TrojanWire - Coaches

Pac-10 media day notebook

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:15:45 -0800

Coaches and players from around the Pac-10 gathered in Los Angeles Thursday to talk about the upcoming football season at media day. Some had their minds on the upcoming schedule, and others had their minds on bigger, more important things. Go inside for a look at what the coaches opposing the Trojans had to say about the upcoming yea

Floyd Mum on Mayo

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:33:04 -0800

Finally caught up with Tim Floyd more than 2 1/2 months after allegations surfaced that O.J. Mayo accepted money from an agent's runner. It wasn't for lack of trying. I had left multiple phone messages and even ventured to a Trojans "Coaches Tour" event in Orange County but never was able to speak with Floyd until now.

And as far as the Mayo allegations go, Floyd wasn't saying much. Asked if he had been contacted by NCAA investigators, Floyd said he had not and pretty much left it at that. "Neither our school, nor our coaching staff nor our players will have any comment about that, and I would hope that you would respect that and not ask any questions of our players until the process is over because we won't have any updates for you. That's our university policy."

Floyd was more talkative on other fronts. Although incoming freshman DeMar DeRozan has achieved a qualifying ACT score, Floyd said "it's never over until everything goes through the [NCAA] Clearinghouse. He's made the necessary test score and we're hopeful that everything will go through the Clearinghouse." The coach did not venture a guess as to when that might be.

Floyd also said that North Carolina transfer Alex Stepheson had not committed to USC, contrary to a recent report.

--Ben Bolch

Wednesday Hot Links

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:00:52 -0800

Football

Thomas Williams is learning what life is like as an NFL rookie. [Times-Union]
Recruit #12: USC signs 4-star wide receiver out of South Carolina. [SC Playbook]
USC is a popular bet to win the national championship. [MR. SEC, h/t Da Wiz]
Somebody's taking a really, really early look at USC-Virginia. [RF365]
Oregon State could be the big sleeper game of the year. I couldn't agree more. [Coaches Hot Seat]
With Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen joining a couple other key college football figures in retirement, could the BCS change? Not likely. [NYT Quad Blog]
If not the BCS, could expansion be on the table? Probably not, but here are the contenders. [Fanblogs.com]

Hoops

Ready for another mock draft? Here's O.J. Mayo at #3 again. [ESPN]

Elsewhere

The NCAA track and field championships start today. [Daily Trojan]
Football player Ron Mix and swimmer Lenny Krayzelburg were inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. [NJSHOFAM]
Oregon State is bigger, meaner, oranger. They might want to have that looked at. [Building the Dam]
Los Angeles is TitleTown, obviously! [ESPN]
Are Bush and Tush hearing wedding bells? Run, Reggie, run! [Larry Brown]

The Coaches Tour Kicks Off...

Wed, 14 May 2008 18:40:57 -0800

Does Pete Carroll like his martini shaken, not stirred? Does Tim Floyd really demand a mini SC umbrella in every mixed-drink? If you want to see these questions (and many more) answered first hand, sign up for one of the seven event dates, May 28th to June 12th, for the third annual USC Coaches Tour. As lifted from CSTV:

The 2008 USC Coaches Tour, featuring Pete Carroll and Tim Floyd, is set to kick off for the third year in a row as the two head coaches visit Trojans throughout California to give USC fans and boosters the opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of the latest comings and goings at Troy.
Each of the seven dates on the tour feature a cocktail reception at 6 p.m. and a dinner and program that start at 7 p.m. Among the parts of the program are a Q&A session with both coaches and a silent auction. Business casual attire is suggested.

Proceeds from the tour will benefit the Mario Danelo Endowed Scholarship and the Ryan Francis Endowed Scholarship funds.

All your friends will think you're the ultimate bad-ass when they see the photos of you, in between Carroll and Floyd. Plus it all goes to a descent cause. Please see the CSTV site for information regarding tickets, dates and RSVP information.

2008 USC Coaches Tour Set To Kick Off

Wed, 14 May 2008 18:33:48 -0800

The 2008 USC Coaches Tour, featuring Pete Carroll and Tim Floyd, is set to kick off for the third year in a row as the two head coaches visit Trojans throughout California to give USC fans and boosters the opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of the latest comings and goings at Troy.

Lewis on rookies: ‘Wow’

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:03 -0800

First-round draft pick Keith Rivers, a linebacker from Southern Cal, worked on the weak-side position - which he played in college - and impressed coaches with his fluid play and work ethic. Coaches were impressed, too, with Rivers’ natural leadership and ability to call his position players together. “He showed things that are innate,” Lewis said of Rivers. “Every time he was not in a meeting, he was upstairs watching tape on his own. He already gets it.”

