TrojanNYC.com

Photo of the Day: Demar DeRozan Slamming Down the Bruins

Great win tonight.  Team played with lot of energy for a change.  Credit has to go to Marcus Simmons for clamping down on Darren Collison.  Demar also had some lights out dunks tonight.

Tim Floyd thinks 20 wins is good enough for the tourney.  Hopefully there won't be any need to wonder with a win against ASU.

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.

USC Lost to CSUF in Exhibition Game

From LATimes.com:

The Trojans could have used Gibson and Simmons against the Titans, who "whipped us and defeated us and ran their offense better than we did," according to USC Coach Tim Floyd. "They just exposed who we really are right now without some of our guys out here and a lot of young guys out there playing."

The Trojans watched film of the scrimmage for two hours Monday in hopes they could avoid making the same mistakes Saturday in their regular-season opener against Mercer at the Galen Center.

Before you panic, realize that we were playing without Taj (played 3 minutes), Marcus, and Daniel and with Davon injured (won't be 100% against Mercer).  Last year we were blown out by Air Force in a exhibition game and ended up in the Sweet 16.  On a brighter note, OJ is getting done in the classroom:

While O.J. Mayo's debut on the court is still four days away, the freshman guard is off to a solid start in the classroom.

After attaining a B-plus in two summer school classes, Mayo said he was on pace to become a Pacific 10 Conference honor roll student based on his first-semester midterm grades.

"When you're at the college level, it's about being a student first and athlete second," Mayo said, "and it's kind of hard to manage both of them if you think you're coming to college just to be a basketball player."

It seemed not too long ago everyone was saying that O.J. would be an uncontrollable miscreant here at SC and wouldn't bother going to class since he was one and done and could care less.  For the second day in a row, where are the haters now? 

USC Basketball Mexico Highlights

From ESPN.com:

O.J. and Davon both had 29 points and USC won 102 to 82.  I really like the clip of Marcus Simmons (#20) locking down defensively; I can't wait to see him on Derrick Rose, Darren Collison, etc.  Also liked the way O.J. handled the ball and controlled the tempo, he looks like a veteran out there.  All I can say is, this team has scary potential and, in my personal opinion, looks better than last year's team at this point in the year. 

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...

Monday Top 3

• Some nice videos from Vootage.com:

- Matt Barkley (Mater Dei) - Interview and highlight reel
- Malik Story (Artesia/Oak Hill) - Pangos Camp interview
- Demar DeRozan (Compton) - Pangos Camp interview

• Incoming FB, Jordan Campbell, is already anticipating the showdown against the Bruins on December 1st:

"Everybody already knows who runs the (football) field in LA, so we're going to be getting after it. Their quarterback better be ready, It's going to be nuts to get on the field against UCLA. 

"I think it's going to be a blow out."

Hopefully Jordan will be knocking Bruins on their rear-ends like he did to his future teammate, Aaron Corp, at the All-American Bowl practice.

• As mentioned numerous times before , incoming freshman baller, Maurice Simmons, may be the best on-the-ball defender in the entire '07 class.  He made his presence known early against O.J. during a scrimmage at GC on Saturday night:

USC freshman guard Marcus Simmons might not hit many outside shot this season but after watching him frustrate O.J. Mayo in pickup games, he might be the Trojans' most intense player as a defensive stopper. He'll be especially valuable in Pac-10 road games, such as places as Arizona, where he'll be able to get in the face of the opponents' top scorer.

One of the reasons why I remain optimistic about our chances this year despite the loss of Young, Stewart, and Pruitt is the fact that we have two excellent defenders in Simmons and Hackett.  It's going to be fun watching them lockdown on the opponents' top scorers.

O.J. Mayo Set to Arrive Next Wednesday

From Matthew Kredell's blog:

The most-anticipated recruit in USC basketball history is scheduled to arrive on campus Wednesday.

O.J. Mayo, the top-ranked player for the class of 2007 by many recruiting services, will be set up in a dorm room with fellow incoming freshman Marcus Simmons. They both will begin summer school classes June 27.

Think Mayo and Marcus being paired together is coincidental?  I personally don't think so.  Mayo is the most hyped recruit in the class, while Marcus is the least hyped.  O.J. is easily the most offensively gifted recruit in the '07 class, while Marcus may be the best on-the-ball defender.  The two should learn a great deal from one another.