TrojanNYC.com

Todd McNair Mic'd Up For Practice

Nice vid of Coach T-Mac (RB coach) doing his thing during practice.  You can also see a clip of Allen Bradford breaking off one of his daily long runs. 

Mayo Leaves to Secure His Family; Signing With Carmelo's Agent

From LATimes.com:

Mayo, a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 20.7 points a game, said that he had signed with agent Calvin Andrews, who also represents Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets.

USC Coach Tim Floyd was not at the news conference, but he said last week, "We are appreciative of everything O.J. did for all of us the year he was with us. We wish him well. I have no doubt that he will be a great professional."

Mayo met with Floyd after the Trojans were eliminated by Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA tournament and huddled with family members in West Virginia last week.

He said he decided to turn pro "to secure my family. That's the most important thing for me right now."

Mayo said that he had no regrets about his decision to attend USC and that he would complete the spring semester, a move that will prevent the Trojans from losing a scholarship next season.

Wish O.J. the best of luck from here on out.  Can't knock a guy for wanting to take care of his family.  For selfish reasons, I hope he goes to Memphis or New York since they have nice jerseys.  Not sure if I'd support O.J.'s jersey sales if he went to Minnesota or Clippers ;-). 

Craven Brothers Update

From DailyBreeze.com:

There is life after basketball.

Derrick Craven had to find this out the hard way.

The game turned sour for the former Bishop Montgomery High star when the USC program imploded during his senior season.

That was in 2005.

Not willing to walk away from the sport that had been so much a part of his life for as long as he could remember, he gave pro ball a shot in England. He lasted a month before deciding enough was much more than enough and it was time to move on.

Moving on was returning home, seeking a master's degree in management (this is his final semester) and finding employment in the investment industry. Next up could be continuing his education in pursuit of an MBA or a Ph.D. Or both.

Meanwhile, twin brother Errick has discovered life after basketball is, amazingly enough, basketball.

He also went to Europe. He stayed, playing for a season in the French city of Saint-Quentin, which is an hour north of Paris, and then moving to Turkey to play a season in Istanbul.

Errick became a bounce-back this season, willingly taking a cut in pay to hook on in the NBA's Development League, the D-League, with the Lakers' team, the D-Fenders. His teammates include former Redondo High and UNLV forward Wendell White along with center Jelani McCoy and guard Brian Morrison from UCLA.

"It tore my heart out," Doug Mitchell, his coach at Bishop Montgomery High, said of the manner in which things deteriorated at USC. "The nice thing is he has his love for the game again."

Definitely worth reading the rest.  Errick just led the Los Angeles D-Fenders to the 2nd round of the NBDL playoffs with 22 points the other night.  Nice to get an update on the brothers.  It was truly sad to see them fall under the Bibby era, especially since they showed potential early.  Despite their struggles in college, looks like they're doing well. 

USC Basketball '07-'08 Players Review - PG

Here's my review of the team this past season and what to look ahead for next season:

Daniel Hackett:  B

Season Review - Daniel had an up and down season, which might make some people question his "B" grade, but how can you ignore the heart he showed battling through all the injuries this season?  To recap, he fought back from a broken jaw early in the season and a stress fracture in his lower back late in the season.  What was frustrating about all the setbacks was that Daniel was poised to have a breakout year.  He had an excellent summer playing for the Italian National Team and in his 2nd game back posted a triple-double against South Carolina.  It looked like Daniel was set to break-out, but instead he went through ups and downs and struggled to maintain consistency.  He ended the season on a bad note, struggling against KSU's defensive pressure. 

Future - Daniel's future will hinge on whether SC can finally get a true PG since the passing of Ryan Francis.  The truth is, Daniel is a swingman playing the 1.  Even though he's done an admirable job thus far, as long as he's counted on bring the ball up court, he will remain inconsistent and have a limited impact offensively.

Angelo Johnson:  C+

Season Review - Angelo got off to a great start in the season opener against Mercer showing nice quickness in penetration and rolling effectively off high screens, but most impressive of all was his assertiveness and confidence.  Unfortunately, Angelo's progression never seemed to take off from that point.  He never seemed truly comfortable as the court general.  He often struggled getting the offense into their sets and reaching certain points on the floor against aggressive guards.  There were too many times where Angelo would pick up his dribble prematurely leading to dicey plays/turnovers or push too aggressively on the break.  Defensively, he struggled against quick guards like Darren Collison, Nic Wise, Tajuan Porter, etc.  Of course, all was not bad, Angelo did a great job hitting open 3's and had some solid performances in some select games, but overall his performance was very much indicative of a freshman. 

Future - Next season will be Angelo's make-or-break year as the starting guard for the Trojans.  Incoming PG, Donte Smith, a JUCO transfer from Mt. San Antonio College, will push Angelo for the starting PG spot right away, meaning AJ will have to play with confidence and assert himself early.

