Rivals rising star MoMo Jones is a Trojan; but not to be outdone Renardo Sidney put in a stellar effort last night in the Jordan Brand Classic and was named MVP of his team after scoring 15 points, 7 rebs, and 2 assists.

Apparently CTF is not the horrible recruiter and coach his detractors have made him out to be. His latest Floydini act will result in a top 10 recruiting class with three ESPNU 100 prospects plus MoMo who is ranked #68 by Rivals. Not to shabby! CTF’s 2009 Class may end up ranked higher than the Bruins. Has any USC basketball coach done this before?

Wow! I was just digesting the idea that Momo may take a few more trips, and we may be in a fierce battle with UoA for him. This is huge! Now, MoMo is not a savior, but a much more complimentary component to the class than Hill, as we need PGs and are SF heavy. Awesome! For the love of God, please give Timmy some frkn props for landing 4 top 100 recruits in an ESPN-Rivals combo. That is epic.

Also, I love the C-Web analogy. I didn’t think of it, but from what I saw, it is a perfect description. Renardo led at least a few breaks with the dribble and made sweet dishes. A big man who is excellent with the ball. As stated, he just needs to add the skills to enable a more physical, in the paint, presence. But, the kid has mad game.

MoMo is a huge add. Top #10, maybe top #5 class!!!

Floydini exposes fraud mediums! Desmo/Chitdr/Zoulou, it’s time return from the “spirit world” to eat a little crow.

1. Going on a mini-roll towards the end of conference play and kicking ass in the PAC-10 Tournament, taking numbers and rolling on through to become Tournament Champions!

2. Making the NCAA tournament for the 3rd consecutive year. Historically, a USC basketball FIRST!

3. Almost knocking off the mighty MSU Spartans in the NCAA Regionals, who went on to play a stinker in the NCAA championship final.

4. Coach Floyd getting wooed by Memphis AND Arizona, the day AFTER imploring his own draft-eligible players to consider remaining with the team for the duration of their scholarship years. (getting a much-deserved pay-hike when the dust finally settled. . . .now that was just fantastically shrewd of him. you go Toy-Boy-Floyd!)

5. Another player Coach Floyd recruits decides to transfer. And he’s a position player short in supply!

6. 4 underclassmen decide to forgo their remaining scholarship years and declare for the draft. How many will hire agents, thereby prohibiting the ability to come back to Div. 1 basketball should they decide to change their minds about being a pro?

7. Solomon Hill, decides to change his mind, yet- once again, and de-commits to come to Heritage Hall and decides instead to commit to Arizona! (better chance to play quality minutes as a freshman in Tucson? conversely, less depth at his position for us if he had donned the Trojan uniform)

8. Late in the game recruit, Lamont Jones- highly prized HS point guard, commits to Coach Floyd and the USC Trojans. This, after publicly stating that he’d make official visits to a few East Coast teams. That’s just bananas!

9. And lastly, fully-committed recruit- Renardo Sidney STILL HASN’T TAKEN, MUCH LESS PASSED the required SAT. This is quite unfortunate, more importantly- he won’t be able to be considered “an official Trojan” until he completes the test.

QUESTION TIME:
*What, if anything, are the compliance issues regarding his circumstance? *Hypothetically, say he takes the test- but doesn’t obtain the required minimum scoring to be D-1 eligible?
*Are the “minimums” for NCAA compliance and USC academic requirements one and the same? If not, what and why are there disparities?
*What can USC Admissions/Athletic departments do (as far as “bending over backwards”) to allow this young, insanely talented Mr. Sidney to become a Trojan?
*If, it turns out, Renardo Sidney is unable to obtain eligibility or isn’t allowed to be a Trojan because of academic issues- how does that bode for Coach Floyd, as far as being short on quality centers? (pun, intended)
*If Renardo Sidney DOES qualify AND Marcus Johnson is granted another year of eligibility from the NCAA clearinghouse, how does that change/adjust Coach Floyd’s offensive sets? There’s a bit of fan-grumbling regarding Coach’s “slow-play” style and tempo. Conceivably, will the fact that MoMo, Lewis, Johnson, Washington, and Sidney will be starters on the same-floor playing, is there a possibility of Coach implementing a “Showtime Light” playbook?

What’s so weird for me right now is the realization that WE’RE ALL STILL TALKING ABOUT TROJAN BASKETBALL! BASKETBALL I SAY!

Of all people, a Bruin man’s words encapsulate my emotions surrounding all this, “This is the strangest life I’ve ever known”.

Temper expectation about Momo. He is a fine player and a good pickup, but he’s a bit raw. With your point guard situation he probably will have to play major minutes next year, but he’s not really ready to. He’s more of a down the line guy who can really make an impact in a couple years IMO.

Excellent commentary as usual from DFW. I would expect that CTF would hold on to a scholie just in case Taj needs to return.

The forgotten man seems to be Harvard-Westlake’s own Alex Stepheson, who is was ranked as the #41 on Rivals back in 2005; he is smart, talented and motivated. Stepheson will be able to contribute immediately.

After unloading all that deadwood, the bench looks to be significantly longer. If El Sid qualifies this team should end up in the top 3 or 4 of the Pac-10; with Taj they can win it.

Loco, I’ve been really impressed with the 1.1 upgrade. And, of course, 1.0 was an excellent product. No bugs, robust functionality, good value. Are there plans for a 2.0 release?