Sale Speaks

A Brief Glimpse Across the College Landscape

With a focus on the ACC

As we are at roughly the midway point of the conference season, things are starting to shake out. As predicted before the season, Kansas has established themselves as the class of the nation. They don’t distinguish themselves from the rest of the country like North Carolina did last year, but they are strong at all aspects of the game and are the only team that can be confidently counted on to win 6 straight in March. While Xavier Henry’s disappearance has made things slightly more challenging of late, Cole, Sherron and the boys are still the elite. As much as it pains me to say this, head coach Bill Self has established himself as a top tier coach (really, this hurts me to my core) who regularly sports teams that are dominant in both offensive and defensive efficiency (2/2 respectively, per KenPom).

Behind Kansas, Syracuse (again a lot of personal pain here), Kentucky and Villanova lead the way of Elite 8/Final Four contenders. These guys are very strong but you don’t want to hitch your cart to them. Jim Boeheim has found a nice mix of length and skill following the departures of Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf (good riddance) and Paul Harris. Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson has slid in beautifully and the Cuse is looking primed for a tourney run.

Kentucky’s fortunes were reversed in a big way with the arrival of Coach Cal and his lemmings-like recruit following. John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins are gangbusters and Patrick Patterson has evolved his game to match the hype he came in with. Oh, and Eric Bledsoe is not a bad guy to have backing up at PG. However, never trust Cal and his teams, so expect a flameout somewhere short of a title. As seen against S Car, Kentucky can be had, and when Wall isn’t clicking they are just a good team, not a great one. Their inability to put inferior foes away early could also come back to haunt them in March.

Villanova is, admittedly, a team I don’t know much about. As usual with Jay Wright’s squad, they are heavily guard-oriented led by 9th year senior Scottie Reynolds. This guy can hoop. Now that they are balanced inside by a man named Pena, Nova could make it back to back Final Fours.

Michigan State, Georgetown, West Virginia, Purdue and Texas have more holes to fill and can get hot to make a run but you just can’t trust them.

Noticeably absent from that list is Duke. This group of pretenders has, once again, sold the country that they’re back and ready to contend (this would make revival #6 since their last Final Four trip) only to flame out at the end of the year; more on them to come shortly. My list of credible teams is pretty short, because unlike Jim Boeheim, Billy Donovan and the money grubbers known as the NCAA/ESPN, I don’t think there are that many legitimate candidates to cut down the nets.

ACC Breakdown

I’m an old timer. I wish the ACC was still 9 teams and there wasn’t that absurd blip on the logo known as Massachusetts to include BC. Maybe one day when I run the conference, I’ll take care of that but until then this 12-team league is just a giant cesspool of mediocrity.

At the top is Duke. As mentioned previously, I don’t think too highly of them but they’re still going to win the league, win the tournament, get a high seed and send me into a 5-minute internal debate on how to rationalize them losing in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Led by their 3 S’s [(Scheyer, Singler, and Smith) I am throwing up in my mouth] Duke is beating conference foes left and right. Save for a bout with a feisty bunch of athletic hoop-jumpers (@GT), they are rolling. In fact, they exacted revenge just last week in a very convincing way. However, a combination of team fatigue (do Scheyer and Singler ever actually come out of games?) and athletic teams they will face in the tournament will expose these guys, per usual.

Behind Duke is a group of teams that are missing one key ingredient from unseating them at the top. Despite what the standings may say Clemson, Ga Tech and Maryland are next in line. All of these teams suffer in the mental capacity department. Georgia Tech has the most physical and imposing front line in the conference but Derrick Favors Stud Freshman is a bit of an idiot at times.

Clemson has one of the best players in the league in Trevor Booker, but the rest of the team is known to skip out on large chunks of game action. Plus, we’ve all seen their song and dance routine before.

