Two years ago, Ryan Francis was fatally shot in his hometown of Baton Rouge, La., and Gabe Pruitt was declared academically ineligible for the first semester. Last year, Daniel Hackett suffered a broken jaw that may or may not have been the result of an inadvertent O.J. Mayo elbow.

Now comes word that sophomore Angelo Johnson is leaving the team because Coach Tim Floyd declined to guarantee him a spot in the starting lineup.

"He asked me with O.J. [Mayo's] departure if I could guarantee him a spot in the starting lineup," Floyd said Thursday night. "I told him, 'Angelo, you're going to play a bunch and could start on 95% of the teams in the country, but I can't guarantee you that. I don't think it would be fair to our new players coming in to guarantee anything to anybody.' ... He's made his choice and is going to explore his options."

The 5-foot-11 Johnson started 11 games last season and averaged 4.5 points and 2.1 assists, making 40.3% of his three-point attempts. He made several big shots off the bench and served as a capable backup to Mayo and Daniel Hackett.

"He was instrumental in a lot of wins for us," Floyd said. "He's a very, very good player and we'd love to have him, but unfortunately he's made another choice. I think it does impact us."

Johnson's departure leaves Hackett and sophomore Donte Smith as the top point guard options. There's also freshman Romeo Miller and junior walk-on Ryan Wetherell, who don't really figure to get much playing time.

Floyd said he was disappointed in Johnson's decision. "In this age of instant gratification," Floyd said, "all these guys want to start, want to play. ... We wish they could all be like Darren Collison and wait a year for their turn."

--Ben Bolch

Here's a class-by-class breakdown of the 13 scholarships and current walk-ons for 2008-09.

SENIORS

1. RouSean Cromwell
2. Keith Wilkinson
Terence Green (walk-on)

JUNIORS

3. Taj Gibson
4. Dwight Lewis
Marcus Johnson (walk-on)
Daniel Hackett (walk-on)
Ryan Wetherell (walk-on)

SOPHOMORES

5. Kasey Cunningham (redshirt)
6. Marcus Simmons
7. Angelo Johnson
8. Donte Smith

FRESHMEN

9. Mamadou Diarra (redshirt)
10. DeMar DeRozan
11. Leonard Washington
12. Romeo Miller
13. Nikola Vucevic
James Dunleavy (redshirt walk-on)

From Rivals.com:

2. USC

Star of the class: O.J. Mayo. After a much bally-hooed high school career that was played under the national microscope, the former five-star prospect moved from a small pond in Huntington, West Virginia to the bright lights of Los Angeles. He helped the Trojans return to the NCAA tournament and raised the program's reputation on a national level. Mayo was a first-team All-Pac-10 performer after scoring 20.7 points per game. His next move is likely to the NBA.

Steal of the class: Davon Jefferson. His road to college took a little longer than he may have wanted, the athletic forward went to work when he finally made it. The former prep schooler's crowning moment this season came in a 72-63 win over UCLA, where he scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds. With Mayo likely leaving for the NBA next season, don't be surprised to see Jefferson have an all-conference type of year next year.

In hindsight: Mayo did what everyone thought he would do, score the ball, raise the profile of the team and make an impact right away. Jefferson should come into his own even more as a sophomore. Outside of Mayo, Jefferson and Angelo Johnson, the other two signees Marcus Simmons and Mamadou Diarra didn't factor too much into the big picture mostly to injury. Johnson should factor more into the plans next season and beyond. He started 11 games and was third on the team in assists.

Grade: A-

Very fair grade for a solid class.  The future will look as bright as can be if O.J. and Davon return next season, but even if they depart, the rest of the class should contribute for many years to come.  Marcus Simmons is a player that will continue to develop and become a Kyle Weaver type of player.  Mamadou Diarra certainly has the skill-set to become an impact big man.  Finally, Angelo stepped it up when needed and looks like a player that can at the very least provide quality minutes at the PG spot.

LOS ANGELES – The USC men’s basketball team which went 21-12 and made the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, held its annual awards banquet Monday night (March 24) in the Founders Club at the Galen Center.

The Trojans posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the fi rst time since the 2001-02 seasons and their 63 wins over the last three seasons is the most in a three-year period in school history. USC was a No. 6 seed in the Midwest Regional in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and was
defeated in the fi rst round by Kansas State and Player of the Year candidate Michael Beasley, 80-67. The Trojans tied for third place in the conference with an 11-7 record.

* Freshman O.J. Mayo was named the team MVP as he led USC with a 20.7 average and set the school freshman record for points in a season (684) and three-point baskets made (88). His point total ranks second all-time by a Trojan in a single season (Harold Miner -789 in 1992) and
his three-point baskets made are third best all-time in a single season by a Trojan.

