USC: Dwayne Polee
Plenty of USC-related news on this Tuesday in Los Angeles:
- Fresh off its first Pac-10 series win this season, USC baseball returns to the field today with a big midweek game against UC Irvine. Of course, UC Irvine's head coach is Mike Gillespie, who resigned from the same post at USC in 2006 — only to be replaced by his son-in-law (current coach Chad Kreuter) -- and took the job at Irvine, where he is 114-47 in two-plus seasons. Kreuter's Trojans are 19-24 this season and in desperate need of a string of wins. Last week, Kreuter said he expects the Pac-10 could very well qualify eight teams for the NCAA Tournament later this month. USC is currently 10th — the only team in the conference under .500. Still, an eighth-place conference finish is within reach.
- In basketball news, the school announced today that Iowa big man Aaron Fuller will transfer to USC and redshirt the 2010-2011 season. Fuller was a valuable player for the Hawkeyes, leading the team in both points (12.3) and rebounds (7.6) during Big Ten play. "We are very excited to have Aaron at USC," coach Kevin O'Neill said in a statement. "He is going to be a tremendous asset to us on and off the court. We love his tenacity, hard work and desire to get better."
- The latest installment of Athletic Director Mike Garrett's "From the Desk of the A.D." journal entries arrived today. A nugget regarding the NCAA investigations: " I get asked daily about when we'll be hearing from the NCAA regarding its findings in the pending investigation. I don't have an answer; the NCAA will release the results when its committee members have concluded their work. We hope it is soon."
- Here's a profile of USC guard Marcus Simmons from a school publication. Simmons, a senior to-be, was an important cog in O'Neill's rotation this season and could be even more important next season, considering the Trojans will graduate senior guards Mike Gerrity and Dwight Lewis. Simmons plans to improve by then. A highlight from the story: " 'I'm going to get better," Marcus said nodding his head with enthusiasm. 'That's a promise. Bigger, faster, stronger for next year.' "
- USC director of basketball operations Dwayne Polee turned in his resignation last week, the L.A. Times reports. Polee was hired by former coach Tim Floyd in 2007, during the time his son, Westchester High standout Dwayne Polee Jr., was committed to USC. Polee Jr. since decommitted from the Trojans and will soon choose between St. John's, Oregon and Georgia. The elder Polee did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday.
A bunch of USC-related news on this Sunday:
- Trojan baseball is in the middle of a doubleheader with New Mexico as we speak. Saturday's game was rained out at Dedeaux Field, so the Lobos and Trojans are playing two today. USC won the first game, 6-2, on the strength of a strong outing from new weekend starter Ben Mount. Mount gave up just one earned run in 5 2/3 innings. But Kevin Couture, on the mound to start the second game, didn't have similar luck. Couture faced nine batters and retired just two of them — with a final line of four runs in 2/3 of an inning. And it's gone downhill from there, as the Trojans currently trail 16-7 in the ninth inning. Follow along here.
- In more USC news, men's basketball lost Saturday afternoon in Arizona to end its season on a five-game losing streak, but the women are on an exact opposite streak. Ashley Corral and Co. have won five in a row, culminating in a 62-52 win at home against Arizona State on Saturday. Each of the past five victories for the Women of Troy have come by margins of 10 points or less.
- USC-bound forward Bryce Jones of Woodland Hills Taft had a monster game in last night's City Division I title game. Jones, at times matching up against former USC commit Dwayne Polee, exploded for 29 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He also had 12 rebounds, by far the most active player on the Galen Center court. But his Taft team fell, 70-60, to Westchester for the second consecutive time in the city finals. We profiled Jones in advance of Saturday's game, and you can also hear from him after the loss.
- A few links: Stanley Havili is interviewedby USCfootball.com, the Daily News' Tom Hoffarth tells a remarkable storyof USC long-distance runner Greg Woodburn, and an Arizona Daily star columnist writeson USC coach Kevin O'Neill's blowup at the end of Saturday's game.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Mark Saxon
Mark Saxon is a staff writer for ESPNLosAngeles.com. He spent six years at the Orange County Register, and began his career at the Oakland Tribune, where he started an 11-year journey covering Major League Baseball. He has also covered colleges, including USC football and UCLA basketball.
Arash Markazi
Arash Markazi joined ESPNLosAngeles.com as a columnist and writer after five years with Sports Illustrated. Markazi has also written for Slam, King, Vibe and Playboy and is on the board of directors for the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation.
Pedro Moura
Pedro Moura has contributed to ESPNLosAngeles.com since December 2009. He has covered the Trojans since 2008 and also reports on high school sports. Moura is a native Angeleno and a graduate of USC. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/pedromoura.
2011 TEAM LEADERS
| PASSING | ATT | COMP | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Barkley | 446 | 308 | 3528 | 39 |
| RUSHING | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD |
| C. McNeal | 145 | 1005 | 6.9 | 6 |
| M. Tyler | 122 | 568 | 4.7 | 4 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD |
| R. Woods | 111 | 1292 | 11.6 | 15 |
| M. Lee | 73 | 1143 | 15.7 | 11 |
| TEAM | RUSH | PASS | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 162.6 | 294.2 | 456.8 |
| TEAM | PF | PA | MARGIN |
| Scoring | 35.8 | 23.6 | 12.2 |