Maryland has quite possibly the biggest headcase in the league, Greivis Vasquez: always a threat for a triple double, and also for a clunker. Gary Williams’ squad has been hard-pressed to find talent (and wins) but this year they have surprisingly jumped up in the standings. But just as often as they are apt to pull off an emotional home win, they are just as likely to lay down and let one get away.

The next tier includes the likes of UVA, Wake, VT and FSU. An interesting group of teams, they have just a little bit more trouble putting it all together than the previous group and they go about it in vastly different ways. UVA is just an abomination of basketball. Slow-paced buffoons now that Tony Bennett has rolled into town, these guys will bleed you to death (or go on a game sealing 18-0 run against the Heels) and have fun doing it. I do not care for this junk brand of basketball, but JPJ can get rocking so I’ll leave them be (just wear a tie, Tony).

Wake was gutted by early defections but the best of the lot, Al-Farouq Aminu (which by the way means ‘the chief has arrived’—how badass is that) stuck around and is carrying the squad. With Ish Smith learning that 135 mph is not always the best pace to play and some sharp-shooting freshmen, Dino has got a competitive squad.

The Noles can be summed up much better by the author of the blog but I’ll give my brief two cents. Long up front and stingy on the defense, Leonard Hamilton has got something going. Inexperience in big time atmospheres is a major undoing, but Solomon Alabi is a hoss and he and Chris Singleton get it done.

Virginia Tech has an energetic coach in Seth Greenberg who specializes in complaining about the size of the NCAA tournament (because his teams aren’t good enough to make it) and who can take a dynamic wing scorer or 2 (Malcom Delaney in this installment) and surround them with some glue guys and post bangers. As is the case every year since they joined the ACC (and quite a surprisingly successful addition) they will be battling to avoid joining what could be the last year of the NIT as we know it (thanks again, ESPN and NCAA).

Next is the dregs of the ACC. Miami, NC State, BC and (oh God, say it aint so) the Heels. As you can imagine, this will be mostly about the Heels. Miami benefitted from some weak non-conference scheduling and has come hurtling back down to earth in ACC play.

BC is a plucky bunch under Al Skinner, who seems to always field a competitive team without much fanfare. Mr. October and the other 3-4 players they have that seemingly all play the same position will jump up and grab a win here and there, but are far too consistent to make major noise. Come to think of it, they should be up a tier.

State is just State. What a sad sack of fools. Constantly feeling inferior (and for good reason) they haven’t done anything of note except for getting hot in Tampa one March since Herb left.

That leaves the Heels. I’d like to think they can get hot and finish somewhere close to .500, but what have you seen this year to make you think that will happen? The absence of Tyler Zeller has been more crushing than expected as there is no pop off the bench. Ginyard has regressed to the skill level of a JV highschooler and nobody on the team seems to give a care. Pride and toughness are foreign concepts and outside shooting has roughly the same success rate as me running a marathon. But, they’re the Heels and Roy is still their coach so a run to the tournament is still likely (who am I kidding, NIT! NIT!).

~~ Sale

Bored Lank = Interesting Factoid

A buddy of mine at work, Gotham, sent me an interesting question via email today. He asked me who had more players in the NBA, the ACC or the Big East? Gotham is a native New Yorker (hence his alias) and supports the Big East, so I'm sure he was trying to win a bet or something. I confessed that I didn't have the answer on hand, but told him I'd do some research. A few hours later, I had some down time, so I decided to look over every NBA roster and do the math myself. Here are the results for those two conferences as well as the other "BCS conferences" (rosters as of December 30, 2009):

Big East - 52

ACC - 49

Pac-10 - 47

SEC - 37

Big 12 - 34

Big Ten - 31

Nothing overly surprising there. The Big East was boosted by the fact that I included all of the alumni of teams that are currently in the conference, so guys like Kenyon Martin and Quentin Richardson, who never played in the Big East, were counted towards their total. May this post prove to you that if you need any questions born out of curiosity answered, email me at work and I'll be happy to do my best. Is that what they're paying me for? Not really, but we'll consider my employer a co-investor in Skip To My Lank so that I can sleep better at night. How's that?

