Basketball season looming

I know it's tough to think about basketball season when our football team is tearing it up on the gridiron and in the hunt for a national championship. However, it's difficult for me not to get excited about this years basketball season and the team that Tourney Tim has assembled.

For most teams its impossible to replace a player like O.J. Mayo, who was drafted 3rd overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Fortunatly for Trojan Fans, Coach Floyd is like "most" coaches. Floyd has brought in the most talented high school basketball player in the country, 6'7" small forward Demar Derozan. Derozan will easily replace the scoring lost with Mayo's departure and the rebounding lost with Davon Jefferson's departure. He will also ensure that USC appears nightly on ESPN's Top Plays with his thunderous dunks. In addition to Derozan the Trojans will also have the luxury of having a deep bench, something that Floyd has not had the past two seasons.

The Trojans also return junior point guard Daniel Hackett. This will be Hackett's second year as a starter and I expect big things from him. Last season Hackett didn't not play up to his full potential. During the season I speculated that Hackett was struggling because of the dynamic between him and Mayo. They never seemed to play well together and far too often Hackett would defer to Mayo and not look for his own shot. We saw great things from Hackett his freshman year in the NCAA tournament and again at the beginning of last season when he posted a triple double in his first game of the season. Hopefully Hackett will get back on track this year and lead the Trojans to the top of the Pac-10.

Sports Illustrated recently posted a Q&A with writer Luke Winn and Daniel Hacket. Click here to check it out.

Also, check out the latest YouTube video of Daniel Hackett.

Fight On!


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