This is exactly what I heard from a friend at Galen last night -

“I look at this as Kevin’s second year,” Haden said. "The first year, he inherited a mess."

Sorry when you get a job the first year counts too…. whether good or bad. I would feel differently, if there were something on the court to hang ones hat on….but I see nada.

How many guys can drink a 5th and still yell, cuss, scream things that don’t make any sense on the sideline during the game, I heard he even broke Bobby Knights record chair throw by 4 ft. He will soon bring a pethera of ncaa championships to USC in the new division—Mad Man across the sideline division.

and the loss of Fontan before the season really hurt, but what makes Painter think that O’Neill has the ability, based on his track record, to turn USC into a perennial NCAA tournament team? Everyone has explanations for why things go wrong, but this guy has coached college basketball for 14 seasons and has had only two 20-win seasons during that time, with those seasons coming in ‘93 and ’94. His best years are now ancient history to any kid he’s recruiting. I would expect USC to be better next year-how could it not be-but O’Neill is not going to transform USC basketball into a contender. It puzzles me to see USC settling for this caliber of coach given the investment in the facilities and the quality of the athletic program as a whole. I would think that you guys would want to see a top-tier coach come in with a proven track record of sustained success, and I can’t believe that Haden doesn’t see that O’Neill isn’t that guy. Then again, if Norv Turner can be retained at San Diego, even the obvious can be ignored.

He is better off being who he is, than tying to be someone who he’s not. By nature, Haden is loyal and patient. While this is often aggrevating to fans, I think there is some merit to this approach. By supporting O’Neil, Haden is defining his aproach to the basketball program in a way that is unpopular with many fans, but which will be popular with future coaching candidates.

The key to elevating USC basketball is not when O’Neil is fired, but rather hiring the right guy when he is ultimately replaced. Although Haden didn’t hire O’Neil, he is being fair to O’Neil as he sees fit. It sends a power message, and a much better message than if it outside observers felt that O’Neil was treated unfairly…not given a chance. Given the way Tim Floyd left, O’Neil’s tenure wil be scrutinized by his prospective replacements. Haden needs to show that he is not Garrett, at least with regard to BB.

Let’s face it. USC BB is a tradition nonpower, located in a major media market, where expectations are sky high and patience is short…not that much different than UCLA FB. When it became necessary to replace Weasel, there was zero interest among all the proven entitities and rising stars. UCLA was viewed as a “coach killer”. In the end, they had to settle on an NFL washout just to end the embarrassment. Bottom line: USC BB job without the comlete support of the AD is little better UCLA football job without the complete support of administration.

But Haden has a chance to change that, and he will go about it his own way. It is critical that he hire an elite-quality coach to reinvigorate the fan base and attract recuits. USC has top rate facitilities, and wil be able to pay top salary. The job will be much more appealing if the incoming coach knows that he has Haden’s full support and that he wil be given time to implement his system.

Few would question Haden’s integrity, but many would say that his judgment and nerve have yet to be establish. This issue of Haden supporting O’Neil is much more about Haden than it is O’Neil…which is why ripping on O’Neil during this dreadful season misses the point. As far as O’Neil, there is always the posibility that he will do something assinine to get fired. That aside, he’ll return. This may (or may not) be better for USC’s credibility in the long run, but it’s the way that Haden operates.