USC Basketball Notes

For obvious reasons we havent really discussed basketball but there were a couple of things that popped up on the radar recently.

USC picked up a verbal commit from Bryce Jones...

According to multiple sources, ESPNU 100 shooting guard Bryce Jones verbally committed to USC on Thursday.

ESPN.com's USC affiliate www.weareusc.com spoke with Taft head coach Derrick Taylor who explained the decision.

"He's not a kid who has to make the pros in order to do anything with his life," Taylor said. "If he makes his money there, that's a bonus. But he understands that the USC alumni base is so big and so powerful all throughout Southern California, which is where he plans on living."

ESPN.com Recruiting Coordinator Joel Francisco comments on Jones' commitment.

"USC received some outstanding news with the commitment of Jones over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, UNLV, and Gonzaga," he said.

"After the promising recruiting class of 2009 crumbled to pieces as a result of Tim Floyd's resignation, the Trojans needed a much-needed talent overhaul-and they got that with the commitment of Jones."

You can see some video of Byrce Jones at USCHoops.com.

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Washington out for the first semester?

I have not seen this mentioned in the local press but I have seen it on a few message boards...It would appear that Washington is ineligible to play for the first semester because of grades. Maybe I missed this being posted elsewhere but I will say the same thing about Washington that I said about Shareece Wright...How hard can it be?? It cant  be that hard hard to maintain a "C" average.

While Kevin O'Neill is behind the 8-ball in trying to put the best face on things, SC is hurt enough with all the mass defections of recruits due to the Tim Floyd mess so losing an important piece like Washington hurts.

Unbelievable...

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The real story on Boatright...

It was noted on Wolf's blog last week that USC was no longer recruiting Ryan Boatright. Boatright was the 13-year old that Tim Floyd recruited three years ago setting off a firestorm of criticism (really?). Of course Wolf's incomplete reporting triggered a post by Yahoo!'s college basketball writer Eamonn Brennan skewering Kevin O'Neill/USC for backing out of the commitment.

hree years ago, a talented young man named Ryan Boatright attended a basketball camp at the University of Southern California. Tim Floyd was that team's coach. Boatright performed well enough at the camp -- which really serve as sanctioned recruiting vehicles anyway -- that Tim Floyd was immediately enamored of him. Floyd offered Boatright a scholarship. Boatright accepted and verbally committed to USC. All was well.

Just kidding. No it wasn't. Because three years ago Ryan Boatright was 13, and it's not really cool to recruit 13-year-olds, let alone offer them scholarships. That's weird and naughty and it makes me feel very uncomfortable, as it should you.

At the time, of course, Floyd brushed it off as being competitive. He told reporters that he wasn't going to sit around and wait for Duke or Kentucky to do the same thing, that he had to get his kids signed when he could. This practice has since been overtly demonized by the National Association of College Basketball Coaches and coaches have largely stopped recruiting sub-freshmen, at least publicly. (Who knows what goes on in private. Let's not think about it right now.)

Lets address a few things here...

1- I would agree with Brennan that NO basketball program should recruit ANYONE who is not at least a freshman in High School...for all the obvious reasons.

2- Eamonn Brennan is as bad as Scott Wolf in his commentary in this piece...

What Brennan failed to mention, though it is provided in the very links within Brennan's piece is that Boatright re-opened his recruitment once Floyd left USC. He made the first move. Recruits change their minds all the time all the way up to signing day essentially screwing the school. That is fine College Basketball is a dirty business but in this case Boatright re-opened his commitment and with O'Neill replacing Floyd, O'Neill  is not bound to Floyd's commitments. He can certainly go in a different direction if he sees fit.

I seem to remember that Ben Howland decided to go in a nother direction a commit recently...I don't see a problem with that. If players can change their minds why can't the school? Maybe the knowledgeable ucla posters here can fill in the blanks for us on that situation.

Brennan also makes it appear that SC is pulling out the rug on a 13-year old when in all reality Boatright is sixteen with plenty of time to go out take official visits and meet with coaches of other programs. I mean it is not like Boatright is graduating from high school tomorrow without any options. 

Finally, Brennan's narrow-minded comments about Boatright's recruitment being "weird" or "naughty" gives me the skeeves...not to mention hearing those pre-pubescent little kids voices on his TV.

Talk about weird...