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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.
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This will be my last post on this blog. The Daily News is moving me to the Los Angeles Kings beat. Scott Wolf and Phil Collin will handle USC basketball. I'm not sure if they will keep a separate basketball blog or merge it back into Scott's USC blog. I enjoyed interacting with all of you over the past year. Thanks for reading.
Daniel Hackett will find out in the next couple days whether he will go with the team to Mexico or head back to Europe to play for Italy in the FIBA European Championships, which could lead to a spot for Hackett in the next Olympics.
Playing for the Italian national team over the summer, Hackett impressed enough to be contending for the final spot on a team that includes two NBA players -- Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors and Marco Belinelli of the Golden State Warriors.
Of his experience in Italy, Hackett said: ``I showed them I can play at that level. I've learned to take care of the ball better. I think I've improved my feet quickness. I'm quicker with the ball, can handle it better and shoot better. Playing at a pro level all summer obviously helps boost your confidence.''
Taj Gibson said he increased his weight from 210 to 224 pounds in offseason workouts and measured in at 6-foot-9 without shoes.
He talked about the team practicing twice a day in preparation for the Mexico trip: ``It's rough but I know it will help us in the long run. That's why we really appreciate this time. We'll learn plays, learn defense and learn to take care of the ball so that when the season comes we should be ready.''
Floyd said that freshman point guard Angelo Johnson will not go with the team to Mexico at this point, even if he gets passed through the NCAA Clearinghouse before the weekend.
Tim Floyd joked at the beginning of today's press conference that O.J. Mayo would redshirt this year. Of course, that won't be the case.
Mayo gave a cryptic answer when asked about the possibility of staying at USC more than one year.
``Right now, I plan on staying more than one year unless my situation changes and I have the opportunity to make a living for my family,'' Mayo said.
Uh, I'd say the chance of him having that opportunity is pretty good since he enters the season projected as a lottery pick in the 2008 NBA draft, if not one of the top three selections.
``I'm working hard but I could maybe not have a good year. You never know. I can get hurt, have an Achilles' heel injury, knee, anything.
``If (NBA) coaches call coach Floyd and I have the opportunity to get picked, maybe a lottery pick, and take care of my family, I'll certainly have to look at that but right now, education-wise, I plan on coming back next year.''
Mayo said he wants to study business management and learn about investing in real estate.
``A friend who goes to SC said in Brentwood it's $2,100 (a month) for an apartment,'' Mayo said. ``If there's 700 rooms at $2,100, that's a lot of money. So hopefully I can pursue a career in that and make some more money to support my family.''
Mayo spent many summer days at UCLA working out with NBA players such as Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Sam Cassell and Jalen Rose. He said Cassell took him under his wings.
``Cassell said, `You're a great player. You should do this, this and this and it will make you that much better,' '' Mayo said. ``That excited me a lot that he had watched me before. He told me how to work on the pick-and-roll when defending it.''
Mayo said he came out to Los Angeles on his own, packing 10 outfits like he was going on a business trip. He calls his mother back in Huntington, W. Va., four to five times a week to let her know he is OK, but says the more he calls the more he gets homesick.
``There's a lot of bad activities going on back home now, a lot of people getting shot, so she's like, `I never thought I'd be so happy to have you 3,000 miles away,' '' Mayo said. ``The only thing she's worried about is she always heard USC was in South Central, in a bad neighborhood. From the outside looking in, maybe it seems like a bad area, but you have campus police and they do a great job of patrolling the university. Everyone looks out for you at this university and makes sure nothing happens to you while on campus.''
Mayo said he hopes to get his mother out to games once or twice a month, even if he has to dip into his monthly stipend to get her a plane ticket. He said she works nine hours a day, six days a week as a nursing assistant. He said family and friends are already trying to raise money to charter two buses to New York for when the Trojans play Memphis at Madison Square Garden in December.
Here's my story that ran in Tuesday's paper. It has a little additional info and color than was given on the blog. I'll be at the press conference for the Mexico trip today and will provide updates. Coach Tim Floyd and players O.J. Mayo, Taj Gibson and Daniel Hackett are scheduled to speak and answer questions.
