"Yes, I am cleared," DeRozan said in a text message.

DeRozan is the Trojans' greatest hope for recouping from the losses left from OJ Mayo and the ill-conceived departure of Davon Jefferson. DeRozan is a multi-talented player, putting up sick numbers across the board: 30.6 points per game, 8.9 rebounds and 4 steals. He should provide Daniel Hackett and Dwight Lewis with a go-to shooter not afraid to move into the paint, and add a formidable defensive punch to complement the mighty Taj Gibson.

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)

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)

Turns out it's a new "impact'' piece of undergear that has a built-in row of thin, soft, conforming protective pads built into it.

With Mayo set to play James Harden man-to-man and with the way the Sun Devils set physical screens for Harden, Mayo wanted to get through the game with no bruising so his offensive game didn't suffer.

But a quick foul nine seconds into the game caused USC Coach Tim Floyd to switch Daniel Hackett onto Harden and May just kept his new gear in the game.

It obviously didn't affect his shooting as he hit three three-pointers, tying him with UCLA's Jason Kapono for the second-most threes in Pac-10 history for a freshman. Oregon's Tajuan Porter is tops all-time with his 110 last season.

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.

But Hackett did make it back in time to join the team and catch the bus for the airport and he will be evaluated Thursday morning as to his chances of playing against Arizona.

For the first time since Dec. 17, 6-foot-6 freshman guard Marcus Simmons got into a game. In fact, he got eight first-half minutes and now is enjoying a similar stint the second half, giving USC a perimeter defender who, like the rehabbing Daniel Hackett, can defend and rebound.

Simmons has been out with a severe ankle sprain that would not heal, then was reinjured, requiring him to wear a boot as late as the beginning of the week.

Yes, that is Daniel Hackett running the floor, dribbling a couple of basketballs, shooting free throws and jump shots and looking better than he has in nearly three weeks as his dad, Rudy, USC's strength and conditioning coach, puts him through his paces.

Running the court, he looks maybe 80 percent and he's clearly aware of his back and hip injuries a bit as he runs and jumps, but not anything like he was.

And he doesn't appear to be in pain after sweating through a decently strenuous on-court workout.

Hackett has contended that he can come back by Pac-10 Tournament time in two weeks -- and maybe he can.

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.

The injury will not require surgery and Hackett will begin a core strengthening rehabilitation program on Tuesday, Feb. 12...There is no timetable for his return. Once the spasms are relieved, it will be possible to evaluate his core strength level and determine a timetable. Hackett needs to reach a core strength level of four before he can return.

The Trojans have so-far struggled without sophomore Hackett, who leads the Trojans in assists and free throw percentages, while averaging 9.4 points a game.

If true it is obviously not a good thing.

But lets wait on some definitive news before we jump to conclusions. I want to hear what the Docs say first.

If true you can count on a complete injury write-up in the very near future. Lets hope for the best.