(A/P)
The University of Southern California moved quickly Saturday morning and filled its head-coaching void with Kevin O'Neill. After interviewing Reggie Theus, as well as sniffing around P.J. Carlesimo, the USC Trojans found its man in O'Neill, who takes over a program that, at the hands of Tim Floyd, has been mired in controversy in recent months.
After rebuilding a lagging Trojans basketball program over the past few years, which included three straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament as well as an impressive run to capture the Pac-10 Championship this past year, the Floyd-led men's basketball team appears to be in ruins. The loss of Tim Floyd is an incredible blow to a school that has long been known for its football accolades rather than its exploits on the hardwood. This loss, coupled with the decisions of Daniel Hackett, DeMar DeRozan, and Taj Gibson to test the professional waters, has left the team in utter shambles.
O'Neill brings a great basketball I.Q. as well as strong recruiting skills to a Trojans team that is in definite need of a facelift after all of the departures from a year ago. Having worked at both the pro and collegiate levels, O'Neill has a tremendous amount of experience handling athletes in all levels of the game, most recently as an assistant coach and special assistant to the General Manager for the Memphis Grizzlies.
As college basketball fans might recall, O'Neill's last stint in the Pac-10 did not go very well. In 2007, Kevin O'Neill assumed an assistant coaching position under the legendary Lute Olson at the University of Arizona. Olson took an “indefinite leave of absence” later that year due to both medical and personal problems, which thrust O'Neill into the position of interim head coach.
O'Neill was later designated the heir apparent to the “Lute Olson Throne” even after Olson announced that he would return for one more season. However, after Lute Olson announced his intentions of returning as head coach for the following season, a disagreement developed between the two coaches and O'Neill was not retained by Arizona the following year.
There were questions regarding O'Neill's attitude and whether or not the players enjoyed playing his style of basketball. O'Neill, without a doubt, is a strict hands-on coach, who has developed a no-nonsense approach to basketball with an emphasis towards defense.
One report said that O’Neill’s style rubbed some of the players the wrong way and created an uncomfortable situation with up-and-coming assistant coach Josh Pastner, who was considered a miracle worker when it came to recruiting. Allegedly, Pastner fell so out of favor with O'Neill and the Arizona regime that Pastner left the following year to take an assistant coaching position at Memphis under John Calipari. Pastner is now the head coach of the Memphis Tigers after Calipari bolted for Kentucky.
Regardless of what occurred with O'Neill the last time around in the Pac-10, his hiring by USC marks a new day in the Trojans men's basketball program. O'Neill brings a coaching style that is somewhat similar to that of cross-town rival Ben Howland, where the emphasis is on strict execution and defensive prowess. Now that Kevin O'Neill has assumed the helm, Southern California and its fans can move forward, away from the Tim Floyd era and into a more fruitful future.
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