Roundball Chatter
Each week I'll talk about the sport I love, college basketball:
• Was I shocked or surprised when USC coach Tim Floyd announced his resignation? Absolutely not. With all the rumors swirling over the recruitment of O.J. Mayo, you had to believe Floyd and the athletic department came to an agreement for the coach to step down. USC has other issues as the NCAA also investigates the recruitment of running back Reggie Bush. Athletic Director Mike Garrett and his people have a tough road ahead of them. Believe me, this soap opera is getting bigger by the moment. It will be interesting to see what transpires. Any time you are involved with the one-and-done superstar, a player with an entourage, it will ultimately lead to a dilemma. Something seems to happen along the way. The next USC coach will step into a tough situation, trying to get the Trojans back into the upper echelon of the Pac-10.
• Bruce Weber received some bad news when standout Mike Davis broke his ankle in a voluntary practice session, forcing him to withdraw from the USA Basketball World University Games team trials. Davis had worked hard to prepare for his shot at making the American squad. The good news is he should be back in plenty of time for the upcoming college season. It is a setback since Davis will likely be off the court for two months, time he could have worked on his game to improve. He averaged 11.3 ppg. for the Illini last season and I feel Weber's team will make some noise in the Big Ten this year.
• The return of Scottie Reynolds is a major plus for Villanova and coach Jay Wright. The Wildcats had an outstanding recruiting class coming in (rated among the top five by ESPN.com) and having Reynolds return as a backcourt leader makes 'Nova a top 10 team for sure. Having the likes of Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes, plus Reggie Redding and Antonio Pena returning provides experience and leadership. The newcomers include shooting guard Dominic Cheek, point guard Maalik Wayns, and a pair of power forwards from Montrose Christian -- Isaiah Armwood and Mouphtaou Yarou.
• Coach Trent Johnson had to be happy with the news of Tasmin Mitchell pulling out of the draft to return to LSU for his senior season. Mitchell is expected to move to the more natural position of small forward to take advantage of his perimeter skills. With Marcus Thornton gone, Mitchell should be the main scoring option for Johnson. Mitchell averaged over 16 ppg. last season; he had 41 points and 11 rebounds in a game against Mississippi State last year.
• I want to wish a speedy recovery to BYU coach Dave Rose. He had emergency surgery to remove his spleen after experiencing internal bleeding. The Cougars have had a solid program under Rose, averaging over 24 wins a season during his four years running the show at Provo.