USC Awards Night, Mayo MVP

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:24:27 -0800

Here's the list of award winners from Monday night's USC basketball banquet. Here's the USC announcement of the awards, highlighted by the MVP Award that went to freshman O.J. Mayo.

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)

USC and UCLA to play with home jerseys

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:02:49 -0800

Bumped...this is what I meant about the rivalry being fun again. - Paragon

Coaches Neuheisel and Carroll have agreed to have each team wear home uniforms when the two rivals meet on Dec. 6 at the Rose Bowl.

Prowling around on the interwebs, I come across this.

If this is the real deal, THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT!

We'll be going back to the good old days of fierce rivalries and great games, like so:

According to Yahoo! Sports, Neuheisel and Trojan coach Pete Carroll have agreed to have each team wear home uniforms when the two rivals meet on Dec. 6 at the Rose Bowl.

Before 1982, the teams had a tradition: Both teams would wear their home uniforms. UCLA would don its home blue jerseys and USC would wear its home red. But in that year, the NCAA ruled that the visiting team must wear away uniforms. Since then, the visiting team has worn white to avoid a penalty and a forfeited time-out in the first half.

Neuheisel and Carroll have reportedly agreed that the home team will take a time-out to offset the one the visitors must forfeit. The penalty will be declined. The agreement is said to be set to last as long as Neuheisel and Carroll remain coaches of the respective schools.

link here

2008 Recruiting Dinner

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:54:04 -0800

The scene was on court at the Galen Center again, where a couple times Pete Carroll expressed his desire to see Tim Floyd's bunch hand the Bruins another loss this year.

Carroll said this class was about "bigs" not "flash" and he felt fortunate that the Trojans were in a position to play it this way, this year. Joe McKnight was sure excited about the 5 solid offensive line prospects.

After the jump are some notes from last nights event.

Report: Davis Asked Kiffin to Resign

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:22:55 -0800

Al Davis and Lane Kiffin - photo from insidesocal.com

The Oakland Raiders are denying an ESPN report that owner Al Davis wants Lane Kiffin to resign as head coach. Kiffin went 4-12 in his first year as the Raiders head coach, doubling their wins from the previous season. Despite the meager record, the Raiders have shown marked improvement under Kiffin's direction. The report alleges that Davis had drafted a letter of resignation for Kiffin to sign.

Whether or not the allegations prove to be true, we've put together a little scenario as to how the "resignation" debacle might have played out.

Rachal on the way out

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:54:32 -0800

Coaches had hoped to talk All Pac-10 right guard Chilo Rachal out of leaving early, but they did not get the chance. Offensive guards hardly ever crack the first round of the NFL Draft, and Rachal's status likely was diminished by the sprained knee that sidelined him for three-plus game

Sources: Carroll interested in Falcons' opening

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:10:58 -0800

USC coach Pete Carroll is interested in the Atlanta Falcons' head coach opening and is expected to speak with Atlanta owner Arthur Blank via phone Wednesday, sources at the American Football Coaches Convention in Anaheim told ESPN's Joe Schad.

Congrats to LSU, Now Let Us Bitch

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:32:57 -0800

Congratulations are in order to the Louisiana State Tigers from Baton Rouge for manhandling Ohio State, 38-24, in Monday night's Bowl Championship Series title game. LSU becomes the first two-loss championship team in the 10-year history of the BCS and the first team to win two BCS titles.

The Tigers' secret weapon was somebody named Ricky Jean-Francois. If you never heard of him before Monday, you're not alone. The title game defensive MVP was suspended for the first 12 games for an off-the-field issue, presumably related to academics, before finally getting on the field in the Southeastern Conference title game last month. Nothing like getting a key player back just when needed, eh?

As for Ohio State, who isn't getting tired of the Buckeyes' act? Ohio State's nonconference opponents were Youngstown State, Akron, Washington and Kent State. A deflated Big Ten allowed the Buckeyes to finish the regular season 11-1, with the only loss coming to Illinois, which somehow was chosen for the Rose Bowl. The Fighting Illini then went to Pasadena and got drilled by USC, 49-17.

So the debate continues. Would USC have been a better opponent for LSU? Possibly, but when you're a 41-point favorite and lose to Stanford, that ends the discussion.

How about Georgia? The Bulldogs lost at home to South Carolina and were demolished at Tennessee. That ends that. West Virginia? It appeared that no team could match the Mountaineers' speed, then Pittsburgh marched into Morgantown and proved otherwise.

So the mess that was left was LSU and Ohio State. Notre Dame, in a stinker of a season, had a longer winning streak than the Tigers and Buckeyes to end the regular season.

The BCS served up five garbage games. The Rose Bowl was decided by 32 points, the Sugar by 31, the Fiesta by 20, the BCS title game by 14 and the Orange by three.

Not surprisingly, the TV ratings are down. Yes, college football has a problem.