~~ Lank

Kansas, Texas...And Everyone Else

Surprisingly, I’ve yet to write about anything college basketball-related this year. I got a few requests to do a thorough preview, similar to my college football and NBA work, but the college basketball landscape is just too expansive to cover in such a way. Look, I know I have a lot of free time on my hands, but not THAT much. Regardless, I have been watching, and a few things have jumped out at me this season. What, exactly? I’m glad you asked…

-- I was discussing the topic of “great teams” with Big Brother the other day, and I think only two teams fit the bill this year: Kansas and Texas. Kansas’ depth is downright silly. Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich are the known commodities (and preseason All-Americans), but the addition of Xavier Henry to an already-stable core of Collins, Aldrich, Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris, Tyshawn Taylor, and Tyrel Reed gives the Jayhawks depth at every position. Elijah Johnson and Thomas Robinson are two more blue-chip recruits, and they have problems getting playing time. By making the Sweet 16 last season with such a young group after the departures of Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers et al, the Jayhawks were the proverbial favorite to do big things with everyone returning this year. Throw in the NBA-ready Henry, and things went to another level. Kansas has yet to play any top-notch opponents, and their scare against a solid-but-not-great Memphis team was a bit troublesome, but I see no reason why the Jayhawks won’t be in Indianapolis come late March. They have size, skill, athleticism, and depth at every position. On paper, there isn’t a team that can challenge them, except for…

-- …Texas!! That’s right, the same team that’s playing for the football national championship also has one of the top basketball teams in the country as well. I’ve seen Texas play several times this year and I love what Coach Rick Barnes is doing with this squad. Last year, point guard was the big issue for them, and shooter A.J. Abrams was forced to handle the rock a little bit too much when, really, all he wanted to do was shoot jumpers. This year, the Longhorns feature a solid point guard duo of J’Covan Brown and Dogus Balbay. Varez Ward was also seeing some time as a creator until his unfortunate season-ending quadriceps injury a couple weeks ago. This increase in stability has allowed double-double machine Damion James and much-improved big man Dexter Pittman to get better looks at the basket. James is averaging 15.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, and Pittman chips in 14.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per outing. Pushing Texas over the top is the freshman duo of Jordan Hamilton and Avery Bradley. These two guys were as highly-touted as it gets and have been impressive already in this young season. Bradley’s playmaking ability from the guard position is quite good, and Hamilton’s versatility on the wing allows Barnes to mix and match his lineups based on the other team’s squad. There is no shortage of talent in Austin, and I truly think Texas could be a very, very dangerous team come March. It’s going to take a great effort at both ends of the floor for someone to beat them; the Longhorns aren’t going to beat themselves like they did so many times last year.

-- Everybody knows that I love Jay Wright. He’s a sharp dresser, has tremendous basketball acumen, and seems like he’d be a lot of fun to hang out with. However, I don’t quite trust Villanova as a team yet. The Wildcats sport a phalanx of talented guards featuring Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, Dominic Cheek, and Maalik Wayns. These guys can all create off the bounce and set up one another for open shots and good looks at the basket. The problem for ‘Nova comes on the interior. Antonio Pena, a former high school teammate of Sebastian Telfair in Brooklyn, has been great early on, but there is not much depth behind him to rebound and defend the post. Duke transfer Taylor King is their second-best rebounder this season, but his game is more centered around shooting and perimeter play. With the announcement that stud freshman forward Mouphtaou Yarou (yes, I spelled that without assistance) would likely miss the season after being diagnosed with hepatitis B, the Wildcats are suddenly void of any inside presence should Pena get in foul trouble. Freshmen Maurice Sutton and Isaiah Armwood will probably be relied upon more, but neither has the size to match up with Big East big men right now. This could be a problem for Wright and his boys down the road, but all is well on the Main Line…for now.