* Sophomore Taj Gibson led USC with 259 rebounds and set the school single-season record for blocks with 84. His two-year total of 153 blocks already places him second on USC’s all-time blocked shots list, trailing only Sam Clancy’s four-year total of 195.

Here's the list of award winners:

* Sam Barry Award -- MVP: O.J. Mayo (20.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 40.9 3-pt%, 684 points, 88 three-pointers)

* Joe Barbato Award -- Top FT Percentage: Daniel Hackett (82.3 percent, 8.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.2 apg)

* Dr. James Zumberge Award -- Top GPA: Keith Wilkinson (3.0, Communications, Journalism & Related Studies)

* John Rudometkin Award -- 110% Effort: Taj Gibson (58.0 FG%, 10.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 88 blocks)

* Tom Kimmel Award -- Top 6th Man: Angelo Johnson

* Ernie Holbrook Award -- Most Inspirational: Daniel Hackett (8.6 ppg, 94 assists, 82.3 FT %, 34 steals)

* Coaches Award: Dwight Lewis (10.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 31 3-pointers, 24 steals)

* Top Rebounder Award:Taj Gibson (7.8 rpg, 259 total)

Today, Mayo spent at least half an hour after practice shooting baskets. Then he met with reporters.

Q: After the game some people thought you said that you were going to stay for next year. Is there anything definitive at this point or is it still up in the air?
A: Next question. It's up in the air. Just signing up for summer school. Next question.
Q: How do you want us to portray that? Is there any particular wording?
A: I'm going to summer school ... I'm [getting together] classes for summer school. Same thing. Nothing too difficult about that answer.

Glad we cleared that one up! That last one was a little garbled on the tape but you can hear it yourself along with the whole four minute Q&A session:

As you can tell, Mayo likes to have a little fun with the press. Among his Shaq-esque pearls of wisdom:

Q: What happened the last time you guys played [ASU]?
A: They beat us.
Q: How did it happen?
A: They scored more points.

Glad we cleared that one up, too!

Daniel Hackett gave a preview of Thursday's Pac-10 Tournament game against Arizona State:

We're fighting because we want a ring. We feel like we can beat anybody in this conference, and they do too. It'll be an interesting game and a tough matchup.

If you're watching the polls, USC was just out of the Top 25 this week, landing at 27th in the AP and 28th in the ESPN/USA Today rankings.

In other hoops news, Mayo was named to the All Pac-10 Team first team. Taj Gibson made the third team and was also named Pac-10 player of the week for his performance against the NorCal schools. Davon Jefferson was honorable mention for the All Pac-10, and also grabbed All-Freshman honors along with Mayo (honorable mention to Angelo Johnson). Gibson also made the All-Defense team and Mayo got an honorable mention on that list.

This weekend was another story for the Hackett-less Trojans. USC managed to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive with a sweep of both Oregon teams. Mayo led the dominant Trojans with 21 pts, including four 3-pointers, 5 rebounds and three steals. Three other Trojans - Lewis, Johnson and Gibson had double digit scores. Freshman Angelo Johnson hit 4-5 from the 3-point line, including three in a row early in the second half increasing the Trojan lead by as much as 35pts.

It wasn't pretty for most of the game, but USC has come out on top. After trailing to the Ducks throughout the entire first half, the Trojans battled it out in the second, pulling off a vital win. It was the first game after OJ Mayo scored an embarrassing 4 points against UCLA, and unfortunately for Oregon, it was they who suffered his revenge.

O.J. Mayo, Davon Jefferson and Angelo Johnson shared their thoughts after the game last night.

Davon's composure and frame of mind just minutes after the final buzzer were remarkable. O.J. was using some language he hasn't allowed most people in the media to hear before, but we couldn't share that here.

Tough loss.

From ESPN.com:

Mayo showed his brilliance as a scorer, with 20 of his 29 points in the first half, but it was the rest of the Trojans keying a second-half surge as USC routed Washington 73-59 on Thursday night.

The Trojans won for the sixth time in their last seven games, thanks to the likes of Dwight Lewis, Davon Jefferson and Angelo Johnson, who were largely responsible for USC's stunning 19-0 run early in the second half that sent Washington fans toward the exits with 11 minutes left.

Jefferson finished with 17 points and Lewis added nine as the Trojans (15-7, 6-4 Pac-10) got coach Tim Floyd his 300th collegiate victory in a career that has included stops at Idaho, New Orleans and Iowa State.

