...good stuff.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=270042483
might i have two good teams to follow?
Ok, so you want some type of credit? i think USC is pretty damn good for a young team and whether you think Oregon is overrated or not, i care less, my team just got a big win. plus, there is no shame in losing to ucla and arizona.
i am so happy with what tim floyd has done so far. this season alone we have beaten #8 wichita state in vegas, #13 washington in 2ot, and undefeated #17 oregon on the road. even if these teams were overrated, this is a huge step because it was just a couple years ago that we weren't even compe ive in these games.
pruitt is looking much better and young is on a roll. i need to get to a game. the excitement in the galen center is growing.
I heard the Ducks coach on Rome yesterday...so much for the Jungle Karma.
no doubt! i am pretty excited and impressed, as well. for some reason the win over wichita state slipped my mind, but yeah, that was huge...as was the win over washington and who cares if oregon is overrated, this is basketball not football. any team sniffing the top 25, let alone in it, is damn good. maybe we can even get ranked if we keep improving....!!!
here is a pretty good article written before all 3 wins against ranked opponents. if we continue, more people will start to notice.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/column...afc&id=2704462
"You had to be there on Jan. 11, 2003 to see rock bottom.
As stunned fans spread across the decrepit Forum looked on, Penn spent the first half of a nonconference tilt with USC making the Trojans look completely ridiculous. After 20 minutes of wide-open 3s and dunks pouring into their basket as if it were a funnel, the Quakers were up 26 at the break and had shot 87.5 percent (21-of-24) from the field. About all that was missing was for the voice-over guy from NBA Jam to scream, "He's on fire," as flames trailed another net-bound Quaker shot. Penn went on to win by 38.
After witnessing that performance firsthand, it wasn't hard to understand the Trojans' decline in their last couple of seasons under Henry Bibby. More often than not, USC played And-1 rather than D-I defense, indifference that peaked in 2004-05 when the Trojans, on their way to a 12-17 finish that ended Bibby's run, allowed their opponents to collectively shoot a searing 47.1 percent from the field.
Given all that, though, it is extremely hard to comprehend that, after just a year and a third under new coach Tim Floyd, USC now sits as the second-best team in the country in defensive efficiency.
Feel free to take a minute to carefully separate your jaw from your desk.
Not many saw this coming -- or even know it's happened. USC's defensive improvement has tended to go unnoticed; the Trojans play a lot of late-night (for East Coast readers) games on Fox regional networks that are not widely accessible. They also had an extremely hectic offseason off the court. Between the tragic killing of point guard Ryan Francis, the first-semester academic ineligibility of leading scorer Gabe Pruitt, the year-early arrival of point guard Daniel Hackett, the opening of the brand-new Galen Center on campus, and the landing of prep superstud O.J. Mayo as the centerpiece of a great 2007 recruiting class, how the Trojans did on the court this season seemed secondary.
Instead, USC's defense under Floyd has rapidly evolved from sieve to statistically elite and has been the leading force behind the Trojans' 9-2 start. They are allowing a paltry 0.787 points per possession and also are second in the country in 2-point field goal percentage allowed (35.9 percent) and effective field goal percentage (38.0 percent, accounting for allowing only 27.8 percent shooting on 3s).
Sure, at this still-early point in the season, schedule can have an impact on overall statistical output, but USC's slate hasn't been terrible. Among the Trojans' 11 opponents thus far are South Carolina, St. Mary's, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Kansas and George Washington. Schedule also can't be the only factor in holding 10 of your first 11 opponents under 40 percent from the field, or holding seven of those teams to their worst shooting night of the season, or for lowering your team's overall field goal defense by almost 15 percentage points in the span of about 40 games. Think about that -- USC opponents now miss an extra shot for every seven they take compared to just two seasons ago.
So what gives? Well, for starters, Floyd took over a program that had only a small number of players returning (but included current leading scorers Nick Young and Lodrick Stewart). That gave him a chance to immediately put his imprint on the Trojans, especially on how they defended.
"We have emphasized the defensive end since Day One," Floyd said. "We didn't pull off the rebounds a year ago, but personnel has changed that. ... We put time in on it. Defense starts with defensive transition. You have no chance to defend unless you get five guys ahead of the ball, and we do that every day for 20 [minutes, in practice]. At the same time, it allows us to work on the offensive transition part of the game. We believe the game is played full-court.
"What we're starting to see after a year is that [the players] don't mind that [defensive] iden y," he added. "They take pride in it. They're asking questions about [the opponent in pregame preparation], which we never saw a year ago."
That both-ends philosophy is pretty clear when you look at the Trojans' numbers this season. USC plays at a high pace (55th in the nation) and is virtually last in the country in percentage of field goals attempted that are 3s, indicating (in part) a significant amount of transition offense. On defense, they are fairly adept at not fouling while they draw fouls in good quan y at the offensive end.
What makes the Trojans' stingy defensive performance even more remarkable, though, is that they are doing it despite coughing the ball up on an awful 25.9 percent of their possessions, a number that ordinarily would imply a huge number of run-outs and easy baskets for the opposition. Even though that hasn't happened yet, the sheer number of turnovers -- and the Trojans' seemingly lax at ude about them -- has Floyd more than a bit concerned.
