How the success of the USC basketball team
benefits the football team.
For
the first time since 2008, USC entered the Associated Press Top 25 basketball
poll this week, and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Trojans.
Never
mind that Coach Andy Enfield is in the third year of his contract and has a lot
riding on this season's results. Or that in the previous two seasons, the
Trojans had only won five games in the Pacific-12 Conference.
The
Trojans' 15-3 record is an antidote to the football team's recent struggles.
After losing to Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl just three weeks ago, USC had
their second-worst football season since 2001.
Since
then, Head Coach Clay Helton has put together a coaching staff that includes
defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, special teams coach John Baxter, and
running backs coach Tommie Robinson, all of whom were assistants under Lane
Kiffin.
That
could be good for the future, but it didn't generate the kind of excitement
that would be generated if Ed Orgeron or Norm Chow were to return to USC.
Recruiting
has also been fairly quiet with USC’s 14 commitments currently ranked No. 20
nationally by Rivals.com. The class should rise in the next couple weeks but
hardly looks like the No. 1-ranked group put together last season.
With
this in mind, a four-overtime win over Arizona and a win over UCLA at Pauley
Pavilion may give respite for athletic director Pat Haden and re-energize
students for the next two months.
Enfield
stated, "It's difficult to come into Pauley and win." “However, we
won't feel like we've accomplished anything when we get home. There's a lot of
basketball for us to play.”
Getting
others to notice you could be a difficulty now. Although
the basketball team's accomplishments are amazing in and of itself, the truth
remains that USC supporters are significantly more engaged in football.
Whatever basketball achieves will be eclipsed by USC fans' enthusiasm for
football recruitment and Signing Day next month.
With
the brilliant play of USC freshman Chimezie Metu and Bennie Boatwright, that
could change. Metu scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds in just 28
minutes against UCLA, making eight of ten shots.
Metu
is a freak athlete, according to USC guard Jordan McLaughlin. “With him, there
is no ceiling.”Boatwright has started every game this season, averaging 11.8
points and 5.1 rebounds. For a team with a lot of guards and a lot of
inconsistency in the frontcourt, they were lacking components.
But
will they be able to attract more fans at the Galen Center? Only 6,854 people
attended the USC-Arizona game, with many of them being Wildcats fans. The easy
answer is that USC students were on break on that particular day, yet there were
plenty of them at the game. The casual
fan was noticeably absent, resulting in a crowd that was far from appropriate
of a USC team that entered the game with a 13-3 record. When USC hosts
Washington State and Washington next week, that may change. However, no one
should be surprised if the crowds do not dramatically grow.It would be
deceptive to call this the Trojans' "miracle season." Tim Floyd,
USC's former coach, led the Trojans to the Sweet 16 in 2007, two Pac-10
Tournament championship games, and the Pac-10 Tournament title in 2009.If
Enfield is to be credited with anything, it is for finally getting USC back on
track after former athletic director Mike Garrett's terrible judgments. When Garrett seemed to discontinue his
relationship with Floyd, USC was under investigation by the NCAA for possible
wrongdoing involving star player O.J. Mayo. Floyd recalled a famous anecdote
about Garrett contacting him during his daughter's wedding and insisting that
he return to USC right away. Floyd turned down the offer.
They
scarcely interacted in the months leading up to Floyd's resignation in 2009,
citing a lack of interest for the position. Derrick Williams and Lamont Jones,
two of the best recruits in the country, were controversially released from
their letters of commitment and headed to Arizona. Garrett then decided to impose self-imposed
sanctions, preventing the basketball team from competing in the NCAA Tournament
in 2010. At the time of the announcement, the basketball team was in a tight
race for first place and never recovered from the shock of the penalty. Worse,
many people thought Garrett gave up basketball to the NCAA in order to save
football from huge penalties. Obviously, this was not the case.
However,
it appears that the Trojans will return to the NCAA Tournament this year, free
of those decisions for the first time.
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