Written by Dave Dulberg, USC blog contributor
Former USC basketball star DeMar Derozan (pictured below by Getty Images) was the focus of a recent feature story written by Robert MacLeod in Canada's national newspaper, the Globe and Mail, and for good reason.
Through the first two years of his NBA career, the Toronto Raptor has been a model of progress in what has been a slow rebuilding process up north (22-60 record in 2010-2011).
In his rookie year, the Compton, CA native averaged 8.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. During the 2010-2011 season, DeRozan's maturation was quite a sight to see as he doubled his point total to 17.2 points per game (the largest point increase of any player in the league last year), and increased his rebounds (3.8), assists (1.8) and steals (1.0) per game. He was also the only player on the team to start all 82 games.
As MacLeod notes in the piece, despite being just 21 years of age, with the departure of All-Star Chris Bosh last season, Derozan's year-to-year progression makes him the clear-cut choice to become the centerpiece of the Raptors' franchise.
"As a 21-year-old, it should be the best pressure you have," coach Duane Casey told the Globe and Mail, referring to DeRozan's newfound role. "You have to embrace it, and not let it burden you. I think he's doing that."
In DeRozan's one season in a Trojan uniform (13.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game), the former Compton HS star helped lead the team to the school's first ever Pac-10 Conference Tournament championship, en route to a two-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