-- I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: the Big Ten gets no boost from beating the ACC in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The ACC has gotten the upper hand time and time again over the past decade, but that hasn’t meant much to the conference overall, seeing as how Duke and North Carolina are the only two teams to make a Final Four since 2003. Meanwhile, the Big Ten has sent Michigan State, Illinois, Ohio State to the national title game in the same timeframe. The ACC and Big Ten normally get the same number of teams into the Dance (37-36 bids in favor of the ACC over the same period), but since most of the ACC teams go out before the first weekend is over, is that really something to brag about? Were it not for Roy Williams’ Tar Heels, the ACC wouldn’t have a whole lot of bragging to do anyway. The last non-UNC team from the ACC to make the Final Four? Duke…in 2004. The matchups aren’t always the best (see: a ranked Duke team playing an unranked Wisconsin team this year while a ranked Ohio State team played an unranked Florida State team) and these things happen so early in the season, that you’re not really sure which teams are good yet. Besides, if they were really serious about it, they’d have each team play TWO games against teams from the other conference like the Big 12 and Pac-10 do in their annual series.

-- Welcome back, Billy D, it’s good to see you. After Florida won back to back NCAA titles, they missed the tournament for the following two seasons. After the failed Nick Calathes experiment, coach Billy Donovan has the Gators back in the rankings. Led by the Erving Walker/Kenny Boynton backcourt, and getting good play from Alex Tyus and Vernon Macklin down low, Florida is vastly improved over last year’s team. The aforementioned Calathes was a very gifted player, but his selfishness and lack of leadership skills didn’t make Florida a very good basketball team. Now that he’s playing professionally in Greece, the Gators look like a much more relaxed and synergetic team; a testament to Donovan’s coaching and ability to mold his teams into a unit. Donovan has had a lot of success in his career and, as a college basketball fan, I’m frothing at the prospect of he and John Calipari going head-to-head twice a year for the next two decades.

-- Speaking of Calipari, I’m not yet sold on Kentucky. I know, I know, everybody’s gonna call me a hater and give me the height, weight, and 40 time of John Wall, but I don’t care. They’re too enigmatic as a team to definitively say whether or not they’re going to be an elite team. As good as they looked in the first 15 minutes against North Carolina, that’s how bad they looked for the next 15. As good as they looked in the first 5 minutes against Connecticut, that’s how bad they looked for the next 20. Until they establish consistency in their play, they’re going to look good enough to beat Kansas at times and, at others, look bad enough to need overtime to beat a mediocre Stanford team. The Wall/Eric Bledsoe backcourt is quick, talented, and prolific, but not exactly dependable. Patrick Patterson is the only guy who plays big minutes that you know is going to bring it every minute he’s on the floor. DeMarcus Cousins is a question mark, Darnell Dodson is a streaky shooter, and Daniel Orton is a foul waiting to happen. Until Big Blue lets me know that they’re serious about competing for 40 minutes every night (sorry to sound like a coach here, but there are reasons that these things become clichés), I will vacillate between putting them in the Final Four and sending them back to Lexington before the Sweet 16 begins.

-- My favorite teams this year are (in order): Florida State, Indiana State, Indiana, Baylor, Villanova, Charlotte, Seton Hall, and BYU. Florida State, Indiana State, and Indiana have been in that order since I was, roughly, 5 years old. The others are just randomly thrown in for various reasons. Baylor – Scott Drew is my boy. Villanova – I have a man-crush on Jay Wright, and it’s getting kind of serious. Charlotte – I grew up about 5 minutes from the campus and have fond memories of going to Niners games in my formative years. Seton Hall – I’ve always liked head coach Bobby Gonzalez and really want to see him succeed. BYU – It’s legit watching a bunch of white guys play a wide-open style and do so with such success.

