USC Trojans News

What do an NBA team and a college basketball squad have in common? They don?t show up to finish a game.

LOS ANGELES-Southern California's three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and high-profile recruits like O.J. Mayo and DeMar DeRozan seem like distant history. The Trojans are strictly in recovery mode these days.

Lute Olson. Tim Floyd. Tony Bennett. Those coaches are gone. Top players Josh Shipp and Darren Collison, too. The Pac-10 is down this season, says Gary Parrish, who gives the edge to Washington.

Mike DeCourcy Southern California big man Alex Stepheson might have had a championship ring if he'd stuck around North Carolina another 12 months. But after playing six minutes in UNC's Final Four loss to Kansas in April 2008, Stepheson decided to transfer back home to Los Angeles. Stepheson's father was ill, so he applied for a waiver of the NCAA's year-in-residence rule for transfers, hoping he would not have to sit out a season. His... appeal was denied, which means he will be playing his junior season when the Trojans get started with practice Oct. 16. He spoke with Sporting News college basketball columnist Mike DeCourcy about the experience of transferring and what he expects in the 2009-10 season. Sporting News: How often have you been asked about leaving North Carolina just before the Heels went on to win the national title? Alex Stepheson: First of all, I was excited for them. I was happy for them. Because I still stay in contact with most of those guys, talk to them on a weekly basis. I was just happy to say I was their teammate at some point in time. SN: Has it been good getting closer to home? AS: Absolutely. I came back for my father's health, and since I came back his health has been better. It's good knowing your family can come watch your games, is there if you need them. SN: What did it feel like to watch the Final Four on TV? AS: It was mixed feelings. I knew exactly what plays they were running, who was feeling what and when. I had all the inside scoop from being there, knowing the personalities. It was weird because I wanted to be out there—those were my teammates—but I knew I was in a better situation for me. SN: How hard was it for you to sit out last year? AS: It was difficult. Like most athletes, you always want to play. I knew when we applied for the waiver there was a chance I wouldn't get it, and I was prepared for that. SN: Kevin O'Neill will be your third college coach. Has the instability been tough for you? AS: I think Coach O'Neill will be a great coach. If anything, having three coaches has made me stronger personality-wise, and as a player. It brought our team together more, made us come together as a family and stick together. SN: How hard was it to see Tim Floyd leave the program in the summer? AS: I really liked Coach Floyd. I don't know the circumstances, the inside scoop, but I enjoyed having Coach Floyd coach me for that year. I was looking forward to playing for him this year. SN: When Coach Floyd resigned in late spring, did any team leaders try to keep the group together? AS: When Coach Floyd left, Dwight Lewis, Marcus Johnson and me kind of rallied the team together and said, "Let's just stick through this, have each others' backs." It really brought us together. SN: You lost three players to the early entry: Taj Gibson, Daniel Hackett and DeMar DeRozan. How good can you be without them? AS: I think we'll be just as good or better. We lost them, and a lot of people are doubting us, are down on us. I think we still have a lot of talent, and we have a lot to prove. That's motivating us. SN: We haven't seen you play for a year. What will you, personally, do better? AS: I spent the whole year working on my post moves, my offensive game, my jumpers -- redefining my offense, getting it to the level I want it to be. I've been in the weight room, too. I wanted to better myself in any way I could to help the team. SN: Which of your teammates will surprise us? AS: I think a lot of people don't know that I've been working, improving my game. Marcus Johnson will definitely have a better opportunity to do what he can do. Marcus Simmons has been improving. Dwight Lewis will show he can be consistent. SN: How big of a Trojans football fan have you become since enrolling at USC? AS: Honestly, I never even watched football until I came to USC. Last year, I was a fan but wasn't really into it. This year, I started really becoming a fan of the football team because I know a lot of the players. It's a football school. You've got to know football. Mike DeCourcy is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.more>>