Mayo and Simmons said the trip to Mexico would be their first time outside the country. Asked if he knew how to say anything in Spanish, Mayo said only ``como estas.''
Dwight Lewis says he added 15 pounds and Keith Wilkinson says he added 10 pounds in offseason weight-lifting.
``We came in last year as freshmen, kind of small and not really muscular,'' Lewis said. ``But now we're growing and can't really get pushed around anymore.''
Floyd said the improved strength of the returning players is what stood out in the first days of practice.
``Anyone who's lifted will tell you that it helps in terms of ability to finish (around the basket), ability to hold their ground in the post and stamina,'' Floyd said.
I heard freshman Mamadou Diarra had a tough time catching balls around the basket in a drill, similar to Abdoulaye N'diaye's problems with his hands in recent years. It's something he'll have to work on. N'diaye never really improved in that aspect of his game.
Marcus Simmons was another freshmen participating in his first official USC practice. Simmons said the practice was rough because he's learning all the plays. In one drill, he was asked to set screens, something he said he had never really done before. But, after practice, Simmons was more excited than frustrated. He was one of the last players to leave the court, staying to battle one-on-one with both Kasey Cunningham and Dwight Lewis.
``Believe it or not, I was in the locker room just hollering and running around before hand,'' Simmons said. ``It was exciting for me. I got out there and it made me feel good, like I'm part of something.''
Simmons perhaps didn't see the midseason Tim Floyd.
``When we met in his office, he said he'd be hard on me,'' Simmons said. ``But I thought he was pretty soft today and I'm happy with that.''
Former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy, Cal State Northridge coach Bobby Braswell and former Pepperdine coach Jan van Brenda Kolff watched practice at Floyd's invitation.
``They are guys I value,'' Floyd said. ``I wanted them to observe and help me in any way they can.''
Floyd added that the guest coaches would probably be out at practice all week.
Floyd attended some of the trial in Louisiana of D'Anthony Ford, who was convicted earlier this month of second-degree murder for shooting former USC basketball player Ryan Francis. Ford faces an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
``I went out there because of my love for Paulette (Francis, Ryan's mother),'' Floyd said. ``I felt it was important for our university to be represented at the trial. I just wanted to give any level of comfort for what I knew would be a trying time for her.''
Floyd said all the players are aware of the conviction, at that it helps bring some closure to the team.
``I'm very happy for Paulette because I didn't want her to have to live with the idea of Ryan's killer being on the streets in the same town she was in on a daily basis,'' Floyd said.
``It was fun,'' Mayo said of his first official USC basketball practice. ``I learned a lot. It was my first college practice, so I was really excited.''
Mayo didn't have much time to talk after his first practice because he had to do a photo shoot for USA Today along with Taj Gibson, then run to eat before a 6:30 p.m. class. USC is holding a press conference tomorrow afternoon in which he will talk more.
Coach Tim Floyd said the structure of the practice -- halfcourt offensive drills -- didn't allow for Mayo to make any of the spectacular plays that made him the top basketball recruit in the nation.
``It was nice to see all our freshmen and they were all just listening,'' Floyd said. ``The other guys have been practicing five days, so they had a chance to observe and then go out and repeat what (the returning players) were doing. I haven't had the chance to really even watch them go up and down the floor other than a little street ball to start the practice.''
Keith Wilkinson said that Mayo wasn't just sitting back and listening in his first practice.
``You can tell he's a leader and a winner even though we weren't doing much,'' Wilkinson said. ``He's really vocal out there, encouraging guys and telling them where to go and what to do.''
Looks like all the freshmen are practicing except Angelo Johnson, who is still awaiting word from the NCAA Clearinghouse. Walk-on James Dunleavy, son of Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy and brother Indiana Pacers player Mike Dunleavy Jr., is participating in his first USC practice. Dunleavy went to Harvard-Westlake High in Studio City. Daniel Hackett is practicing. I'll find out later if this means Hackett will be making the trip to Mexico.
O.J. Mayo and the incoming freshman class are practicing with the team for the first time. The practice is taking place upstairs on the practice courts. The main Galen Center court is fitted for volleyball. The practice appears to be closed to the media, but I'll see if I can view any of the latter stages. I'll have notes and quotes from Mayo and the rest of the team at the conclusion, probably around 6 p.m.
