Looks like many of you have been all over the breaking story in our fanpost and fanshot sections.
Well it's time to start Jamie Dixon to USC* watch all over again.
Not to anyone's surprise Tim Floyd has quit as the head basketball coach of a scandal ridden, tainted basketball program at U$C*:
"As of 1 p.m. today, I am resigning as head basketball coach at the University of Southern California. I deeply appreciate the opportunity afforded me by the university, as well as the chance to know and work with some of the finest young men in college athletics. Unfortunately, I no longer feel I can offer the level of enthusiasm to my duties that is deserved by the university, my coaching staff, my players, their families, and the supporters of Southern Cal. I always promised my self and my family that if I ever felt I could no longer give my full enthusiasm to a job, that I should leave it to others who could. I intend to contact my coaching staff and my players in coming days and weeks to tell them how much each of them means to me. I wish the best to USC and to my successor."
In a statement from the school, Garrett said the school will start a search for a new coach immediately.
"I accept Tim's decision and wish him well," Garrett said.
Floyd has been accused of giving money to a man who helped O.J. Mayo land with the Trojans. According to a May 12 Yahoo! Sports report, Louis Johnson -- a former confidante of Mayo -- said that Floyd gave Rodney Guillory, an associate of sports agent Bill Duffy, $1,000. Such a payment would constitute a major violation of NCAA rules.
In the USC statement, Todd Dickey, senior vice president of administration said: "The University is cooperating fully in the continuing investigation with the NCAA and Pac-10 into all allegations of NCAA and Pac-10 rules violations at USC. The University, the NCAA and Pac-10 have jointly conducted interviews of approximately 50 witnesses. No conclusions have yet been reached. At this point, it would be both inappropriate and premature to comment further."
It will be interesting to see the spin coming out of now from the Trojan apologists who have been going through all kinds of hilarious mental gymnastics to make excuses for Floyd last few weeks [See for example the hecktacular cutting and pasting spin job from Adam Rose, who is now working OT to spin Carroll out of his current PR mess]
Chis Chase over at Yahoo!'s sports blog is LOL at Floyd's resignation statement:
One week after Floyd passionately (and hilariously) came out against one of his players declaring for the draft and two months after he rebuffed Arizona's coaching advances because he said he wanted to build his own traditions at USC, we're supposed to believe that he can't muster the enthusiasm to coach? Floyd is many things, but dispassionate isn't one of them. Now he, and USC, expect the college basketball world to think that this resignation is about apathy and not about the explosive allegations that were reported by Yahoo! Sports last month? Oh, come on.
And I am also not so sure whether Floyd actually "rebuffed" Arizona. Something about that part of the story that never seemed right.
It will also be interesting to see who Trojans pursue in the coming days. We have already discussed at length that why we think there is a good possibility that Dixon could be in the mix at U$C*. As hard as some Bruin fans might find it to believe, we have heard from folks we trust that Dixon would indeed be interested in the U$C* position if the Trojans are smart enough to create a scenario that works for him.
We will see how that scenario unfolds in the coming days. The question for tonight though is really simple: if Floyd did nothing wrong why did he quit so abruptly (although not too surprisingly for those who have been following the Trojan shenanigans for years)?
GO BRUINS.
UPDATE (N): I think ryebreadaz's projection here is on the right track:
[I]f SC is smart, they’ll hire an interim coach for the year and embark on a coaching search next offseason when it’s not so late in the process and there’s a better idea as to what sanctions they’re facing. Next summer Dixon could take the job, but I’m not sure SC will wait for their permanent replacement.
I think at the current snap shot of time the immediate possibility of Dixon taking over as the U$C* head coach is remote. However, that said if they only hire an interim coach to get them through for next few months and they wait to see what they hear back from NCAA, Dixon to U$C* conversation is going to be hot and heavy all next season. I am sure Pittsburgh will be well aware of that as well as programs like Cal that will try to hold on to Montogomery. But still it's never too early to speculate a Dixon to U$C* scenario given the information we have heard about his interest in returing home to LA. GO BRUINS.