Kevin O'Neill non-committal on next years staff

The team was terrible against zone defense and the staff misused the big men in this. They should of had a high post offense with either Len Washington or Nicola at the High post and Alex or Len at low post. Along with 2 wings and a PG it wouldn’t matter if the PG penetrated or not, ball to high post shoot a 15-17 ft or hit wings or low post.

But typically most freaking coaches don’t use this offense, it is basically Tex Winters Triangle and my coaches ran it in JC. I believe they were friends with Tex and I know they were friends of the Tarkanians.

If the coaches just told the truth? Not that I wouldn’t put it past Garrett. I’m not sold on O’Neil either, not yet at least. Throwing the ball around the perimeter and jacking up last second shot is not a winning offense to me. His teams foul too much also, the fact he is fine with that isn’t a good thing.

They have consistently been ranked as the top assistant coaches in the nation and have done a great job recruiting. Cantu especially. He has been the reason why we have done such a great job recruiting. He is also considered to be a great coach by a couple schools because he has been interviewed for some head coaching jobs but loves usc too much to leave.

I agree with eagle and will readily defend the assistants as one of the best staffs in America. Cantu – maybe the best recruiter in SoCal; Johnson – a defensive genius; Arnold – voted one of the top assistants deserving of a head job. Honestly though, I could see some of these guys leaving willingly for other opportunities. Arnold really is worthy of another gig. Johnson could follow Timmy to his next gig. Cantu is another attractive HC candidate for a lower-tier Cali school.

But, the USC VIPs can’t be pleased that Johnson and Cantu testified in Timmy’s defense. I think you may be on to something there, Para.

I would be absolutely shocked if O’Neill decided to shake up his staff this offseason for a variety of reasons. But most importantly, I think ‘SC wants to keep some continuity in a program that has already gone through so much transition in the past year. The idea that a new staff would be brought in after hiring a new coach just the year before doesn’t seem like it would really help a young group of players that still have much growth left.

But even if O’Neill does decide to mix things up a little, I think it’s imperative that he keeps Cantu on staff. Over that past seasons, Cantu has proven to be one of the best recruits in the entire country. He was instrumental in landing that number one ranked recruiting class back in 2007, and with the recent success ‘SC has had recruiting-wise, you have to figure that he’s playing a significant role in that.

Having a guy on staff who can flat out recruit is so important in college basketball. As we’re seeing across town in Westwood, you can’t miss when in comes to recruiting. In college basketball, where there is much player turnover, you can’t afford to have a bad class or two. You have to bring in players each year that can flat out play. Keeping Cantu gives this a great shot at doing just that.

that Phil Johnson and Bob Cantu are retained. I’m willing to put money on it. Any takers?

He just needs to hire someone to coach the offense, because whoever is doing it is like a box of chocolates.