Women’s hoops begins a new era


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The line of reasoning for hiring Cynthia Cooper-Dyke as USC’s next women’s basketball coach is pretty simple. She’s an alumna and a “USC basketball icon,” as Athletic Director Pat Haden put it last Thursday when the hire was announced. That is, of course, true. If there was a Mount Rushmore for USC women’s basketball, Cooper-Dyke’s […]

Kessler shows he’s the man for the job


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When handicapping Arizona State’s three-way quarterback competition last fall, most onlookers narrowed their gaze to strong-armed sophomore Mike Bercovici and fleet-footed freshman Michael Eubank. Redshirt junior Taylor Kelly only entered the discussion as the safe, yet altogether vanilla, fallback — a game manager who could split the difference between the other two quarterbacks’ strengths. Coming […]

Spring game gives USC a chance to start over


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It seems like just yesterday I was writing about the 2012 spring game. National championship hopes were high, as was talk about a Heisman Trophy for Matt Barkley. The stars were aligned for the Trojans, to say the least. A year later, things couldn’t be more different. There is no quarterback certainty. There aren’t really […]

Trojans fail to address elephant in the room


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Tuesday marked the latest chapter in a season full of bumps and bruises for USC’s baseball team. In a hard-fought 6-4 loss to No. 4 Cal State Fullerton, the Trojans were reminded that no matter how much they tried to overcome countless obstacles, 2013 just wasn’t going to be their year. Not that this should […]

An undefeated season might not be so crazy


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“I hate to say this, but I think [USC’s football team] should go undefeated.” That’s what ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd told USCFootball.com’s Ryan Abraham on Abraham’s podcast. Except he didn’t say it prior to last season, when the Trojans started the year as the No. 1 ranked team in the Associated Press top 25 […]

Haden’s legacy about to be defined


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You’re going to read a fair number of prepared statements from USC Athletic Director Pat Haden in the next 12 months. With Frank Cruz’s termination and Michael Cooper’s resignation, Haden will assumedly announce new coaches for baseball and women’s basketball, respectively, at some point. For women’s basketball, it “could be soon,” Haden acknowledged last Wednesday. […]

Farmer’s injury can buy him more time


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Back in October, wide receivers coach Tee Martin offered one of the best soundbites of the 2012 season as he attempted to explain then-sophomore George Farmer’s inability to crack the wide receiver rotation despite his abundance of talent. “God has blessed that kid with a lot of tools,” Martin said. “I joke with him, ‘You’re […]

Others must step up after Farmer’s injury


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George Farmer’s 2013-14 season is over before it even began. The junior wide receiver suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a torn medial collateral ligament in practice Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.  Farmer, who was the top receiver prospect in the class of 2011, prepped with current Trojan star Marqise Lee and […]

Haden swings for the fences with risky hire


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To get his point across, USC Athletic Director Pat Haden felt the need to say it twice. “USC basketball should be relevant,” Haden said in his opening remarks Wednesday before he introduced new USC head basketball coach Andy Enfield. “USC basketball should be relevant.” Haden won’t find many who disagree with him. As he said […]

Enfield was solid hire, but Hopkins is better


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Like plenty of other college basketball fans who picked Georgetown to advance deep into the NCAA tournament, I quickly familiarized myself with Florida Gulf Coast University and its head coach, Andy Enfield. The FGCU Eagles disposed of the second-seeded Hoyas in surprisingly dominant fashion, then took down San Diego State (a team that beat USC […]