It’s Championship Week in college basketball, otherwise known as the week of tournaments before THE Tournament. And honestly, it seems this year people only really care about two conference tourneys: the Big East and the Big 12 … and maybe the ACC based on history and hype.

This week we’ll be previewing those anticipated conference tournaments. But for now I’m doing the Pac-10, because that’s the one I know best, because I don’t want the Left Coast to get overlooked again, and, well, because I can. Read More »

Relevance is always an issue in collegiate athletics. Coaches will change, players will cycle through programs and records will fluctuate year-to-year; the “what have you done for me lately” mentality will always take over eventually. Lately, all signs coming out of Hollywood and the Southern Cal campus should point to throwing up a white flag on the current season. Thanks to former Trojan O.J. Mayo and the USC booster that supplemented him with compensation as a recruit, the NCAA has been sanctioned to dismiss any postseason for USC this year. No Pac-10 tournament, no NIT and certainly no NCAA come March. As USC wallows in the mud of basketball purgatory, the team actually – on the surface only I’m sure – remains upbeat about its current situation; although I doubt if Ovinton J’Anthony received any Trojan holiday greeting cards this past Christmas. Read More »

Going into this year, DeMar DeRozan was supposed to be the next O.J. Mayo — not because he and the possible NBA Rookie of the Year play anything alike, but rather because DeRozan was supposed to follow a similar path as his USC predecessor: one-and-done, a quick Big Dance appearance, and onto the Green Room. Read More »

When USC lost freshmen O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson to the NBA Draft this past summer, they were able to ink blue-chip prospects DeMar DeRozan and Percy “ Lil’ Romeo” Miller to fill their void. Little did they know they would also be welcoming home former SoCal standout Alex Stepheson, who transferred back home to Los Angeles to be closer to his family. Read More »