Wow USC basketball is imploding

[Russ Smith]

I have to admit this is so fun to watch for me given how long I've been waiting for Tim Floyd to get his just desserts.

Last week the NCAA granted Marcus Johnson a 6th year of eligibility for his 2nd missed season due to injury. Today Johnson informed Floyd that he's turning pro instead, Johnson played in a few USC games this year before getting hurt after transferring from UCONN, he averaged 3.6 PPG this year, and he's going pro because of all the NCAA problems.

It's also being widely reported on USC sites that recruit Momo Jones is going to ask for a release from his LOI and reopen his recruitment.

They will have 9 scholarship players when the season starts, and 2 of those are kids who were previously run off by Floyd(Diarra and Donte Smith) and then asked back after things blew up.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Yeah, I'd like to say I feel sorry for them but we went through a similar offseason not too long ago but managed to keep the ship upright. Floyd will get fired, an interim will coach this season, and they'll throw the kitchen sink at Jamie Dixon. Whether or not he takes it probably determines their foreseeable future. I heard Dixon might pull the trigger.

 

[Russ Smith]

Yeah, I'd like to say I feel sorry for them but we went through a similar offseason not too long ago but managed to keep the ship upright. Floyd will get fired, an interim will coach this season, and they'll throw the kitchen sink at Jamie Dixon. Whether or not he takes it probably determines their foreseeable future. I heard Dixon might pull the trigger.

That's been a rumor on UCLA boards too. Frankly that's fine with me having USC be good helps UCLA, a weak pac 10 is bad, so seeing UA on the way back under Miller is great and if USC hired a coach with a moral compass I'd be more than happy.

I gotta say the unhappiest guy on the whole team has to be Alex Stepheson. He could have essentially gone to any Pac 10 team he wanted, UCLA, UA, ASU all wanted him. He picks USC and now half the team is bailing on Floyd and they might be on probation and there's virtually nothing he can do because another transfer would equal another year sitting out.

 

[Russ Smith]

Tomorrow's Daily News has a story by Scott Wolf who says that now Derrick Williams is strongly considering leaving USC too.

Unreal, at one point their recruiting class was Sidney, Williams, Hill and Noel Johnson, and they were ultimately going to get MoMo jones. That's a top 5 class nationally, maybe top 3 if all qualified.

Now it's entirely possible none of the 5 will ever play a game for USC.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I gotta say the unhappiest guy on the whole team has to be Alex Stepheson. He could have essentially gone to any Pac 10 team he wanted, UCLA, UA, ASU all wanted him. He picks USC and now half the team is bailing on Floyd and they might be on probation and there's virtually nothing he can do because another transfer would equal another year sitting out.

Alex Stephenson would have played 35 minutes a night had he gone to ASU or Arizona next season with how poor their frontcourts are shaping up to be. I don't recall him and Arizona having mutual interest though unlike ASU.

EDIT - And I just remembered. After all this shakes out it looks likely that Lil' Romeo will be a starting Pac-10 point guard next season.

 

[Russ Smith]

Alex Stephenson would have played 35 minutes a night had he gone to ASU or Arizona next season with how poor their frontcourts are shaping up to be. I don't recall him and Arizona having mutual interest though unlike ASU.

EDIT - And I just remembered. After all this shakes out it looks likely that Lil' Romeo will be a starting Pac-10 point guard next season.

Probably right on UA and Alex I'm not sure about that.

Romeo has to probably beat out Donte Smith, because after running him off, Floyd has now asked him to come back. Scott Wolf says Smith hasn't decided yet if he'll go back to SC.

Unreal

 

[ASUCHRIS]

EDIT - And I just remembered. After all this shakes out it looks likely that Lil' Romeo will be a starting Pac-10 point guard next season.

Who needs master P to make'em say ugghhh anymore, Floyd has that taken care of.

 

[HooverDam]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4246625

Report: Floyd resigns
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ESPN.com news services

Embroiled in controversy, Southern California coach Tim Floyd resigned on Tuesday, The Clarion Ledger of Jackson, Miss., reported.

The newspaper obtained the contents of a letter that the coach submitted to USC athletic director Mike Garrett.


Floyd
"Unfortunately, I no longer feel I can offer the level of enthusiasm to my duties that is deserved by the university, my coaching staff, my players, their families, and the supporters of Southern Cal," the letter said. "I always promised myself and my family that if I ever felt I could no longer give my full enthusiasm to a job, that I should leave it to others who could. I intend to contact my coaching staff and my players in coming days and weeks to tell them how much each of them means to me. I wish the best to USC and to my successor."

Floyd has been accused of giving money to a man who helped O.J. Mayo land with the Trojans. According to a May 12 Yahoo! Sports report, Louis Johnson -- a former confidante of Mayo -- said that Floyd gave Rodney Guillory, an associate of sports agent Bill Duffy, $1,000. Such a payment would constitute a major violation of NCAA rules.

USC spokesperson Tim Tessalone said the university found out about Floyd's resignation just before 7 p.m. ET when it read his letter on the Clarion-Ledger Web site. Tessalone said confirmation from the university would be forthcoming.

A person close to Floyd said Tuesday night that he was surprised by the coach's resignation, but did say in his conversations with him throughout the past few weeks that the allegations against Floyd had begun to wear on him. The person, who requested his name not be used, said that Floyd was innocent of the charge that he had given cash to Guillory, but that Floyd knew fighting the charge would take an enormous amount of effort in the coming months.

Over the past few weeks, there had been countless rumors throughout the California basketball circuit that Floyd would be out as coach, but with the decision coming from USC, not from the coach.

ESPN.com was not able to contact Floyd. Messages to USC assistant coaches weren't returned.

Floyd, a native of Hattiesburg, Miss., led a resurgence of USC basketball, taking the Trojans to the NCAA tournament the past three seasons.

Mayo played only one season before entering the NBA draft. He currently plays for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Good gravy, what a mess. UA really dodged a bullet when they didnt land this guy.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Good gravy, what a mess. UA really dodged a bullet when they didnt land this guy.

Eh, the bullet never came that close although we did offer him the job. Floyd flirted with the job because he was going to get a bunch more money which we never offered plus Arizona had something in the contract to prepare for a situation like this that Floyd didn't want to sign.

Regardless, it's stuff like this why Livengood has few fans despite the hiring of Sean Miller.

 

[Russ Smith]

Eh, the bullet never came that close although we did offer him the job. Floyd flirted with the job because he was going to get a bunch more money which we never offered plus Arizona had something in the contract to prepare for a situation like this that Floyd didn't want to sign.

Regardless, it's stuff like this why Livengood has few fans despite the hiring of Sean Miller.

Well as Wilner pointed out yesterday outside of Livengood who else would have had Floyd and Calipari at the top of his list, and in hindsight how lucky is Livengood that neither took the job?

UK fans are used to coaches who cheat and it's still unclear how much Calipari knew about Dozier and Rose, but had UA hired either guy they'd be getting a lot of negative pub now. Instead they hired a guy who is younger, and much cleaner and I think whether he lucked into it or not Livengood comes out smelling like a rose.

Like I said elsewhere I actually hope USC gets Dixon in a few years the Pac 10 could be downright lethal. No more seeing UNC and Duke and Kansas come in and take good players out from under our noses with those coaches all in place in the Pac 10, or at least it'll happen less often.