~~ Lank

Memphis Is Punished...But Not Really

Let me get this straight. The University of Memphis men's basketball program is punished by the NCAA for violations involving the recruitment of Derrick Rose back in 2007, but essentially, nothing is happening to them. Oh sure, they have to forfeit their 38 wins and NCAA Tournament appearance (including a Final Four) from that season, and they're on some sort of random probation until 2012 that doesn't include scholarship reductions or postseason bans; but I don't quite see how the deters them from doing it again once their 2012 deadline has passed.

Maybe I'm just slow/crooked/conniving. Either way, this seems like a slap on the wrist to me.

Think about it, they used an ineligible player and won the most games in NCAA history. And to show everyone how wrong that was, the NCAA is...well, I'm not sure exactly. Yes, I understand that if they're caught again before 2012 then it's going to be a double boom that drops instead of the normal boom. However, if no transgressions are committed (which, if you're new coach Josh Pastner, you'd have to be an idiot to do), then it's all swept under the rug.

Once again, THEY USED AN INELIGIBLE PLAYER. They cheated. Only they're not getting punished for it.

What should happen then, Lank? I'm not sure. I think John Calipari should be penalized at Kentucky (I heard a good joke from Skip the other day: John Calipari is the only coach to take two teams to a Final Three; for those of you who are slow, Cal also coached the 1996 UMass Minutemen, whose season was nullified by the NCAA for using an ineligible player in Marcus Camby). I think the Memphis program should miss the postseason this coming year. I know that seems unfair since Kentucky had nothing to do with the Rose scandal, and the current Memphis staff wasn't even around when the infraction occurred. I get that, I really do. But what kind of message is it sending when all parties involved are getting off scot free?

I know that the NCAA is the most screwed up organization in the country. Believe me, that's saying something. However, it's discrepancies in judgment like this that drive everyone nuts. USC paid a player to be a Trojan and their program is in shambles now (note: no official NCAA ruling has been handed down to the USC men's basketball program, but there's a reason that everyone jetted. Where there's smoke, there's fire). Memphis also uses an illegal player and they just have to strike a couple wins from their record book.

Whatever. It won't much matter. We still have vivid memories of a Memphis Tigers team that was one of the best of the past decade. Had they not blown their second half lead to Kansas, we'd be talking about a 39-1 national champion that sent three guys to the draft that season. Instead, we're talking about a 38-2 team that was still plenty good and gave us a season to remember.

And also a punishment that will quickly be forgotten.

~~ Lank

Rick, What The...?

Rick Pitino, you have some 'splaining to do.

What, exactly, led to you deciding it would be a good idea to sleep with some lady in a restaurant despite the fact that you're married and have kids? As a matter of fact, the fact that you're married and have kids should probably be italicized, but I feel as if you putting her down in a restaurant better illustrates the absurdity of the situation.

I mean, really, what made you think that was a good idea? Any of it.

Oh, and for those of you out there who think it might be a good idea to cheat on your wife/girlfriend someday, notice what happened to Mr. Pitino. He's been outed, the woman tried to extort him for college tuition and $10 million, and now that he's accused her of extortion, she's responded by accusing him of raping her on a separate occasion.

Read that last paragraph again...ok, just making sure you realize it's never a good idea to cheat. Thank me later.

This story is just crazy. Between all of the lawsuits and accusations flying back and forth, to the report of him paying for her abortion, to the fact that she was later married to the Louisville strength coach and attended Louisville basketball functions with him, this is truly a case where the truth is stranger than fiction. It's like a bad Lifetime movie (I know, that's redundant). Up until this morning, Rick Pitino was my boy. I admired him as a coach, loved the way his teams played, and he seemed like a good guy.

Not anymore.

In addition to being added to Baseball Mom's infamous "Bad List," Pitino will no longer be in my "stable," meaning I won't defend him to the death like I would have earlier. Not that any of that matters to him at this time, considering he's facing much bigger penalties from his employer and potentially Johnny Law; but it goes to show you how quickly things can fall apart for someone. A few short months ago, his team won the Big East regular season and tournament titles, and had the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, he's fighting for his credibility and reputation in an ugly legal proceeding.

