The coach is expected to return despite leading the Trojans to the most losses in school history, including a 55-40 season-ending defeat against UCLA in the Pac-12 Tournament.)
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LOS ANGELES ? USC athletic director Pat Haden has said on more than one occasion that basketball coach Kevin O'Neill will be back next season. This despite a program-worst 6-26 record, clinched with Wednesday's 55-40 loss to UCLA in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
O'Neill addressed his future after the game while speaking to a handful of reporters outside USC's locker room at Staples Center.
"I'm assuming I'm back," O'Neill said. "I think we'd be having a meeting right now if I wasn't."
When someone suggested that he check his voice mail just to be sure, O'Neill playfully thumbed through the messages on his cell phone.
"No, I'm back," he said.
All kidding aside, Haden intends to give O'Neill at least one more season after injuries ransacked the Trojans in 2011-12. They lost five of 11 eligible scholarship players to season-ending injuries, including three starters.
O'Neill believes he did "the best job I could" under the circumstances, conceding: "It's hard to say you did a good job when you're 6-26."
Whether USC needs to make the NCAA Tournament next season for O'Neill to keep his job remains to be seen. The Trojans should be contenders. They don't lose anyone, their injured players will come back and two transfers will become eligible. USC also signed top junior-college guard J.T. Terrell.
"That will be the goal, to be in the NCAA Tournament, and I think we'll have a chance," O'Neill said.
STAPLES' FINALE?
The Pac-12 Tournament's agreement with Staples Center expires after this season, and the conference is in the process of exploring alternate locations.
The MGM Grand in Las Vegas is one possibility, although Commissioner Larry Scott said no decisions have been made.
Representatives of the league's schools will meet this weekend to discuss the future of the tournament, and an announcement could be made as soon as next week.
Attendance has been disappointing at Staples Center in recent seasons. The USC-UCLA game, which tipped off shortly before 3 p.m., drew an announced crowd of 5,973.
"Obviously we'd love a full house for every single round, and we'll always work toward that," Scott said. "I definitely think that our student-athletes deserve to play in front of as big a crowds as possible."
Contact the writer: mlev@ocregister.com
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