Incoming: 

Donte Smith - Mt. San Antonio College (JUCO)

Donte was one of the top JUCO point guards before he committed to SC and looks to be an impact player right away.  His build and style of play reminds me of Chris Paul.  He's listed at 6'0 180lb on recruiting sites, which is almost identical to CP3; he also plays with the same calm pace and can shoot well off the dribble.  Obviously Donte is nowhere near CP3 in terms of talent, but he is the closest example I can think of to paint a picture visually. 

Coming from the JUCO ranks, the transition to Pac-10 basketball should be shorter than that of a HS senior, so look for him to push Angelo early for the starting PG spot.

Mark Sanchez Gets The Nod At QB

 

From LATimes.com:

Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian made it official before practice when he met with Sanchez, Mitch Mustain and Aaron Corp individually and told them that Sanchez, the fourth-year junior, was the No. 1 quarterback.

"He said, 'I just want to give you a little forewarning: You're it, man. You're the guy. You've proven it and we believe in you,' " Sanchez said, grinning.

No big surprise.  I've been saying that the current QB battle is completely overhyped and far from being completely open.  The only way Mark was (or will) going to lose this job was if he completely tanked during practices to a point that Pete and Sark would be forced to hand the job over to Mitch.  This QB battle is not for the right to be a starter, it's a tug-of-war for Coach Carroll's patience. 

OT: Florida's 2006 BCS Title Trophy Falls Off Stand, Breaks

   

From TBO.com:

The Gators' 2006 BCS National Championship trophy fell off of its stand in Florida's football offices and broke Friday, Florida's operations and facilities director Chip Howard said Monday.

Because Florida is preparing to move to its new offices, which are expected to be completed in July, Howard said the trophy was in a temporary location in an open area of one of the stadium's sky boxes.

"It was on a coffee table, and it was inadvertently bumped," Howard said. "It doesn't take much for the top of it to fall off."

Omen perhaps?  Heh. 

Matthew Kredell's Lay-Off Story

From LAObserved.com:

Ever since I graduated from USC in May of 2001, I worked full time for the Daily News in a part-time local position without benefits. I was paid for 40 hours about half the time as well. Most of the rest of the time, I got about 35 hours. It was only over the last 10 months that I regularly got the 29 of my position. I was a local guy who grew up reading the Daily News at El Camino Real High in Woodland Hills, so I put up with it and was told my loyalty would eventually be rewarded. But once I moved up to doing the USC basketball beat (which I traveled on) and the Kings beat, any full-time positions that opened up were frozen. So I was laid off because I was stuck in a part-time local position while doing full-time pro and college beat jobs.

I’m looking at this as a positive, though. (Former LADN staffer) Howard Beck said he doesn’t know of anyone worse off for having left the Daily News. I subscribe to this theory. If stuck in the part-time position, I was going to make 34k this year, my fourth consecutive year making less than the year before. So now I’m trying to figure out what to do next.

Unfortunate story for Matthew.  He did a great job as the beat writer for SC basketball in '06/'07.  I'm amazed that he was set to be paid $34k this year after nearly 7 years with the Daily News.  I knew news writers were paid low, but that is just harsh. 

Taylor King Picks Villanova

From ESPN.com:

It took Taylor King a season to decide Duke wasn't the right fit for him.

It took him less than 72 hours to figure out what did fit.

King, who had planned to visit Gonzaga and Southern Cal at the end of the month, committed on Sunday to transfer to Villanova after a weekend visit. He will enroll in June.

By NCAA rule, King won't be eligible to compete for a year. But he figures it will actually work in his favor. By the time King is ready to play, the Wildcats will have lost Shane Clark and Dante Cunningham to graduation.

"It just couldn't be a better fit for me," King said. "It wasn't about getting it over with. I wanted it. This gives me the best opportunity to start right away."

Well that was quick.  As I mentioned in a post the other day, I don't think TK fits our situation, but I wish the best of luck to him at 'Nova. 

Mitch Mustain Mic'd Up

If you haven't seen Mark and Aaron mic'd up, you can find the video of Mark here and Aaron here.  Credit to USCRipsIt.com for the videos. 

DeRozan Leads USA Team to Summit Win

From Rivals.com:

Jrue Holiday scored seven of his 13 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter to spark the USA to an 11-0 run and a comfortable, 98-78 victory over the World Select Team at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore.

The USA's 20-point margin of victory tied the game's record for victory margin and is the USA's seventh straight victory in the event.

In a balanced scoring attack that saw six of the 10 U.S. players score in double digits, forward DeMar DeRozan, who is headed to Southern California next fall, finished with a game-high 17 points, while forward Drew Gordon – one of four USA players who will play at UCLA next fall – scored15 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Good start for Demar.