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Grading The 2007 Hoops Class

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.

Diarra and Simmons Expected to Play Tonight

From LATimes.com:

Freshman center Mamadou Diarra, who has not played since undergoing hernia surgery on Nov. 5, is expected to play against Fresno Pacific at the Galen Center. His "official" season debut is scheduled for Dec. 17 against Delaware State since tonight's game against the Sunbirds doesn't count.

Freshman guard Marcus Simmons, who has been sidelined since aggravating his sprained ankle last month, also could play for the first time since the South Carolina game on Nov. 17.

"I probably will throw them out there and let them play a little bit," USC Coach Tim Floyd said.

"I don't know how that will translate into the next three games [before Pacific 10 Conference play starts], but we'll probably let them play a little bit."

No game preview for tonight since it's an exhibition game and I never knew Fresno-Pacific existed till they showed up on our schedule.  The game is at 5 pm (PST) at the Galen Center.  There will be plenty of tickets available at the box office or you can watch the game on Trojan TV All-Access.

Notes from 1st Basketball Practice w/ the Freshmen

From Matthew Kredell:

• "It was fun," said Mayo, wearing a No. 32 practice jersey. "I learned a lot. It was my first college practice, so I was really excited."

• "You can tell he's a leader and a winner even though we weren't doing much," Wilkinson said. "He's really vocal out there, encouraging guys and telling them where to go and what to do."

• Former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy, Cal State Northridge coach Bobby Braswell and former Pepperdine coach Jan van Brenda Kolff watched practice at Floyd's invitation.

• Marcus Simmons was another freshmen participating in his first official USC practice. Simmons said the practice was rough because he's learning all the plays. In one drill, he was asked to set screens, something he said he had never really done before. But, after practice, Simmons was more excited than frustrated. He was one of the last players to leave the court, staying to battle one-on-one with both Kasey Cunningham and Dwight Lewis.

• I heard freshman Mamadou Diarra had a tough time catching balls around the basket in a drill, similar to Abdoulaye N'diaye's problems with his hands in recent years. It's something he'll have to work on. N'diaye never really improved in that aspect of his game.

• Dwight Lewis says he added 15 pounds and Keith Wilkinson says he added 10 pounds in offseason weight-lifting.

Definitely like that Dwight Lewis added 15 pounds; he should have a breakout year this season.  Kinda disheartening to read that Mamadou Diarra struggled catching the ball.  Of course I didn't have high expectations for him this season, but this brings back bad memories of N'Diaye and his rock hands.  From what I hear, Diarra is far more developed at this point than Abdoulaye, but I'm in the contingent that believes that you can only soften up hands so much...