Tourney provides model for USC

As a spectacular March Madness draws to a close tonight, another season of college basketball is in the books. Like every year, this March Madness was filled with exciting upsets, nail-biting finishes, and instant classics between traditional heavyweight programs.

As a Pac-12 fan, it was nice to see three teams represent the conference in the Sweet 16, with Arizona almost overcoming a historic shooting performance by Wisconsin to reach the Final Four.

Other than that, it was equally exciting to watch regional semifinals and finals filled with elite programs and excellent coaches. After a season where critics lamented the demise of college basketball due to over-coaching and a dearth of offensive ability, it was reassuring to watch the execution of high-level basketball in the latter stages of the tournament.

Certainly all of this is exciting as a passionate fan of college basketball, but the absence of USC from the tournament takes away that extra level of enthusiasm that existed for the short period during which they went to the big dance consistently.

Since the Trojans have languished near the bottom of the Pac-12 conference for the past few years, it’s hard to imagine the current team competing in March Madness.

Each year, however, offers the opportunity to spot the hallmarks of great college basketball programs as these characteristics offer a model for USC to follow. Two things that seem to be crucial: coaching and veteran leadership.

Coaching is critical at every level of every sport, but it is magnified at the college level. Of course, there is college football, where Urban Meyer and Nick Saban continuously field two of the best programs annually. College basketball is much of the same. The same coaches are in the mix each year.

This can be partially attributed to school prestige, but coaching plays a monumental factor. Lon Kruger, who currently is at the helm of the Oklahoma Sooner basketball team, has built quality programs at five different schools. Gregg Marshall has turned Wichita State into a basketball dynamo and might have the Shockers competing with the Kansas Jayhawks for the title of best team in the state. Brad Stevens, who previously led Butler to two- straight national championship games, consistently out-coached and out-maneuvered teams with more talent to win deep into the tournament.

Those are talented tacticians who have had massive success at mid-majors and traditional football schools.

When you combine great coaching with prominent programs, you get truly great results.

The Final Four this year was a testament to that fact. Though he may be reviled by most of America, John Calipari has won everywhere he has gone and brought it to scale at Kentucky. Tom Izzo, Bo Ryan and Mike Krzyzewski are all Hall of Fame-caliber coaches who have sustained years of greatness at their respective programs.

The second part of the model of a championship-level team is upperclassmen leadership. With the exception of the Kentucky team that won the title with Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and the Syracuse team with Carmelo Anthony, every championship team over the last 15 years has been led by upperclassmen. Even this year’s Duke team, which has three future-freshman lottery picks, is buoyed by senior Quinn Cook and a host of older role players. Wisconsin is senior-laden as well, with homegrown talent developing under the careful eye of coach Bo Ryan.

Experience is a difficult statistic to measure and quantify, but it is invaluable in the game of         college basketball.

If USC is to build a top level program, it needs to invest heavily in player development and ensure that most recruits become four-year players.

For an example of a model the Trojans should try to replicate, USC should look no further than former Washington State coach Tony Bennett, who is currently building the Virginia Cavaliers back into a national power.

He is doing it by recruiting talented and hardworking guys who aren’t all necessarily McDonald’s All-Americans. He builds up their game and sharpens their skills while they develop at Virginia, and eventually they become invaluable contributors to the program.

Enfield has only finished year two of his rebuild, so there is still time to see if he can develop into a coach that rivals that of Bennett,  Ryan and the other stalwarts.

A more critical aspect for the USC program is recruiting talented players year in and year out. They don’t have to be         five-star prospects who are one and done, but instead guys who can really learn and develop their skills while at USC.

This seems to be the best way to build a competitive program for the long haul in the current college basketball climate. Hopefully, USC can learn a thing or two from this tournament and accelerate its return to college basketball prominence.

Jake Davidson is a sophomore majoring in accounting. His column “Davidson’s Direction” runs Mondays.