Pathetic

by Paragon SC on Dec 9, 2007 8:17 AM PST in USC Basketball Comment 3 comments

I am disappointed we lost last night but not as much as I am with the fans for their lack of support last night.

One fan couldn't take it any more. With 4:48 left in the game, he let loose with a loud "Booo!"

Apparently, he wasn't getting his $5 worth from USC's exhibition game against NAIA school Fresno Pacific on Saturday.

The Sunbirds got plenty of value from their bus ride south by playing against a corps of seven Division I reserves, and they scored a 65-44 win over the Trojans in front of 3,895 at Galen Center.

It was clear that all USC coach Tim Floyd wanted to play was this particular group of substitutes that included 7-foot center Mamadou Diarra, who made his USC debut, and guard Marcus Simmons, who had played a total of 11 minutes this season.

I have admitted time and again that I am not a real expert when it comes to hoops. I actually played a lot of playground ball in high school but I have never been drawn to the sport like I am College Football or Sailing. That being said I know just enough to get me into trouble.

What I do know is that USC fans in general have a lot to learn. The building of the basketball program is going to take some time. The reserves NEED that time on the floor to sharpen their game, if one of the starters gets injured who will take their place? I have never been a fan of booing college athletes, this isn't the pros where the players make millions and have little to no contact with the public. These kids are a part of the campus and literally live among their fans and classmates.

Booing a fledgling team at this point in the season is pointless and selfish. We are damn lucky to have coach Floyd working his butt off to make us respectable after so many years of not even being an afterthought in college hoops. This isn't like the football team where they have a history of winning and where the expectations are high. I can understand booing during the rough patches they went through this year though I don't agree with it. The basketball program is a work in progress.

Last night Coach Tim Floyd decided to sit the starters and let the reserves get some court time. We also got the chance to see Diarra and Simmons finally get onto the court and show us what they've got, or more appropriately what we hope they've got. It wasn't pretty, as SC was rolled last night by little ole Fresno Pacific and their excellent forward Adrian Sanchez. They came to play and they made the most of it.

Running a crisp offense, the Sunbirds of the Golden State Athletic Conference took the lead for good less than four minutes into the game on a 3-pointer by 6-foot-5 forward Adrian Sanchez, who went on to torch the Trojans for 26 points on 10-for-12 shooting. He made 6 of 7 shots from beyond the 3-point line.

"This Sanchez kid is a kid who can play in the Pac-10," Floyd said. "He's a nice player and he did a great job."

As much as I dislike ucla and hope they lose every game, they are, for the most part, behind their team 100%. Even during the Lavin years the fans supported the players but reviled the coach. The bruin den is always filled with rowdy fans who always look to pump their team up. I could care less about tradition but the history ucla has in hoops provides them a bit of folk lore, like we have in football, and it is the catalyst that fires their fan base up. USC is not there yet and we don't help ourselves by acting the way we did last night. I was disappointed to hear the booing on the radio, USC fans need to be patient.

This is a young team that is coming together after losing their three top scorers from last year. We are lucky to have Mayo and Jefferson but they won't be here long and the reserves will need all of our support if this team is going to prosper. Once the reserves settle in and get comfortable being a part of the rotation things will be better and once this team comes together and string some wins together with everyone participating that will make us even more attractive to new recruits. It may be the fans right to boo the team but we look like asses doing so because this is a new team. So lets lighten up on the criticism and support the team unselfishly.

Something to think about...

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