Some USC basketball notes from ESPN

Despite all the change, Cantu still at USC

Each week, Sporting News college basketball columnist Mike DeCourcy addresses five current topics in his sport. 1. What was most surprising at Wednesday's luncheon honoring John Wooden as No. 1 on the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest coaches in sports? Related Links Best ever: John Wooden accepts award All-time greats: Sporting News' top 50 coaches Sporting News Magazine:... Subscribe today Sporting News Conversation: John Wooden O'Neill takes on reclamation project at USC DeCourcy: There is no doubt it was the enduring affection Wooden's players have for him. There is a bond that borders on familiar. I wish everyone could have seen the faces of the former UCLA Bruins who were assembled in the Wooden Room at The Valley Inn in Sherman Oaks on a beautiful Southern California afternoon. Mike Warren was beaming. Lucious Allen offered thanks that he was invited. Television executive Andy Hill, a benchwarmer on three of Wooden's championship teams, thanked Sporting News ebulliently for conducting the event — even though he did much of the work of arranging for the players to come. These men have been gone from Wooden's constant company for 35 to 45 years, and yet their feelings about him appear to have grown. "The records show he retired in 1975. Who you kidding? He was just getting started," Hill said. "Books, speeches, letters, appearances, more books. His teachings have, through all of these different venues, taught millions of people about what makes him special and why all of us feel so lucky to be here today." 2. How have the Las Vegas AAU tournaments changed in the years you've covered them? DeCourcy: The most obvious difference is there are so many more tournaments. When I first traveled to Vegas for summer basketball in 2001, there was only the Big Time, which was Sonny Vaccaro's tournament. That one's gone, but this year we had four or five tournaments in its place. A lot more people are making money, but the games and competition aren't as good. "AAU" basketball already had limited value in the development of young players. It has its place, but the number of tournaments and games kids play compared to the amount of skill development they do — it's like stuffing all your savings into a coffee can. There's probably some value to having a few spare bucks around the house, but it wouldn't be safe or lucrative to stash your retirement nest egg there. There is such an overwhelming imbalance that the NCAA probably is due for another major revision in how basketball programs scout for talent. Don't be surprised if summer recruiting eventually is banned and replaced by more scouting during the school year, with an emphasis on school-based evaluations. The only way that can work, though, is if the state federations abandon their rules against coaches working with players in the offseason. Truth is, their silly rules created this whole summer basketball mess. 3. In watching as much AAU summer ball as you have, do kids play differently based on their region—such as, any difference between a West Coast and East Coast guy? DeCourcy: In real games, they probably do. There don't seem to be as many truly physical players in the West, and there probably aren't as many good shooters from the Eastern cities because the basketball is more about getting to the rim. But in summer ball, the only apparent difference is between those teams that are coached and those that are not. Some teams seem to have no apparent plan. Which shouldn't come as a surprise. When teams are composed of players who don't necessarily live proximate to one another, it's hard for them to practice. 4. If you're new USC coach Kevin O'Neill, how do you approach recruiting right now? DeCourcy: To this point, the moves he has made have been impressive. It was extremely bold to retain the coaching staff of Gib Arnold, Bob Cantu and Phil Johnson. They are sharp, connected and hard-working. But good coaching staffs often are released when a coach is replaced or retires. The new coach might be bringing along colleagues from his former job or simply does not know or trust the guys in place. The next step has been to search for players who can build a strong foundation for the program. There's a chance that once the NCAA gets done with the basketball program — whenever that may be — that postseason tournaments won't be an option for a year or two. The players in the program have to be willing to build through that. The first commitment the Trojans landed is just that sort of player. Curtis Washington from Elizabethtown, Ky., was relatively unknown before a USC coach spotted him at the adidas It Takes 5ive event in Cincinnati in early July. Before others could catch on, USC offered a scholarship and Washington committed. He is long, active and very athletic for a 6-10 forward. He needs muscle, but he could turn out to be a steal. 5. Who do you think would be the most entertaining coach on Twitter if they'd be allowed to tweet anything? DeCourcy: That depends on whether you enjoy someone who works "blue." If coaches were allowed to tweet anything, a lot of them might not need 140 characters. Four letters would be plenty. Mike DeCourcy is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.more>>

Tim Floyd discusses Renardo Sidney's situation