"I think the last part of the equation is getting them to value the ball on the offensive end," he said. "Typically if you are playing that hard defensively, you won't turn it over on the offensive end because you know how hard you had to work to get the ball."
With five freshmen and a sop re in the top nine in minutes played, youth definitely is part of the issue. The Trojans also don't have a true point guard on the roster, which also hurts.
Floyd hopes his youngsters get the hint sooner rather than later, but suspects that it might take some bumps in Pac-10 play to fully get the message through.
"I think when you're winning games, it might take us losing a little bit to get that figured out," Floyd added. "We're winning right now and there doesn't seem to be any urgency toward correcting [the turnover problem]. ... Being able to defend has allowed us to hang around in games, even with the number of turnovers."
Nonetheless, the additions of Hackett, a fierce compe or who has sublimated his own offense for the good of the team, and Taj Gibson, a rugged forward who already has six double-doubles this season, have allowed USC to establish much more ball pressure defensively and to limit opponents to one shot per possession way more often than last season.
USC's opponents are taking notice, too. City rival Loyola Marymount is off to a solid 8-5 start this season and features a high-level talent in Brandon Worthy, yet the Lions were shackled by the Trojans, shooting just 15-of-54 (including a 1-of-12 from Worthy, who is averaging 18.5 ppg) in a 67-50 loss. That's just a year removed from Loyola's two-point home defeat to the Trojans last season, performances that LMU coach Rodney Tention thought were night and day.
"I think they really have bought into defending you first and scoring second," Tention said. "Their kids have really bought into that now. ... They face-guard, they use their quickness, they get great pressure on the ball. They're better this year than they were last year. They're really long ... Daniel Hackett leads the way and [Lodrick] Stewart is out there. When they get [Gabe] Pruitt back, they'll be even better defensively.
"I enjoy watching them play defense, although not when we played them," Tention added with a chuckle. "Their defense will keep them in a lot of games. They have a lot of offensive weapons ... once Gabe comes back, they'll be real good, [but] when they are struggling on offense, they'll still be hanging around [because of their defense]."
Pruitt, who averaged 16.9 points per game last season, is expected back Friday night for the Trojans' meeting with Kansas State.
Floyd also noted that the hardest thing about the Pac-10 this season was that no one knew where their wins were going to come from -- a tip of the cap to the league's excellent talent and depth. It's now also true that when you play USC, you have no idea where your baskets are going to come from. If you were there for any part of the back end of the Henry Bibby era, that in itself is quite a shock.
a decent article on the galen center and recruiting
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...ge=keri/070105
from the article:
"I took O.J. over to the Galen Center, before the building was even close to being finished," said Carol Dougherty, USC's senior associate athletic director. "You had to use your imagination. But he was just so excited. He said, 'I want to see the floor I'm going to play on, my practice courts, my locker room.' We've attracted a whole bunch of other student-athletes who have been equally enthusiastic. The Galen Center has been huge in helping with recruiting."
"Recruiting has picked up across the board. In addition to Mayo, the men's basketball team has attracted other very promising players, including standout freshman Taj Gibson. The women's basketball team landed Jacki Gemelos, who is considered the No. 1 recruit in this season's freshman class. Both volleyball teams have also brought in some top-flight talent."
Most Fair Weather fans do.
thanks Kewl!
no problem. i enjoyed it so i figured you would too.
how about that 91-46 win over oregon state tonight?
...i saw that, just a bit distracted with Danelo. great start for Pac-10 play, though.
Oregon was happy to trade this loss for their win over UCLA yesterday, yes?
Oregon rebounds from first loss to stun UCLA at home
Photo Wire
Oregon students yell for their team during first half Pac-10 college basketball action against UCLA in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Jan.6, 2007. Oregon beat top-ranked UCLA 68-66.(AP Photo/Don Ryan)
· EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- In 1974, Ernie Kent played for an Oregon team that upset No. 1 UCLA.
Thirty-three years later, Kent sobbed when his Ducks again knocked off the top-ranked Bruins.
"This is a together basketball team," the Oregon coach said after the Ducks (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP) handed UCLA its first loss of the season, 68-66 on Saturday. "Their spirit is unbelievable."
Aaron Brooks scored 25 points, including the game-winning jumper with 13 seconds left for Oregon (14-1, 2-1 Pac-10). That was the Ducks' only field goal over the final 7 minutes.
"It just shows that we can play with anybody, regardless of who we played at the beginning of the year," Brooks said. "People talked about our schedule, but we got to put the system in, and the system's working, and it will work against anybody if we play hard."
Darren Collison hit a 3-pointer to bring the Bruins (14-1, 3-1) into a 66-66 tie. Brooks, who had 31 points on Thursday night in the 84-82 loss to Southern California, the Ducks' first this season, hit the baseline jumper to give Oregon the lead.
UCLA worked the ball around over the final seconds and instead of going toward the basket for a chance at tying it, Josh Shipp's 3-point attempt at the buzzer was short, setting off a celebration at McArthur Court.
