University Southern California Trojans
2005-06 USC Men's Basketball Preview
July 08, 2005 | Men's Basketball
July 8, 2005
The Tim Floyd era begins at USC with an unusual mix of optimism and uncertainty for the 2005-06 season as the Trojans return their top three scorers from last year's team, but have to replace six graduated seniors. It will be Troy's final season at the Los Angeles Sports Arena before moving into the new state-of-the-art Galen Center for the 2006-07 season.
Floyd brings a very successful track record at the college level, as well as enthusiasm and the added dimension of having coached in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls and the New Orleans Hornets. Floyd went 35-25 (.583) in two years as the head coach at Idaho, 127-58 (.686) in six years at New Orleans and 81-47 (.633) in four years at Iowa State for a collegiate head coaching record of 243-130 (.651) in 12 seasons.
"This is a great time to be at USC." said Floyd. "There's a lot of excitement going on at the school, both academically and athletically. I see a great commitment toward making the men's basketball program as good as it can be and that's clearly evident with the new facility that is being built."
The Trojans were 12-17 overall and 5-13 in the Pac-10 (10th) during the 2004-05 season, but with a very talented nucleus of four guards returning and an exciting mix of eight new players, Floyd hopes to create the right blend to return the Trojans to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since back-to-back trips in 2001 and 2002.
"We look forward to working with the returning players," said Floyd. "They obviously will have to help us and should be better players given the year of experience they gained. Gabe Pruitt and Nick Young played significant minutes as freshmen and that will certainly help them. Anytime you have good guard play you have a chance to improve."
The top-scoring trio of sophomores Gabe Pruitt (12.3 points) and Nick Young (11.1 points) and junior Lodrick Stewart (12.1 points) will be joined on the team again by senior Dwayne Shackleford (5.2 points), the only other returning scholarship player. The 2004-05 season was the first in school history in which the Trojans' top three scorers were all freshmen and sophomores.
Floyd pounded the recruiting trail to fill out the roster and nabbed a recruiting class tabbed as the 10th best in the country by HoopScoop.
"We are aware where we finished in the conference a year ago, we are also aware we have no returning inside players, and without a doubt we are the most inexperienced team in the league, but we don't want to sell this team short," said Floyd. "The guys we signed we feel can play at this level and they certainly are going to have an opportunity. Our success will be determined by the ability of our newcomers to adjust to playing at the four-year level."
Last season's highlights included USC's win over NCAA tournament-bound Alabama-Birmingham in the semi-finals of the Rainbow Classic and series sweeps of conference foes California and Arizona State. The Trojans led at halftime in four of their losses, including both losses to perennial NCAA power Stanford and the heartbreaking 72-69 loss at the Sports Arena to rival UCLA , which snapped a four-game winning streak against the Bruins.
"We are going to try to be aggressive at both ends of the court, both offensively and defensively," said Floyd. "I always feel like the fans relate with teams that play hard and teams that play smart basketball and hopefully we'll do both of those things."
Leading the way for the Trojans should be All-Pac-10 Freshman first team and co-Trojan team MVP Pruitt. Besides leading the team in points and assists (92), the 6-4 guard connected on 49 percent of his field goals, including 45 percent from three-point range. His phenomenal first season placed him among the top 10 Trojan freshmen in 12 different offensive categories, including first in three-point shooting percentage and three-point field goals made and second in steals (56).
Said Floyd: "The sky is the limit for Gabe. He has prototypical size and skills for a point guard. His experience in tough games as a freshman will help him his sophomore year. He must maximize his ability to shoot by putting himself in more situations to get fouled. There is no reason why he can't be a great defender. I like the fact he had some great games on the road as a freshman."
Young, the other sophomore sensation, joined Pruitt as USC's co-MVP last season and was selected on the Pac-10 All-Freshman honorable mention team. The 6-6 guard/forward was third on the team in scoring, fourth in rebounds (118) and tied for fourth in assists (38). He, too, finished among the all-time USC freshman top 10 in seven different categories.
Said Floyd: "We know Nick can score and we look forward to his improvement in all the other areas of his game, based on the year of experience he has gained. He has demonstrated the ability to shoot and we anticipate putting him in more driving and posting situations as his game expands."
The 6-4 Stewart, the team's second leading scorer in 2004-05, hit 70 of 175 three-point attempts, setting the school sophomore record in three-pointers made and 3-point shooting percentage (.400) and tied the record for three-point attempts.
Said Floyd: "Lodrick showed that he can score last year. We're looking for improvement defensively and want to put him in situations where he can utilize his outstanding athleticism. He is the most experienced player on the team. A lot will be expected of him in terms of how accountable he is to his teammates. We are excited to see how he handles his challenge. He has great talent."
The other returning player expected to make a strong contribution to the team is 5-10 senior guard Shackleford, who led last year's team with a .778 free throw percentage and was fifth on the team with 21 three-point field goals made. He was limited to 16 games played in his first season at USC due to a knee injury.
Said Floyd: "Dwayne played well in the minutes he was given. He shot the ball well and didn't turn it over. He did a nice job of involving his teammates and has been extremely dependable."
While the Trojans have confidence in their outside game, the inside game remains a question mark. "Our concerns entering the season are finding the guy we can throw the ball to inside who will go get us a basket and finding who our drivers are, those who can penetrate to the basket," added Floyd. "Those are two critical areas to have success."
