The USC Emergency
Words. Jason Jordan
Trojan Basketball signees are jumping ship following Tim Floyd’s resignation
Derrick Williams knows the question is coming, but it doesn’t make him any more prepared to answer it.
When asked whether he’s still planning on suiting up for Southern Cal next season, in lieu of head coach Tim Floyd’s resignation on Tuesday, Williams sighed deeply. When he tried to find the words, he was reduced to a stutter.
“I… Man… I… I… Aww man, I don’t know,” Williams, a 6-7 forward from La Mirada High (Calif.) told HighSchoolHoop last night. “I’m just shocked right now. You know what’s funny? A reporter called me and that’s how I found out. He (Floyd) was the main reason I signed with USC. Now that he’s gone it won’t be the same. I’m not going to stay there.”
Williams called USC athletic director Mike Garrett Tuesday afternoon to ask for his release but didn’t get an answer.
“I guess they didn’t want to pick up the phone,” says Williams. “But they’re gonna have to pick up soon. I graduate next Tuesday and I’ve got to find somewhere to go. I’ll probably look at the ACC, Big East and the Pac 10. I just have to find a better situation.”
Williams isn’t alone. The prize of the 2009 class, Oak Hill Academy’s (Va.) Lamont Jones, has already decided to look elsewhere … again. This marks the fourth time Jones, a 6-foot combo guard who was supposed to add major firepower to the Trojans’ offense next season, has backed out of a commitment – twice with Louisville, once with Virginia Tech and now with USC.
“If he’s not coming,” Williams says of Jones. “I’m definitely not coming.”
A similar situation happened with Solomon Hill, a 6-6 forward from Fairfax High (Calif.), who de-committed from Arizona then committed to USC only to de-commit from USC to again commit to Arizona in April.
The word was that Hill’s camp wasn’t comfortable with all of the rumors swirling around about the Trojans program. Same with Noel Johnson, a 6-5 shooting guard from Fayette County High (Ga.).
“Anytime you have a kid that is starting his freshman year you want him to go into a calmer setting, rather than having a cloud over your head,” Johnson’s father Lynbert told Scout.com last month. “That (USC) was his number one choice because he liked the school, Coach Floyd and Coach (Bob) Cantu, but facts remain that you can’t move that cloud.”
Evan Smith, a 6-6 forward from Calabasas High (Calif.), the last piece of USC’s three-man 2009 class, is reportedly still solid on his commitment to the Trojans, but frankly Smith doesn’t have the options Jones and Williams have.
Rising senior point guard Gary Franklin, of Mater Dei High (Calif.), said that he’s also “leaning toward backing out.”
“I have to talk to my dad about it when he gets back into town,” says Franklin. “To be honest, I was seriously thinking about de-committing before coach Floyd resigned. It’s just all of the negative stuff surrounding the program right now. I don’t know if I want to be a part of that. If I did de-commit, I would still consider USC based on who they bring in to replace coach Floyd.”
The Trojans other 2010 commit, Dwayne Polee, a 6-6 forward from Westchester Senior High (Calif.), is solid for now. “He’s gonna wait until the new coach gets there and see what happens,” Franklin says of Polee.
The wait and see approach is one that Williams wished he’d taken.
“The warning signs were always there in hindsight,” says Williams. “Just the whole situation with O.J. (Mayo) has been going on for a while. Then, when I think about it, when I was ready to commit they were telling me to hold off for a while. That was a little weird to me. I would tell anyone going through this process to definitely take their time and see things for what they are.”
Photo. USC/AP
Great stuff!
Floyd’s definitely dirty so I don’t feel bad for him.
[...] After USC basketball signees were jumping ship following Tim Floyd’s resignation, it appears they’ve rebounded well. While some people thought that senior Maurice Jones from Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Michigan was only a mid-major D-1 prospect, the 5-7 point guard just verbally committed to play for the Trojans after a weekend visit. “Everything fell into place,” said Arthur Hill basketball coach Greg McMath. “He wanted a place with strong academics, and so did his mom (Jill Jones). [...]