Best of luck to you, Coach. I hope the truth comes out and justice is served. Just don't expect me to look at you the same way when it's all over, regardless of the outcome.

~~ Lank

At Least Tim Floyd Won Games

As I documented earlier, the Tim Floyd saga at USC came to an end because he got too desperate to win big, and ended up losing his career in the process. But, as I mentioned, I'm not mad at him because he was essentially on his last chance at coaching and did whatever he thought he needed to in order to win.

If only USC followed suit.

Today, the University of Southern California hired Kevin O'Neill as its new basketball coach. That's a bad hire. I wanted to put it in print so that when they're talking about the underachieving Trojans basketball program in 4 years, you'll remember that you heard it hear first. Mike Garrett, USC's athletics director, talked of bringing discipline to the program and needing someone who could show that he was in control. I get that, but you also might've wanted someone who could win.

Kevin O'Neill is one of those guys who gets a lot of credit for being around basketball, but he's never actually done anything. As the immortal John Wooden said, "never mistake activity for acheivement." He was head coach at Marquette...and they weren't good (86-62 in 5 years, averaging out to 17-12 per season). He was head coach at Tennessee...and they also weren't any good (36-47 in 3 years, averaging out to 12-16 per season). He was head coach at Northwestern...and they weren't any good, either (30-56 in 3 years, averaging out to 10-19 per season). He then bounced around as an NBA assistant before being named head coach of the Toronto Raptors in 2003. After going 33-49, he was canned. After being an assistant again, he showed up at Arizona during Year One of the Lute Olson Weirdness and led the Wildcats to a 19-15 record, the only time in the last 25 years that they haven't won 20 games. The dude had 34 opportunities to win a game, and couldn't do it 20 times. This was two years ago. And he's going to lead USC to the promised land? Yeah, right.

I'm all for coaches getting second chances. Heck, Rick Majerus did nothing at Marquette before heading to Utah and turning them into a consistent NCAA Tournament team, even reaching the Final Four in 1998. Herb Sendek was run off at NC State for "underachieving" (how's that working out for you, Pack fans?) and goes out to Arizona State and leads them to one of the more prosperous years in school history. However, when it's been proven time and time again that a guy just can't get the job done as a head coach, there's no excuse to hire him. None.

Is USC headed for probation? Possibly, but you can't use that as a reason to hire a sub-standard coach. Why? Because you interviewed the perfect candidate a few days before hiring the wrong candidate. Reggie Theus worked wonders at New Mexico State before leaving to become head coach of the Sacramento Kings. He took a 6-24 team to 16-14 (including a 10-6 conference record); and took that team to 25-9 and an NCAA Tournament appearance the following season. (side note: Theus got screwed in Sacramento. He went 38-44 with a terrible roster in 2007-2008 and got off to a poor start in 2008-2009 with an even worse roster and got canned. How does this happen? They should've built a statue in his honor for getting 38 wins out of the '08 Kings.) Theus was born in Inglewood, California, has a ton of high school coaching contacts in the area and really wants to get back into coaching. What's not to like? USC had the opportunity to hire a local guy with a proven winning track record and a hunger to coach again. But instead they opted for an import with a proven losing track record and a complacency to just have a job. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

USC had a nice run under Tim Floyd. They made the NCAA Tournament consistently, sent multiple players to the NBA, and were headed in the right direction. Amidst all of the turmoil that came along with the allegations of Floyd cheating, USC panicked and chose a guy who they know isn't crazy (which you couldn't say about Floyd) and won't bend the rules (which you also couldn't say about Floyd). Just because he's the safe choice doesn't mean he's the right choice. Judging by his resume, Kevin O'Neill will probably go 52-83 in the next four years in Los Angeles, and will once again be looking for a job.

Maybe the next time around, in the spring of 2013, USC will make the right call and hire Reggie Theus...unless a more intelligent athletic department beats them to it.

