Season review: After enduring a ton of injuries and losing a school-record 26 games, the Trojans aim to be back in the NCAA mix next season. Coach Kevin O?Neill?s future could depend on it.
Unless the USC basketball team is under the spell of some voodoo curse, the Trojans will be much better next season. Exactly how much remains to be seen ? and could determine the fate of Coach Kevin O'Neill.
After USC's nightmarish 2011-12 season ended, O'Neill was asked whether he needed to make the NCAA Tournament next season to retain his job.
USC AT A GLANCE
WHO'S LEAVING
Eric Strangis (F)
KEY RETURNEES
James Blasczyk (C)
Dewayne Dedmon (C)
Aaron Fuller (F)
Jio Fontan (G)
Garrett Jackson (F)
Maurice Jones (G)
Alexis Moore (G)
Byron Wesley (F-G)
NEWCOMERS
Strahinja Gavrilovic (F)
Ari Stewart (F)
Brendyn Taylor (G)
J.T. Terrell (G)
Eric Wise (F)
MICHAEL LEV/The Register
"I would think we would have to win," O'Neill said, defining that as at least being "in the mix" for an NCAA bid.
With good health, the Trojans absolutely should be in that mix. They don't lose any scholarship players from this season's 6-26 team; they bring back three injured starters; and they add three transfers who have produced on the Division I level.
"We're going to be way better on defense," said freshman Byron Wesley, one of USC's few bright spots this season. "Offensively, we're going to be in a whole 'nother league. It's looking real good for next year."
But going from last place in the weak Pac-12 to an NCAA Tournament berth won't be as simple as filling out a new starting lineup and rolling the ball onto the court. The Trojans have some healing to do after the worst season in school history.
"When a season finishes far below what you wanted it to, it's hard to live with," O'Neill said. "You can't lose this much and not feel it."
The psychological scars run deep. One of O'Neill's coping methods is to compartmentalize what happened in 2011-12. In his view, the season was an aberration not reflective of the state of the program. There's ample evidence to back that up.
In O'Neill's first season, USC finished 16-14 despite losing three players to the pros and suffering school-imposed sanctions in midseason. In his second season, the Trojans made the NCAA Tournament. In his third season, the Trojans lost five of 11 eligible scholarship players to season-ending injuries.
"I think we do have a winning culture here," O'Neill said. "We had a losing season.
"I'm convinced we have the right guys in place to turn that back around. I've coached too long to panic over circumstances."
Although it often felt that way, this season wasn't a total loss. Wesley averaged almost 35 minutes per game, improved markedly over the course of the season and looks like a player O'Neill can build around. The players who survived the season never quit, displaying resolve and character that will serve them well in the future.
Additionally, the Trojans won't lack for incentive after losing as much as they did.
"This whole year was motivation," Wesley said. "We lost to our rival, UCLA, three times, which just can't happen."
Wesley is sure to be among the returning players seeking to end that streak. If USC brings in three recruits, as projected, some of the current veterans won't be back. Those are issues O'Neill must tackle in the coming weeks and months.
Regardless of the comings and goings, the Trojans will have an entirely new look when they reassemble in full in fall. For the first time in the O'Neill era, USC should have real competition for playing time. After the season he just endured, potential chemistry issues don't concern O'Neill in the least.
"I'll welcome that problem," he said. "I can deal with that problem."
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