UCLA coach Ben Howland said he was concerned because Collison, the point guard, had four fouls, and top-scorer Arron Afflalo had three, meaning the Bruins could have had issues if the game went to overtime.
"The last play of the game was really my fault. I wanted to go for the win," Howland said. "I thought we would be able to penetrate and kick out for a 3, and it wasn't there. We were really tentative and did not get a good shot at the end of the game."
Maarty Leunen was on Shipp for the final play.
"I actually turned my back on him because I thought Collison was going to shoot it, and it went back out to Shipp and I just had to play good defense," Leunen said. "I knew the clock was running down and he had to put something up pretty quick."
The Bruins had not opened 15-0 since 1972-73, when they went 30-0 and won the national championship.
Shipp and Afflalo both finished with 14 points for the Bruins, who trailed 40-30 at halftime, while Collison had 11.
The last time the Bruins lost was to Florida in the national championship game.
"I never thought I'd feel like this again in my entire career here," Afflalo said. "I truly thought this team couldn't be beat. The way we played and the type of heart we play with, and the type of leadership we have on this team -- I wouldn't say we're invincible, [but] I didn't think we could be beat.
"This is probably my worst loss ever."
Leunen had 18 points and seven rebounds for the Ducks, who were off to their best start since 1937-38, when Oregon won its first 14.
The last time the Bruins visited McArthur Court as the nation's top-ranked team was Feb. 16, 1974. The Ducks stunned UCLA 56-51 in that game, earning the cover of Sports Illustrated. That upset also followed an Oregon loss to the Trojans.
Kent, then a shooting guard, played about 10 seconds in that game.
Among those in the sellout crowd of 9,087 Saturday were Nike founder Phil Knight, an Oregon alum, and former Ducks quarterback Joey Harrington, now with the Miami Dolphins.
"It was just a moment for me to embrace that building again. It's such a great building with lots of history and tradition and so much passion," Kent said. "I've been there as a player and I've been there as a coach, but this is the first time this group has experienced that."
The Bruins, who had won four straight against the Ducks, were coming off a 71-56 victory over Oregon State on Thursday.
As UCLA struggled with its outside shooting -- the Bruins were 1-for-9 from 3-point range in the first half -- Bryce Taylor had a dunk and a 10-foot jumper to give the Ducks the 40-30 halftime lead. Oregon shot 70 percent from the field (14-for-20) in the first half, while the Bruins shot 36.4 percent (12-for-33).
For the game, the Bruins were 8-for-23 from 3-point range and shot 41.8 percent (23-for-55) overall. Oregon made five of 15 3-point attempts and shot 47.8 percent (22-for-46).
Afflalo missed all five of his shots in the first half, but his 3-pointer made it 40-36 early in the second half.
Oregon took a 53-44 lead midway through the second half on a layup by Brooks.
The Bruins closed within 64-61 on Afflalo's 3-pointer with 2:49 left. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute missed a key shot for the Bruins with 1:28 left, and the game was halted momentarily when someone in the building pulled a fire alarm.
The Ducks were without forward Malik Hairston, who was averaging 13.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, because of a heel injury. Hairston dressed but did not play.
It was the first time a top-ranked team had visited Eugene since Arizona beat Oregon 70-54 on Jan. 16, 1988.
OSU is a team lost in the headlights. Lots of decent talent on the roster, but no one can create on their own and the defense is mostly iffy at best.
OSU will be at the bottom of the Pac-10 with ASU looking at them square in the face.
yeah, but it took a spectacular night from lodrick for this to happen. taj gibson also came up big. i think the next game will be close.
The Beavs need a new hoops coach. Jay John sucks ass.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2723839
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: TAJ GIBSON
By Andy Katz
No East Coast bias here. Taj Gibson led the Trojans to impressive road wins over Oregon and Oregon State, pushing them into a four-way tie for first place in the Pac-10. The Trojans' only league loss so far is a (suddenly) respectable loss to Washington State at home.
Gibson's numbers -- 18 points, 13 boards and seven blocks -- were epic in the gritty win over Oregon on Thursday. The 6-9 freshman followed that up with 20 points and five boards in the win at Oregon State.
The Trojans were decimated in the offseason when point guard Ryan Francis was shot and killed and then leading scorer Gabe Pruitt was ruled academically ineligible. Well, Daniel Hackett got eligible a year early out of high school and has provided some stability at the point. Pruitt then regained his eligibility in December, Nick Young returned to being a solid contributor and Gibson has emerged as an anchor inside.
Add all that to Tim Floyd's rock-solid D and the Trojans are in the thick of the Pac-10 race, let alone the race for an NCAA berth. That was unthinkable in the preseason.
Didn't USC come up with some really good recruiting class for hoops next season as well?
...only the best, duh!
yeah, in addition to oj mayo, davon jefferson should definitely qualify this year. scout has usc at #2 as of november 16 (http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=608798 ). pretty good. if only nick young and gabe pruitt would stick around for another year (most of the team should return including taj gibson), then that would be a really good team.
i dont know what it is but usc greatness is in the nfl
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