Matthew Kredell broke into the Daily News in 1998, working part time
at the paper while going to USC. The basketball team’s Elite Eight
run in 2000-01 was USC’s athletic highlight in his time at the
school, when the football team was stuck in the Paul Hackett-era.
After graduating in 2001, he started writing for the Daily News full
time. He’s in his second year covering USC, which coincides with the
rise of the program. He’ll take credit for the success, though Tim
Floyd may have more to do with it. A third-generation Los Angelean,
he grew up reading the Daily News while at El Camino Real High School
in Woodland Hills.
Floyd orchestrated Carroll appearance
Floyd went to football coach Pete Carroll yesterday and asked him to speak to the team before the game against Stanford. Special Teams coach Sam Anno came with Carroll. Floyd tried to act like he was surprised when Carroll came knocking on the locker room door.
``He was awesome,'' Floyd said of Carroll. ``The kids loved it. ... Late in the season, it's great to have something different, something fresh. There's nobody better than him.''
Floyd joked that Carroll now thinks he's a basketball coach.
``I think I created a monster,'' Floyd said. ``I talked to Pete today and he wanted me to put in three new inbounds plays.''