~~ Lank

I Can't Be Mad at Tim Floyd

Tim Floyd stepped down as USC men's basketball coach late Tuesday night. He was embroiled in a storm of allegations against his program, any of which would have probably put his program on probation. Most of the time, when I hear of a coach cheating, I wonder why they did it; mainly because they have to know they're going to get caught at some point. But when I heard about Floyd, I didn't wonder why he did it, I knew why he did it, so I couldn't really be mad at him for it.

Floyd was desperate. And desperation leads to some bad decisions, something to which many of you can attest.

After a blossoming career at Iowa State, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 1997 and school records galore, he went to the NBA and floundered. His 3+ seasons as head coach of the post-Jordan Chicago Bulls were atrocious. As in 49-190 bad. Further damaging his reputation were disagreements with players and management. Suddenly, Floyd was no longer a wunderkind. Somehow (and I do mean somehow because nobody really knows how he got the job), Floyd was chosen to coach the New Orleans Hornets in 2003. Despite a respectable 41-41 record, and a trip to the 2004 playoffs (where his team took the Heat to seven games in the first round), ownership was not satisfied and turned him loose.

So here's Floyd, the once-upon-a-time prodigy, who has now been fired from his last two jobs, and as all coaches know, if that carousel stops spinning and you're not on it, you may never get another chance to ride. However, after the awkward situation with Rick Majerus (that's a whole different post), USC is in need of a savior. Floyd sees this as the perfect opportunity to resurrect his career. A big city, a rich athletic department, and realistic expectations. What's not to like? Unlike that other school in LA, nobody expects you to go undefeated every season, but you still get most of the perks of coaching in the second-largest market in America. Knowing that this was a great situation in which to find himself after everything that happened in the past, Floyd gambled big in order to win big.

And he lost.

According to various reports, Floyd gave $1,000 to OJ Mayo's "representative" in order to lure the talented youngster to his program. Mayo was a "game-changer" of sorts. Everyone wanted him, and he was the type of kid who, even though he would only stay one year, could bring some banners to your school. Yes, his Trojans went to the Sweet 16 in 2007, but Lodrick Stewart, Gabe Pruitt, and Nick Young were all departing, and he couldn't afford to let the program lose momentum. So he did everything he had to do to get OJ Mayo to his school.

Even if it was illegal.

Looking back on it, it was a silly move. Not only because he paid money to get an amateur player, but because Mayo didn't bring any banners to his school. Mayo had a great freshman year, earning First Team All-Pac-10 honors, but the team lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Then Mayo left to be drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies, and USC was left to fend for itself...saddled with the recently discovered allegations about his recruitment.

Much of the other allegations are similar, including the shady recruitment of Renardo Sidney, a member of the freshman class of 2009, who has some "interesting" connections to a footwear company. USC has since rescinded his scholarship offer, and he has signed with Mississippi State, but the deed remains done. When parlayed with the general unrest within the program (point guard Daniel Hackett, wing DeMar DeRozan, and big man Taj Gibson all have declared for this year's NBA Draft), Floyd knew his time was up. With the NCAA ready to hand down some big sanctions on his program, and a team that will be in shambles next season, there was absolutely nothing down the road that was going to help Floyd rebuild his reputation. So he did what anyone in his "back against the wall" position would do, he stepped down.

And I can't be mad at him.

Floyd knew coming into the USC job that if he didn't live up to expectations, he'd be through. You can only get fired so many times before people stop calling. In order to help his cause, he cheated. Selfish? Yep. Short-sighted? Very much so. Dirty? As all get-out. But there's no confusion on my end, only pity. Tim Floyd will never coach again at a high level, his reputation won't allow for it. Therein lies the irony of the situation; by doing what he thought was the best way to ensure that he could coach for as long as he wanted, he ended up costing himself the opportunity to coach for as long as he wanted. Also ironic is that he never lived up to the success while cheating that he achieved while not cheating. Imagine that.

~~ Lank