With USC's three tallest players and leading rebounders having graduated, the Trojans will look to their new recruits to supply the bulk of the inside game. Leading the way are freshmen Jeremy Barr, a 6-8 forward from Westbury Christian High School in Houston, Tex. and 6-10 forward RouSean Cromwell from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Barr averaged 19 points and nine rebounds while leading his school to three straight TAPPS state titles, while being named first team All-State and a McDonalds All-American nominee.
Said Floyd: "Jeremy has only played the game for three years. Unlike most freshmen, he won't have to get much stronger. Because of his work ethic and coachability, he has gotten better by tremendous amounts in a short period of time. It is so important when a guy knows how to win and his high school coach Greg Glenn taught him that. He rebounds well, his low-post game is developing and he has shown the ability to make the open face-up shot. He also has good hands."
Cromwell averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds a game in 2005 while earning All-District honors. He has the ability to do a lot of things on the court as evidenced by his season highs of 26 points, 16 rebounds, 12 blocks and eight assists.
Said Floyd: "RouSean is a very active inside player who can help us at three positions. He is committed to improvement and has a tremendous upside because he plays aggressively. He worked diligently a year ago on skill development and strength. He can rebound and will defend. He is a great student who will benefit from the year of instruction and development he received at IMG Academy."
Junior college transfer center Abdoulaye Ndiaye from the College of Southern Idaho should also help out. The 6-11 native of Dakar, Senegal, averaged 9.2 points and 5.9 rebounds as a sophomore last season.
Said Floyd: "We feel like Abdoulaye can affect a game defensively and that is where we are excited. He plays with enthusiasm and athleticism, which is always a great combination. His junior college coaches Gib Arnold and Steve Flint did a tremendous job with the improvement in his overall game the past two seasons. His low-post game keeps getting better. Like the other players we brought in this year, he won at a high level."
Keith Wilkinson, a 6-9 forward from Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, Calif., also will give the Trojans an inside presence.
Said Floyd: "We found out about Keith late and we are glad we did. He shoots the ball about as well as any 6-9 player we saw last spring, and as a result, will have an opportunity to play. He is very unselfish and knows how to play the game. His ability to be able to draw defenses out will create opportunities for others."
The incoming guards for the Trojans are junior college transfer Shaun Davis and freshmen Ryan Francis, Sead Odzic and Collin Robinson.
Davis played with Ndiaye under new Trojan assistant coach Gib Arnold at the College of Southern Idaho last season and averaged nearly 10 points and five assists per game in leading his team to a 33-3 record and a third place finish in the national J.C. tournament. The 5-11 Davis began his college career in 2003-04 at Pepperdine, where he averaged 8.1 points as a freshman starter.
Said Floyd: "I like the idea that Shaun has won at a high level. His junior college team was ranked number one and finished in third place. He will help us with our goal to be able to play two point guards at the same time. Like Ryan Francis, he can defend the dribble and make an open shot. His experience of having played a year of Division I ball at Pepperdine should help."
Francis, a 5-11 guard, averaged 22 points, five assists and three steals as a senior at Glen Oaks High School in Baton Rouge, La., en route to being named the 2005 Louisiana Class 4-A Player of the Year. He led his team to a 36-0 record and the 4-A state title and was named MVP in the title game.
Said Floyd: "I always think the point guards should be measured by the ability to win games. Ryan is a winner as is evident by his 36-0 record and a state championship in his senior year. He knows how to play the game and can play at both speeds. He can play the half court and full court game, which the great ones can do. He showed great range on the jump shot and the ability to break down a defense with his penetration. He is unselfish, yet can score and has shown the ability to defend. He was extremely well coached by Harvey Adger in high school.
Odzic, a 6-3 shooting guard from Niles West High in Skokie, Ill., is a pure shooter and one of the top prospects in Illinois. He was a three-time All-Central-Suburban South League first team selection, averaging 20 points, five rebounds and four assists as a senior. He finished his high school career shooting better than 40 percent from three-point range.
Said Floyd: "Sead's a terrific shooter with unlimited range who will benefit from having to play point guard last year. He played on an AAU team that went 29-1 last summer and played against some of the best talent in the country. He has been compared to Matt Lottich, formerly of Stanford."
Robinson is a 6-0 guard who prepped at Diamond Bar (Calif.) High School and averaged 25.9 points his senior season, hitting 40 percent from behind the arc (103-for-255). He made the 2005 All-CIF Division I-AA Southern Section first team, San Gabriel Valley Tribune All-Area Player of the Year, Los Angeles Times All-San Gabriel Player of the Year and Los Angels Times All-Star team. He scored 802 points as a senior, breaking the school record set by NBA star Keith Van Horne.
Said Floyd: "Collin shoots the ball as well as anybody I saw all last spring. He might be able to help at the point or off guard positions. He is a great student and wanted to come to the Annenberg School of Communications. I like the things his coach Bob Withers emphasized."
Also back for the Trojans for the 2005-06 seasons are walk-on guards Chris Penrose and Daniel Garrett and forwards Greg Gaudino and Reed Doucette. Penrose, a junior, appeared in 11 games and scored eight points. Garrett red-shirted last season as a freshman.
The 6-8 senior Gaudino played in 10 games, where he grabbed five rebounds and scored five points in 20 minutes of action. Doucette, a 6-6 junior, scored six points on 3-for-3 shooting last season.
