USC Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

The Trojans are circling the wagons. They understand no one expects much after the hasty departure of coach Tim Floyd and the loss of three starters. They know the NCAA is lurking, and that sanctions may be headed their way related to O.J. Mayo’s one season on campus.

They aren’t concerned, or if they are, they aren’t talking about it.

“Obviously, we did lose a lot from last year and everybody has a bad perception of us, but we don’t care what other people think right now,” said senior guard Dwight Lewis, the club’s only returning starter who is eligible to start the season.

“We believe in each other, we believe in ourselves, we believe in our teammates and coaching staff,” Lewis said. “We feel if we go out there and play hard every night, anything can happen.”

New coach Kevin O’Neill, who two years ago steered Arizona through tumultuous waters to an NCAA Tournament bid, hopes to get the Trojans there for a school-record fourth straight season. But he isn’t making any promises.

“I don’t really have any goals per se in term of wins and losses,” he said at the team’s media day. “We will take it a day at a time and get better in practice.”

O’Neill is counting on the notion that his players may feel underappreciated in Pac-10 circles.

“I think we have some good players on our team that feel they have something to prove, and our goal is going to try to win every game we play,” he said.

O’Neill said he didn’t bother watching game tapes from a year ago because this team will be so dramatically different without Taj Gibson, DeMar DeRozan and Daniel Hackett. He said even Lewis’ role will be altered this year.

“He’ll be a marked man now going into every game,” O’Neill said.

The Trojans don’t have great depth, especially at point guard, where expected starter Donte Smith played fewer than 10 minutes per game a year ago.

“We have a lot of other guys who, although their time and stats might not show it, are good players,” O’Neill said. “I’m not sitting around and lamenting the players we have. We have good players.

“I expect us to be a decent basketball team at the very least.”

NOTES, QUOTES

• Senior SG Dwight Lewis (14.4 ppg) played an average of 36.1 minutes per game last season, second among returning Pac-10 players.

• Sophomore PF Leonard Washington (6.1 ppg, 4.2 ppg), who started much of last season, is academically ineligible for the fall term.

• Only 31.7 percent of the team’s scoring and 27.8 percent of its rebounding returns from a year ago.

Last Year:   22-13 overall, 9-9 in Pac-10; lost in second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Head Coach:   Kevin O’Neill (career 171-180); first year at USC.

Quote To Note:   “I’m a different guy than Tim (Floyd)—I’m sure these guys would tell you that. I’m a little bit different than a lot of people—my wife would tell you that.”—New coach Kevin O’Neill.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Required to sit out last season as a transfer from North Carolina, junior PF Alex Stepheson figures to jump immediately into the Trojans’ starting unit. The Southern California native is 6-9 and skilled. Most of ex-coach Tim Floyd’s recruits bolted after the change, leaving little in the way of significant help. PG Mike Gerrity, a transfer from Charlotte, has one semester of eligibility, and Ryan Wetherell, a junior who redshirted last year, will provide some backup help at the point until Gerrity is available.

Key Early-season Games:   The Kevin O’Neill era begins Nov. 17 at home against UC Riverside, but there are tougher assignments ahead. USC has home games against Nebraska (Nov. 29) and Tennessee (Dec. 19) and trips to Texas (Dec. 3) and Georgia Tech (Dec. 5). For a young squad still trying to organize, this will be a more-than-challenging non-conference run.

Program Direction:   It remains to be seen. The Trojans are in some disarray right now, following the sudden ouster of coach Tim Floyd and the possibility of NCAA sanctions related to ex-Trojans star O.J. Mayo. Kevin O’Neill has recruited well for 2010, but until the NCAA speaks, we won’t have the final word on the USC’s immediate future.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Donte Smith, SG Dwight Lewis, SF Marcus Simmons, PF Nikola Vucevic, C Alex Stepheson.

Roster Report:  

• Junior PG Donte Smith, who will play a bulk of the minutes early in the season, dropped 25 pounds in the offseason.

• PG Mike Gerrity, a senior transfer from Charlotte, becomes eligible after the first semester.

• Among five committed recruits for the class of 2010, the Trojans’ top prospects are a trio of wings: 6-6 Garrett Jackson of Portland, Ore., 6-4 Bryce Jones of Woodland Hills, Calif., and 6-6 Dwayne Polee of Los Angeles.