USC will begin practice prior to the Mexico trip on Wednesday for veterans. O.J. Mayo and the rest of the incoming class won't be able to participate until fall classes start on Aug. 27. The team is preparing to play four games in Mazatlan, Mexico, two each on Sept. 1 and Sept. 2.
USC football recently agreed to a home-and-home series with Syracuse in 2011 and 2012. The basketball teams are also discussing a series. Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross spent 14 years working for USC, leaving as senior associate athletic director in 2005.
For a second round NBA pick, nothing is guaranteed. But Gabe Pruitt looks like a cinch to get a roster spot on the Boston Celtics after the team traded away point guard Sebastian Telfair in the deal to acquire Kevin Garnett.
``It definitely opens up a chance for me to step in and get a lot of playing time,'' Pruitt said Sunday before the L.A. Stars All-Star Celebrity Basketball Game. ``But there's nothing set in stone so I'm ready to go in and work to earn a spot.''
Pruitt assured that he hasn't turned on the Trojans despite this picture making the rounds on the Internet of him wearing a UCLA shirt.
``I was over with a couple of guys at UCLA and decided to put on one of their shirts,'' Pruitt said. ``It's all fun and games. I didn't keep it. I'm still a Trojan.''
Gilbert Arenas is passing out more than advice to new Washington Wizards teammate Nick Young.
Young, the former USC and Cleveland High of Reseda standout, said Sunday before participating in the L.A. Stars All-Star Celebrity Basketball Game at Galen Center that Arenas sold him his six-bedroom home in Northern Virginia.
``Gil passed it down to me,’’ Young said. ``It’s pretty big, more than I expected. I expected to rent at first, but Gil wouldn’t have any of that. It’s nice to own my first house.’’
Young’s parents are still looking for the right place in the Los Angeles area before moving out of the small apartment they have lived in for 27 years.
Arenas, another San Fernando Valley product who went to Grant High in Van Nuys, has taken Young under his wings.
``Having someone like Gil to show me around is helping me out a lot,’’ Young said. ``We’ve practiced together for the past couple of weeks and he’s already shown me like one or two moves that I’m going to steal from him, but I can’t give them out yet.’’
Davon Jefferson, watching from the stands at the L.A. Stars Celebrity All-Star Basketball Game at Galen Center on Sunday night, said he got word Thursday from the NCAA Clearinghouse that he will be eligible to play for USC in the fall.
``It's a relief,'' Jefferson said. ``They make you wait forever.''
The former Lynwood High player is USC's top incoming freshman after O.J. Mayo. He could start for the Trojans at forward. Jefferson has been taking two classes at USC in summer school: Geography and Race, Class and Gender in American Film. Mayo is in the same classes.
I have a feature on USC recruit Romeo Miller in today's paper.
Romeo's high school teammate at Beverly Hills, Sejin Park, had some surprising criticisms. Surprising in that he was so open with them when he has to play with Romeo next season. Park seemed especially frustrated that Romeo was out working on movies right now while other key members of the team were practicing together trying to get better for next season. I think Park was being honest, probably too honest. But I don't think it's really anything to worry about for Romeo when he gets to USC. He said he wants to concentrate on basketball and school when he gets to college, putting entertainment on hold for four years. He seems serious about that. And handling the O.J. Mayo circus should be plenty of preparation for Floyd before Romeo comes in. Floyd won't put up with selfish play, so Romeo will be on the bench if he's like that at USC. It's not like they are counting on much from him anyway. But he could end up being a pleasant surprise. Romeo thinks Floyd will make him a better player. He already wanted to go to USC because of the location and film school before the team was good. When Floyd came into the program, USC became the only school he could envision himself at. He seems to already bleed Cardinal and Gold.
The L.A. Stars Celebrity All-Star game is at Galen Center on Sunday. Baron Davis, Paul Pierce and Gilbert Arenas run the event. Nick Young and Gabe Pruitt are expected to be in attendance, as well as Arron Afflalo for UCLA lurkers. Tickets can be ordered from the USC ticket office. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. There's a carnival on the USC quad leading up to the game. Proceeds are said to benefit at-risk youth in Los Angeles.
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