I can certainly understand columnists becoming drama queen in hopes to excite/titilate/confound readers. Thats their job. But message board posters seem to
be subject to that malady (death of a program!) as well.
Lets look through a little history with the two local teams.
UCLA-they looked for several decades to find the duplicate of John Wooden..It never happoend and likely wont with changes in the College game. But they fired
Harrick (for an expense report no less-can we say the tip of an iceberg?), after he won an NCAA a few years before, replaced by Steve Lavin. Steve's team
were competitive for a while then he went from 23-9 in 2000-2001 to 21-12 and then 10-19. He was fired and Ben Howland came in. Ben had a new look and his team
struggled at 11-17 in 2003-04 and 18-11 the year after, before going 32-7 in the first of 3 final fours. Turnaround time=1-2 years.
USC- In firng Bibby mid season the team though senior loaded fell to 12-17 in 2004-5. Tim Floyd came in with exactly 4 scholarship players and Lod Stewart was
questionable as one of them. He went 17-13 and then 25-12 and a sweet 16 the year after.
Cal came up from the dregs to playing pretty well with Montgomery coming back to the PAC-10. And many teams recovered from losses to rebound. The average time
for return to prominence was 1-2 years..
So this death knell tio me is what I call premature e-speculation. Unless there's some hidden rampant thing unknown to anyone in the press or on the
internet, this loss of a fine coach hurts badly, but is not a death knell to anyone so far but the worst of the drama queens.
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 GaryTD
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The loss of perspective.... |
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Posts: 1093 06/11/09 10:15 AM |
Last Edited By: GaryTD 06/11/09 11:07 AM.
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ChaseinManhattan |
The program is dead | #1 | ||
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Posts: 1476 06/11/09 12:19 PM |
It essentially needs be rebuilt from the ground up anew.
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pattioftroy |
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Posts: 349 06/11/09 12:25 PM |
If we manage to get the right coach quickly, we could still salvage part of our recruiting class, and then we wouldn't be rebuilding from the ground up.
That's what I'm hopeful for.
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GaryTD |
You said the same thing when.... | #3 | ||
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Posts: 1093 06/11/09 1:35 PM |
..Bibby's last year. So what else is new?
Last Edited By: GaryTD 06/11/09 1:40 PM.
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Sparjan |
#4 | |||
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Posts: 64 06/11/09 1:54 PM |
Well, the Galen Center is new. As will be the Tutor Campus Center, and throw LA Live in there as well. And don't forget USC's continuing rise in
academic prestige.
The school and our region of LA are both more attractive places to be since Bibby's departure. But depending on how long it takes to find a new, permanent coach, next season might be a lost a one, a la Jim Saia's brief tenure. Many things have changed for the better, but when it comes to USC's men's b-ball team having to rebuild, indeed, "What else is new?" |
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TrojanMindSC |
All depends on the hire | #5 | ||
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Posts: 874 06/11/09 2:12 PM |
The time it takes to rebuild will completely depend on the name value of the future coach. A coach with name recognition can rebuild the program in 1-2 years
using the current base of players as seen with Arizona's signing of Miller and a couple of top-100 recruits. No doubt next year will be a tough year, but
the following season, there is no reason USC can't compete with a good hire.
USC has a good base of role players for 2010-2011 season (if they stay) Stepheson Simmons Washington Vucevic Cunningham HOPEFULLY DERRICK WILLIAMS (MoMo's already asked out) Add some elite talent through 2 recruiting cycles and USC can be challenging for the PAC10 again. |
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SCtrojan2k3 |
while you may be right | #6 | ||
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Posts: 256 06/11/09 2:25 PM |
I wouldn't label it 'dead'. This isn't SMU football (at least it isn't yet). I freely admit I have
zero inside information on this, and I wouldn't be surprised if you do, so you may be the bearer of even worse news.
I know it is a MUCH different situation, but just two months ago the UofA fans thought they had hit rock bottom. They just had TWO straight seasons with an interim coach, two recruiting classes with pretty much 0 players, their top 3 players declaring for the NBA, and a coaching search that had been going on for 5+ months without a single bite when they had all been PROMISED and assured over and over that they would have no problem getting a big name coach. On top of all that, Floyd is apparently hired, then decides to not take the job. Many were looking at a 9th place finish and having to hire Kruger. Now, they have a great coach, a very good recruiting class, and a decent shot at making the tourney again to keep their streak alive. Of course, USC will not be coming anywhere close to the tourney, but if the situation is handled correctly, we could theoretically be back in two seasons. However, I do not have the faith in the administration to take the proper steps to do this. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised. |
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womenoftroyfan2 |
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Posts: 104 06/11/09 3:07 PM |
Im not convinced it is all in the name!!! Look at Trakh's recruiting and he wasn't a Michael Cooper. Just the guy next door doing what he loved
coaching basketball. So I am not sure it is all in a $$$ bank of a name! Big names have to know how to recruit too - if they can't who knows what will go
down. Only time will tell. My fingers are crossed that they actually do a complete job in hiring the new coach and don't just settle on a big name with no
recruiting abilities that is just my two cents.
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DFWTrojan |
#8 | |||
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Posts: 157 06/11/09 3:40 PM |
Yep, the fast rebuild plan begins and ends with Gary Franklin. Get a good new coach, get the NCAA minimal to moderate sanctions enacted, get a few good
recruits along with Franklin, and USC can be back in the tourney in 2011. The "death" talk is utterly foolish. However, I also am concerned about the
administration's ability to effectively manage this critical transition based on their recent performance. And, I remain upset that we just helped push the
the best basketball coach in USC history out the door. Yet, the show must go on, and the show can be good in 2 years. See Arizona for a rapid rebuild.
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Quick Reply
Replies
| The loss of perspective.... | 06/11/09 10:15 AM | GaryTD |
| The program is dead | 06/11/09 12:19 PM | ChaseinManhattan |
| You said the same thing when.... | 06/11/09 1:35 PM | GaryTD |
| while you may be right | 06/11/09 2:25 PM | SCtrojan2k3 |
| Re: The loss of perspective.... | 06/11/09 12:25 PM | pattioftroy |
| Re: The loss of perspective.... | 06/11/09 1:54 PM | Sparjan |
| All depends on the hire | 06/11/09 2:12 PM | TrojanMindSC |
| Re: The loss of perspective.... | 06/11/09 3:07 PM | womenoftroyfan2 |
| Re: The loss of perspective.... | 06/11/09 3:40 PM | DFWTrojan |
