USC Coach Takes on a Remodel

What several USC men’s basketball players had long suspected was confirmed in March when the seniors did not show up for the team’s postseason banquet.

“That shows you right there that our team gave up,” said junior guard Lodrick Stewart, who was among the handful of attendees. “We weren’t a team. Everybody was doing their own stuff.”

Victories may be in short supply for a reconfigured team that first-year Coach Tim Floyd has likened to “a lot of mid-major teams” still trying to find their way. But USC has 10 newcomers and nowhere to go but up after a season in which it was last in the Pacific 10 Conference and did not qualify for the conference tournament for the first time.

“We’re really hopeful,” said Floyd, whose team opens today at 2 p.m. at the Sports Arena against Cal State Northridge. “We’re literally not going into a game -- I don’t care who we’re playing -- thinking we’re going to get beat.”

Floyd has won early at each of his college coaching stops, posting a winning record in his first seasons at Idaho, New Orleans and Iowa State. He took his first New Orleans team to the National Invitational Tournament and his first Iowa State squad to the NCAA tournament.

The challenge at USC appears daunting. The Trojans have a combined five years of Division I experience spread among four players, none on the front line.

Guards Stewart, Gabriel Pruitt and Nick Young -- the team’s top scorers -- are back along with guard Dwayne Shackleford, and Floyd is hoping they’ve grown from last season’s shoot-first, wonder-why-we-lost-later group that failed to grasp basic concepts such as defense and rebounding.

“I think we’ve been worried about where the next shot is coming from instead of giving themselves up for teammates and screening and cutting and defending and helping and taking care of the ball,” Floyd said. “We’re a very casual basketball team. That’s what we’re trying to upgrade.”

To illustrate the difference between where his team is and where he wants it to be, Floyd recently showed the Trojans a tape of his 1996-97 Iowa State team playing on the road against Iowa. Those Cyclones, “a team that wasn’t unlike this team,” Floyd said, featured five new starters and yet stuck it to the Hawkeyes during a crisply played game.

“The first eight minutes the other team didn’t get the ball in the paint at all,” said Stewart, his eyes wide. “I was like, ‘Dang.’ The other team didn’t score in the first 4 1/2 minutes, and I’d never seen that, ever.”

Working the ball inside probably won’t be a priority for the Trojans, who will utilize a four-guard lineup out of necessity. Floyd has labeled big men Abdoulaye N’diaye, Jeremy Barr and RouSean Cromwell “prospects” who will focus on defense and rebounding until they can sharpen their fledgling post moves.

“The coaches are teaching us everything we need to know,” said N’diaye, a 6-feet-11 junior transfer from the College of Southern Idaho. “If we do it, we’re going to win a lot of games this year.”

Since taking over in April, Floyd has asked for accountability from Pruitt, Stewart and Young. He wants them to serve as role models for the newcomers by carrying out such unglamorous tasks as boxing out and getting to the free-throw line.

“Right now, they’re no different than our new guys in that everything’s new for them and they’re thinking instead of playing because they’ve had so much thrust at them in a short period of time,” Floyd said. “[Their improvement] is critical to our team; it’s really everything.”

Pruitt, the 6-4 sophomore who averaged a team-leading 12.3 points last season, said he liked that Floyd had spelled out roles.

Pruitt will play on the wing when he’s not sharing ball-handling duties with freshman Ryan Francis. Stewart’s mandate will be to heighten his defensive intensity and draw fouls instead of merely hoisting three-pointers. At 6-6, Young must help carry the rebounding load and defend down low against taller opponents.

Pruitt can already sense Floyd’s changes taking hold. “The excitement is here,” he said. “Last year I don’t think we had the excitement. Guys were kind of just playing because they had to, because they were here. It seems like this year guys are more excited to play and just happy to be here playing basketball.”

The 100th season of USC basketball doesn’t appear as if it will be among the more successful ones, but the players are optimistic.

“I know we’re going to surprise people,” said Stewart, adding that he believed the team could finish first or second in the conference. “I always set high goals for myself, even if everyone else thinks they’re impossible.

“I’m never going to give up. I will fight to the last day I’m here, my senior year, so at least people know I went hard and tried.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

USC at a glance

* Last season: 12-17 overall, 5-13 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

* Finish: It was the first time the Trojans finished last in the conference since 1995. Interim Coach Jim Saia played freshman guards Gabe Pruitt and Nick Young ahead of seniors, a move that should pay dividends this season. Pruitt was selected to the Pac-10 all-freshman first team.

* Coach: Tim Floyd, first season.

* Who’s gone: Jeff McMillan, Rory O’Neil, Gregg Guenther, Errick Craven, Nick Curtis, Derrick Craven, Emanuel Willis, Andrew Moore, Ed Chang.

