Pac-10 Basketball Preview – USC Trojans
Comments (3) State of the Program
On March 22nd 2009, Michigan State narrowly edged USC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans would go on to play for a National Championship, while the Trojans remarkable March run came to an end. Then things got bad…
First, at the Trojans season ending banquet (March 31st) head coach Tim Floyd implored the superstar trio of DeMar DeRozan, Daniel Hackett, and Taj Gibson to stay at ‘SC for a potential Final Four run the following season. Less than a day later, Floyd was in Tucson, Arizona rubbing elbows with ‘Cats AD Jim Livengood. Needless to say, after that debacle the three ‘SC superstars swiftly decided to turn pro.
But the worst was still to come. I won’t go through the painful summary, but here is a quick chronological recap using key terms: Louis Johnson, Rodney Guillory, alleged $1,000 envelope, NCAA investigation, “lack of institutional control”, ‘Zona raid of ‘SC recruits.
Pretty tumultuous off-season to say the least, but the show must go on and it will now be directed by journeyman Kevin O’Neill. O’Neill knows a thing or two about coaching a program through chaotic times (2007-08 UA), and now the seasoned 52-year old will try to do it again. As mentioned earlier, the Trojans were decimated by de-commits during the last recruiting cycle, but there is still enough talent left on the roster for O’Neill to keep this team competitive in 2009-10.
“This is something I anticipated could one day happen. I just knew he was the type of superstar coach that could end up in our league. But we’re both competitors and we’ll be trying to do everything we can to help our respective teams win when we play each other” – Washington Head Coach Lorenzo Romar on WSU hiring Ken Bone
Like almost every other Pac-10 team this season, Arizona State will be searching for a new identity. The Sun Devils enter the 2009-10 season without two of the best players in program history. G James Harden and F Jeff Pendergraph accounted for 34.6 PPG, 13.8 RPG, and 5.1 APG per game last season, but both are now in the NBA.
The 2008-09 season was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Oregon Ducks, but did anyone really see 8-23 (2-16 in Pac-10) coming? Certainly last season was one of the most disappointing of head coach Ernie Kent’s career, however most prognosticators do not foresee a repeat scenario in 2009-10. The Ducks are young, but the talent in Eugene is top notch, and a middle of the conference finish is more than achievable. In fact, the Ducks could end up being one of America’s most improved teams by season’s end.
Only one team in the history of Pac-10 Men’s Basketball has gone winless in conference play: the 2007-08 Oregon State Beavers (6-25, 0-18 in Pac-10). That’s right, just two years ago the folks in Corvallis watched in horror as their team wound up in the wrong section of the record book.
A new era begins for UCLA basketball this season. For the first time in four years, the Bruins will be without the fantastic trio of Darren Collison, Josh Shipp, and Alfred Aboya; a group that helped UCLA reach three final fours. Head coach Ben Howland will also have to replace first round pick Jrue Holiday, who declared for the NBA Draft after one season in Westwood. While Holiday may have underachieved last season, he was a shutdown defender who could have seamlessly offset the loss of Collison at point guard.
The Huskies are coming off of their first outright Pac-10 title since 1953, and I don’t think it will take another 56 years before they win their next one. Pac-10 Coach of the Year Lorenzo Romar has assembled another tremendous squad this season, and there is no question that the Dawgs are capable of repeating as conference champions.
Stanford will be entering year two of the Johnny Dawkins era, and the longtime Duke assistant is coming off an up and down debut season on the Farm (20-14, 6-12 in Pac-10). Dawkins will certainly have his work cut out for him in 2009-10, as three of the program’s most consistent performers over the last four years (G Mitch Johnson, G Anthony Goods, F Lawrence Hill) have all departed. Now Stanford must find a way to replace 36.4 points per game as well as invaluable leadership and experience (all three played vital roles on the Sweet Sixteen team from two years ago).
Before the 2008-09 season started, many wondered what new head coach Mike Montgomery (the winningest coach in Stanford men’s basketball history) could bring to a Cal Bears team that was coming off of a pedestrian 17-16 season. Certainly Monty brought a proven track record (minus that disastrous two-year stint with the Golden State Warriors of course), and his connections to the Bay Area made hiring him that much easier. Still, it remained to be seen if he could take Cal to the next level.
This past spring, the future of Arizona’s tradition-rich basketball program, as we have come to know it, was in serious jeopardy. Big name coaches were turning the UA job down left and right, and no episode was more embarrassing than the Tim Floyd fiasco.
