Just a couple of things I wasn't able to get to this week...
Andy Katz has an interesting piece on why Tim Floyd resigned. Some of this has been seen elsewhere but there is some interesting insight from just what Floyd was thinking and how he felt a lack of enthusiam to coach at USC anymore. What is telling here is Katz's source claims that USC told Floyd couldn't speak about the charges something that we pretty much figured but also that Floyd did want to speak out. I don't think this really a surprise at all. It is a normal reaction that anyone who is accused of wrongdoing wants to fight for their good name.
The source said that Floyd had been told not to speak by USC officials. The source said Floyd wanted to say that the allegations made by former Mayo inner circle member Louis Johnson to Yahoo! Sports were "not true and didn't happen."
The source stated that Floyd said, "'I don't have to do this.' He always said if he's not having fun at it then he won't do it. He has plenty of money. It became a situation where this isn't what he signed up for. It sounds simple but it was the bottom line."
The source said he wasn't sure if there was a negotiated buyout with Floyd. USC spokesperson James Grant said that he couldn't comment on any personnel matters.
"At the end of the day, Tim had had enough," the source said.
Arkansas State coach John Brady, a good friend of Floyd's, told ESPN's Kelly Naqi that Floyd had been thinking about resigning "for a while. This basketball business is something now. There's a lot of opportunities for booby traps. I think Tim is at a point with what he's been through and all the success he's had, I think the SC job, all of the circumstances [culminating with the Yahoo! report that Floyd paid Guillory $1,000], I think got to be too much. He didn't feel enthusiasm anymore because of all the speculation and he chose to walk. I think it was more frustrating than anything else."
A lot of us were perplexed at Floyd's silence but most of us figured that it was school pulling the stings to ensure that silence.
That had to be tough for Floyd...being forced to keep silent while your reputation is being ripped to shreds in the public areana while behind your back the AD is lining you up for a mortar strike.
Of course, Floyd is not blameless here...a lot of the fans frustration can be traced to two things. 1) That he and/or Mike Garrett allowed Guillory to be around the program given Guillory's past, opening up the program to increased scrutiny and 2) some of Floyd's moves both on and off the court, including the appearance of running off layers and his flirtation with Arizona mere hours after telling his players that they needed to stay in school and not jump to the NBA. Floyd burned a lot of fan loyalty with the AZ dance alone. No one could see Marcus Johnson forgoing his final year of eligibilty...especially after the staff worked their butts off to get it for MJ. That's the straw that broke the camels back.
Where it goes from here is anybody's guess but down is the most likely direction.
That brings us to Bob Condotta and his column looking at the situation.
But when the dust settles, you wonder if this might finally be the time USC figures out how to find some longterm happiness in men's basketball. UW hoops fans, I understand fully, have no problem with the Trojans remaining in the relative hinterlands forever --- Floyd's three straight NCAA appearances the last three years were the best sustained run ever for the Trojans, which seems kind of hard to believe for a school of that stature and with its resources. Even then, however, USC seemed just good enough to make the tournament, not necessarily a threat to become a permanent power,
But an objective view is to look at the Floyd resignation and wonder why it is that the Trojans keep pulling face plants when it comes to men's basketball.
I think Condotta makes some good points. USC basketball does seem to have a bit black cloud over it that occasionally parts from time to time allowing USC to get competitive only to see the skies darken and open up with a torrential downpour washing away all of that short lived success.
Floyd did pretty good in his four years here. He went to the Sweet Sixteen in 2007, exited the in the first round in 2008 and made it to the 2nd round in 2009 only to beaten this years by runner-up Michigan State.
Yes, there were some issues outside of the elephant in the room but he did a decent job.
I do think its kind of funny that a respected writer from Seattle is making some of these comments. I think some of them are spot on but its not like UW has done a lot recently. Romar has had similar successes as well with one extra sweet sixteen with a team that should have gone a little bit deper in the tournament than that.
In the end it doesn't really matter...Floyd is gone the program is in shambles and that is before we get the call from the NCAA....