* Projected starters: If Floyd opts for the four-guard lineup he used during exhibition victories over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State San Bernardino: Guards Pruitt (12.3 points, 3.2 assists, 1.9 steals), Lodrick Stewart (12.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists), Young (11.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists) and Ryan Francis (22.0 points, 5.0 assists, 3.0 steals as a high school senior); center Abdoulaye N’diaye (9.2 points, 5.9 rebounds as a sophomore at the College of Southern Idaho). Forward Jeremy Barr (19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds as a high school senior) could supplant Francis if the Trojans go with a more conventional lineup.

* Keys to season: Picked by the media to finish eighth in the conference, USC could exceed expectations if it finds a big man capable of scoring consistently. None of the leading contenders -- N’diaye, Barr and RouSean Cromwell -- has Division I experience, though N’diaye played two seasons at the College of Southern Idaho and has a few decent low-post moves. Rebounding is another concern. The Trojans were outrebounded in an exhibition by Division II opponent Cal State Dominguez Hills, 37-28, with their post players combining for eight rebounds in 52 minutes.

* Outlook: If the Trojans are to finish .500 or better, they will need victories against a relatively nondescript slate of nonconference opponents before embarking on the conference schedule. Floyd is trying to coax more out of Young and Stewart, who to this point in their college careers have been one-dimensional scorers. If the guards are willing to ratchet up their rebounding and defense, the Trojans might have one of the better backcourts in the conference. Floyd will also need several of the team’s 10 newcomers to make an impact if USC’s 47-year run at the Sports Arena is to end on a high note. The Trojans move into the new on-campus Galen Center next season.

-- BEN BOLCH

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

USC roster

* Nick Young (guard/forward) -- No. 1, 6-6, 195, So.: Precocious scorer capable of creating his own shot. He’ll need to improve his defense and rebounding to become the complete player Coach Tim Floyd envisions.

* Lodrick Stewart (guard) -- No. 3, 6-4, 210, Jr.: Best pure shooter on the team must develop all-around game by sustaining effort on defense and looking to drive to the basket more.

* Chris Penrose (guard) -- No. 10, 6-0, 165, Jr.: Walk-on is an inspirational leader and a candidate to receive team’s remaining scholarship this season.

* Adam Goldston (guard) -- No. 11, 5-10, 185, Fr.: He and his brother, Ryan, become the third set of twins to play for USC in the last three seasons, joining Derrick and Errick Craven (2002 to ‘05) and Lodrick and Rodrick Stewart (2003 to ‘04).

* Ryan Francis (guard) -- No. 12, 5-11, 180, Fr.: He has impressed with his ball-handling skills and poise in two exhibitions and will help direct Floyd’s two-point-guard system.

* Ryan Goldston (guard) -- No. 13, 5-10, 165, Fr.: Walk-on who displayed a nice outside touch at Van Nuys Montclair Prep probably won’t play much except in blowouts.

* Dwayne Shackleford (guard) -- No. 15, 5-10, 185, Sr.: Sound after playing in only 16 games last season because of knee injuries, he will assist with the ball-handling duties and try to be a defensive sparkplug. Shot only 27.3% last season.

* Abdoulaye N’diaye (center) -- No. 21, 6-11, 230, Jr.: Only true center on team has been playing basketball for fewer than four years, the last two at the College of Southern Idaho. He’s an intimidating defensive presence but is raw on offense.

* Keith Wilkinson (forward) -- No. 23, 6-9, 215, Fr.: Newcomer has been promised a scholarship for only one year and must impress to avoid being stuck with $42,018 tab for tuition, room and board in 2006-07.

* Sead Odzic (guard) -- No. 25, 6-3, 180, Fr.: Originally recruited by former coach Henry Bibby, he decided to stick with his commitment and will be one of team’s top three-point shooters.

* Collin Robinson (guard) -- No. 30, 6-0, 170, Fr.: Like Wilkinson, Robinson has been promised a scholarship for only one year.

* Gabe Pruitt (guard) -- No. 34, 6-4, 170, So.: The team leader, he will be responsible for distributing the ball and handling a large share of the scoring.

* Greg Gaudino (forward) -- No. 40, 6-6, 195, Sr.: Former walk-on was awarded a scholarship for the first time and could receive playing time on a thin front line.

* Jeremy Barr (forward) -- No. 41, 6-8, 265, Fr.: Wide-bodied big man displayed a soft shooting touch in two exhibitions but must work to become a bigger rebounding force.

* RouSean Cromwell (forward) -- No. 42, 6-10, 215, Fr.: Seems raw, but has exhibited tremendous effort and will have plenty of opportunity to improve.

* Reed Doucette (forward) -- No. 44, 6-6, 215, Jr.: A walk-on who helps fill out the practice squad, he could find himself in the thick of things if the other interior players are in foul trouble.

-- BEN BOLCH