If you think playoff, get real. That's not going to happen. Read this piece by Pete Thamel in the New York Times if you think differently, then check back. The closest thing we're going to get to a playoff would be a Plus One model, which would essentially have the top two ranked teams play after the five BCS games.

Certainly there needs to be a system to weed out teams that don't deserve to be in the big-time games long before the selection process begins. That brings us to the Wiz's humble proposal on how to fix the system.

It's this simple: BCS teams need to play BCS teams in nonconference games. A meaty value system needs to be put into the BCS formula to award teams that do so and docks teams that schedule non-BCS teams. As for everybody running to schedule Duke, the Blue Devils can only play four nonleague games a year, so a lot of teams will be out of luck and have to look elsewhere.

As it stands, the art of nonconference scheduling comes down to this: Go 4-0 in nonconference, squeeze out a 3-5 league record and go to a bowl. If you're really lucky and things break your way, you could find yourself in a BCS game or — in Ohio State's case — the title game.

Ohio State's nonconference schedule included a I-AA team, two in-state softies and one BCS opponent. The BCS should have docked the Buckeyes for this, but instead the system rewarded such scheduling with a berth in the title game. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Ohio State is not alone. Copycat crimes are everywhere. SEC teams, for example, simply don't travel. As detailed earlier by Map Game Day, Georgia has logged 358 miles to nonconference destinations since 1998. Florida last played a nonconference game outside the Sunshine State in 1991 when it lost at Syracuse. Of teams traveling the fewest number of miles for nonconference games since 1998, SEC teams had seven of the top 10 spots. Teams are abusing the system and you, the fan, are being taken for a ride.

Consider that ticket prices continue to skyrocket to help pay for — among other things — outrageous salaries demanded by coaches. If you want good seats, give even more of your money to the alumni association. In return you get nonconference games against teams that don't deserve to be on the same field as your beloved U.

Coaches, universities and bowl administrators are laughing all the way to the bank on your dime and they don't want to see any of this changed. Consider:

Going 7-5 and earning a berth to a crummy bowl represents job security for an overpaid coach.
Ohio State and Florida ran up more than $5 million in expenses at last seasons BCS title game, finishing with a combined deficit of more than $600,000. No worry, just pass it along to the fans the next season.
Compensation packages for some bowl executives have reached $490,000.

Yes, we have problems. But there are solutions.

USC Finishes AP #3

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:26:35 -0800

Cornerback Cary Harris' runs back an interception against Illinois during the Rose Bowl. This blowout win helped seal the Trojans a #3 AP finish. AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian

The season which was more than once dubbed the fall of Troy landed the USC Trojans the #3 spot in the nation in the AP's closing poll. After blowing out Illinois in the Rose Bowl 49-17, USC finished the season third, only behind two-loss national champion LSU #1 and Georgia #2. Missouri #4 and Ohio State #5, rounded out the elite five.

The Coaches Poll was another story, where USC leaped-frogged over Georgia to pick up the #2 spot in the nation, only behind LSU.

Trojans in the NFL: Wildcard Round

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:32:06 -0800

Sammy Knight (S - Jacksonville) had his busiest game of the year with 13 tackles (10 solo), one of which was for a loss. The Jags beat the Steelers 31-29.

Lofa Tatupu (LB - Seattle) made 12 tackles (6 solo) in a 35-14 victory over Washington.

Steve Smith (WR - New York Giants) caught the ball 3 times for 29 yards. One catch was a clutch 21-yarder on third down during a 2nd quarter touchdown drive. The Giants beat the Bucs 24-14.

LenDale White (RB - Tennessee) had a big first half, but eventually an injury-depleted Titans team fell to San Diego 17-6. White had 69 yards on 19 carries and lost 3 on a reception.

Brian Kelly (CB - Tampa Bay) made 3 tackles in the loss to the Giants.

Troy Polamalu (S - Pittsubrgh) tried to play despite a knee injury. He had two tackles (assisted) in the loss to Jacksonville.

Carson Palmer (QB - Cincinnati) didn't make the playoffs, but he is making waves.

Coaches Corner: A big share of the NFL's post-season brain trust has ties to USC. Former Trojan players Mike Holmgren (Seattle Seahawks) and Jack Del Rio (Jacksonville Jaguars) both coached their teams to victory this weekend, as did former Trojan assistant coach Norv Turner (San Diego Chargers).

Former USC assistant coach Joe Gibbs' Washington Redskins are headed home after their loss. Former player Jeff Fisher's Tennessee Titans are headed home, too, but Norm Chow was reportedly recommended by outgoing Hawaii head coach June Jones as a possible replacement (thanks to Gerrrg for the tip). Chow, of course, was Offense Coordinator at USC before taking over the role in Tennessee.