Gabe Pruitt's defense
``I think the real key was the job Gabe Pruitt did on (D.J.) Augustin,'' Tim Floyd said.
``That was my main focus coming into the game, to shut him down,'' Pruitt said. ``I wasn't even thinking about scoring. I knew if I could take him out, they'd struggle offensively.''
Augustin had as many turnovers, six, as points. He made one of eight shots. He entered the game third on the team averaging 14.6 points per game.
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.