Coach Howland and SUC's headcoach Floyd are on the Eastern Sports Programming Network's college basketball homepage. Katz is trying his darnest to generate a "rivalry" between UCLA and South Central's basketball program:
The Pac-10 needs USC to be a player in hoops, at least within the conference.
We're not proposing that the Trojans need to be a national contender, but they ought to be an upper-tier Pac-10 team on a regular basis.
If new head coach Tim Floyd can bring the Trojans up toward that level at the same time UCLA is back as an NCAA team, there is a chance Los Angeles could have the competitive rivalry the league desperately desires.
We know this isn't and won't be Duke-North Carolina. But if basketball in L.A. is hot at the college level, the conference will benefit greatly.
Uhmm, no Andy. We don't need a good basketball program at South Central for Pac-10 to get some national attention. Pac-10 has been a little down last few years for one major reason - Steve Lavin, who single handedly destroyed the Yankees of college basketball. Now that we have Ben Howland in place, who is methodically building our program back up to a level where UCLA should be, there is really no urgency in Bruinsnation for SUC to have a good basketball program. And whatever - we neve needed them to get our due in the national press. We did it on our own in 1995, and once we get back to that elite level we will get the same love in the bandwagon, wanker filled LA press, like SUC football team has been enjoying in last few years. Pac-10 basketball will be fine with or without SUC. They are a joke. They always have been and always will be.We're not proposing that the Trojans need to be a national contender, but they ought to be an upper-tier Pac-10 team on a regular basis.
If new head coach Tim Floyd can bring the Trojans up toward that level at the same time UCLA is back as an NCAA team, there is a chance Los Angeles could have the competitive rivalry the league desperately desires.
We know this isn't and won't be Duke-North Carolina. But if basketball in L.A. is hot at the college level, the conference will benefit greatly.
Anyways, there are other Pac-10 news and notes in that ESPN feature I linked above, including this online poll on who will win the PAC this upcoming season. You know whose team to vote for:

Photo Credit:Tyson Evans, Daily Bruin
GO BRUINS.