Kris O'Dowd since he could be the top center in the country.
An encore performance by Girls Aloud of, ``The Promise,'' a perfect title for the once-bright outlook for the men's basketball team.
This segment features a little bit of everything.
And away we go on the question-and-answer carousel, brought to you by Jolt Cola, the official sponsor of men's basketball.
It is understandable why USC coach Tim Floyd cannot talk about the NCAA investigation right now. Even if he wanted to, USC's lawyers probably forbid it.
But it's about time Floyd discussed in detail what is happening with the Trojans' roster. Especially when people are routinely asked to renew or buy their season tickets at the Galen Center (not to mention those personal-seat licenses).
The state of the program deserves some public comments, and not just some softball answers at the booster-friendly coaches' tour events.
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