The game wasn't as close as it appears in the final score.  SC put this one in the books with about 10 minutes left in the 2nd half.  U-Dub just went ice cold in the 2nd half while SC was making everything in sight.  The story of the night was O.J.'s dominant offensive performance.  He was hitting from inside/outside and using nearly everything in his repertoire.  At one point in the 1st half, O.J. accounted for 16 of the team's 22 points, which was huge because Taj had to sit on the bench with 3 fouls early.  To cap it off, O.J. finished the night embarrassing Ryan Appleby on a fast break using a behind-the-back dribble to leave Ryan swiping at air and casually laying it up for the basket.

About a month ago I predicted SC beating Wazzu at GC by 5 because I felt our team matched up well against the Cougs.  Of course I didn't know Coach Floyd was planning to bench Davon.  So I'm hoping Saturday's game will be redemption for my prediction.  I still stand by my pick...

It was Hackett who forced key stops in the last minutes against the #4 UCLA team. It was Hackett who conbtributed 8pts in the overtime win over Oregon. Still, USC kept a slight lead over Arizona with seven minutes left on the clock. But the combination of the Wildcats out-rebounding USC, and knocking down key 3-pointers (Arizona 10-21, .476 vs. USC 4-17, .235) was too much for the Trojans to handle.

"Daniel is a critical part of our team defensively," Floyd said. "He's a shutdown defender on the perimeter."

USC has a solid cast of talented play-makers, guys like OJ Mayo, Daniel Hackett, Davon Jefferson, Dwight Lewis, Taj Gibson and Angelo Johnson. These guys have been rotating off the bench, splitting the ball and putting up big numbers. And as a team, their defense has been improving with every game. If the team keeps playing like they did on Sunday, it seems likely that the Trojan freight train will keep on rolling.

OJ Mayo brought his special sauce to the Galen Center for the basketball season opener against the Mercer Bears, leading the Trojans with 32 points, a school record set by a freshman in his debut. Still, USC couldn’t hang with the small school from Georgia, as the Bears took control of the game early on, eventually beating the #18 Trojans 96-81.

USC - Team Preview

Probable Starting Five:

1 - Angelo Johnson, FR:  Lightning quick guard that can penetrate and is active defensively.  Played a little hesitant in the intrasquad game, but that's expected from freshmen guards.
2 - OJ Mayo, FR:  Might see a lot of time at the PG spot if Angelo struggles.  Lights out scorer that plays a very mature and methodical game.  Already has a NBA caliber jump shot that is nearly unblockable.
3 - Dwight Lewis, SO:  Most underrated player on the team.  Penetrates surprisingly well and can hit the three, but needs to quicken up his release.  Can score in bunches when given the chance.
4 - Davon Jefferson, FR:  Still isn't 100% from a sprained knee injury, so you might see a Gibson/Wilkinson combo.  Davon can jump out the gym and plays primarily a face-up game but can also finish around the rim.  Very dangerous in transition.  
5 - Taj Gibson, SO:  Not much I need to say here, Taj was one of the best freshmen in the country last year.  He added ~15lb of solid muscle to his frame in the off-season which will help his inside game.  Also has a surprisingly consistent outside jumper.  

USC vs. Mercer - Game Preview

When:  Saturday, Nov. 10 @ 1 PM (PST)
Where:  Galen Center
Watch:  TrojanTV

Mercer's strength lies in the backcourt with the all-conference duo of James Florence (Atlantic Sun FOY) and Shaddean Aaron (Claremont High); both players averaged over 15 ppg last season and went 23 and 15, respectively, in their opening exhibition game.  Should be entertaining to watch their backcourt match up against Angelo/OJ.  This should also be our 1st opportunity in seeing Marcus Simmons working his lock-down defensive skills against a primary scorer.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Marcus start at the 2 and OJ at the 1.

On the wing, we'll see Dwight Lewis who might be the difference maker in this game.  We all expect OJ and Taj to get their points, but Dwight might be that 3rd player that opens this game up.  As I mentioned earlier, DL is the most overlooked player on our squad and has the ability to really put points on the board.  He will match-up against Calvin Henry, a versatile forward that can play inside/outside.  

When looking at Mercer's frontcourt, the first thing you notice is their size down low:  Brian Pfohl (6'7 230lb SR), Sam Dolan (6'8 245lb SR), and Justin Davis (6'9 240lb FR).  None of the three are big scorers, so I see this being a big advantage for SC since Taj and Davon will be able to give them fits on the offensive end and not have to worry so much defensively.

In terms of a prediction, I'm going to say that this game will likely be closer than people think.  I think most SC fans expect OJ to go off and the team to win in a blow-out, but let's keep in mind that the development of this team has been slowed due to injuries and you can never expect things to go perfectly when you start 3 freshmen.  I see a rough 1st half with the team putting it together late and pulling away for the win.  I got OJ going for 30+ this game.