Fox Sports Jeff Goodman throws out a few names.. a couple we have heard before.
As I wrote when Tim Floyd resigned, it's highly unlikely Jamie Dixon is leaving Pittsburgh for USC - unless there's a mega deal in the $2.5 million range for about 10 years on the table.
The names I am hearing the strongest are Oregon State's Craig Robinson, Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg and Utah head coach Jim Boylen.
Robinson, the President-in-law, would certainly clean up the image of the program while Greenberg has coached on the west coast (he was at Long Beach State before Virginia Tech and South Florida).
Former NBA coach P.J. Carlesimo has been mentioned as well, but it's hard to imagine him taking the USC job when he passed on a similar opportunity months ago when he was approached by Arizona.
The Los Angeles Times first reported that Carlesimo and former NBA and college coach Reggie Theus are both on USC's radar.
If athletic director Mike Garrett, whose job should be on the line with this hire, wants to go with someone with NBA ties, he should look at Boylen - who coached for years as an assistant in the NBA and has also spent plenty of time in the college ranks under Tom Izzo at Michigan State and also as the head coaches of the Utes.
Will Mike Garret get it right? Let the games begin.