Last year, the postseason was one to remember for the USC men’s basketball team.
Entering last season’s Pacific Life Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament as the No. 6 seed, the Trojans were faced with the real possibility that if they wanted a berth in the NCAA tournament, they would have to win the conference tournament.
Three wins later, including a win over UCLA and a come-from-behind victory over Arizona State in the title game, the Trojans won their first Pac-10 tournament title, becoming the lowest-seeded team to win the tournament. Just like that, a once seemingly precarious berth was achieved.
This year, the USC men’s basketball team will not have a chance for a postseason as memorable.
Stemming from allegations that former USC standout O.J. Mayo received improper benefits while attending school, USC has self-imposed sanctions on the men’s basketball program that ban the team from participating in the Pac-10 tournament and the NCAA tournament.
The terms of the sanction also state that the men’s basketball program vacate all the wins from the 2007-2008 season when Mayo was on the team, return money to the NCAA it received from the Pac-10 for participating in the NCAA tournament, and lose one scholarship this season and next. USC coaches will also face limitations in recruiting.
“When we’ve done something wrong, we have an obligation to do something about it, and that is exactly what we are doing here,” USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett said in a statement.
Following the self-imposed sanctions, Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott issued a statement as well, commending the school for taking such action.
“USC’s decision to self-impose aggressive penalties on itself is clear recognition of how seriously the University takes this matter and the sincere commitment of the Athletic Department, University leadership and new Coach Kevin O’Neill to correct mistakes that were made in the past and to set the program on a track to maintain the highest standards expected of every institution in the Pac-10 and the NCAA,” Scott said in the statement.
In just his first season with USC, O’Neill is forced to inherit a situation that he had nothing to do with. Yet O’Neill insists that he was aware of possible action that could be taken against the program when he took the job, and emphasizes that his mentality has not changed.
“When I took this job, I knew there were going to be some ramifications from the investigation,” O’Neill told the Los Angeles Times. “I’m taking the same approach when I took the job. No matter what the penalties, we’re just going to move forward as a team.”
At UCLA’s weekly press conference on Tuesday, the Bruin players were asked how difficult it would be to play in which the postseason was not a possibility.
Suffice it to say, each player viewed it as an unenviable scenario.
“That would be very tough to do, to stay motivated when there’s no real chance of a postseason,” freshman forward Reeves Nelson said. “It just comes down to playing for pride I guess.”
One player who is particularly thankful for not being in the current situation the USC players find themselves in is freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt. A Los Angeles-area native, Honeycutt was recruited by USC as well as UCLA, and almost committed to being a Trojan.
“I’m kind of glad I didn’t because that’s kind of hard going the whole season and you don’t have anything to really play for but just pride pretty much,” Honeycutt said.
UCLA coach Ben Howland expressed his belief that, despite no longer having the opportunity to play in the postseason, the USC players will still find the motivation to finish the season strongly, and that he expects their best game when the two rivals meet on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.
“I think initially I’m sure it was very much a disappointment for both the players and the coaches to know that they’re no longer going to be playing past the regular season,” Howland said. “I’m sure those kids want to get the most out of this season.”
Howland added that for the USC seniors on the team ““ guard Dwight Lewis, guard Mike Gerrity and forward Marcus Johnson ““ the focus is on finishing a college career that is rapidly coming to an end.
“Bottom line is for USC, they got 14 games left in their season,” Howland said. “For Lewis and for Johnson and for Gerrity, that’s 14 games in your college career, so they’re going to want to get the most out of it. That’s kind of where our seniors are too. The end is not that far away, so let’s get the most out of what we have left in this season.”
UCLA guard Michael Roll, a senior as well, expressed how grateful he is to have the opportunity to play in the postseason in his final year at UCLA.
“Obviously I’m very happy that we’re not part of that,” Roll said. “That’s tough. Just playing for no real light at the end of the tunnel type thing. You love the game of basketball so they’re just playing for that, but that sucks.”