Out with the old, in with the new

Maybe it was just me, but during this past school year, classes sure seemed like a drag, especially with papers, tests and multiple projects piled up the size of the Eiffel Tower in my apartment’s not-nearly-big-enough kitchen.

It really seemed like there was no end in sight.

But there is always hope at the end of the tunnel, or that’s what I always hear.

Out with the old and in with the new, right?

As for USC’s men’s basketball program, the ghosts of past legends still haunt the hallowed grounds of the Galen Center — and the Los Angeles Sports Arena before it.

As a Trojan basketball fan, over the years I have witnessed some great players wear a USC basketball jersey.

There have been mainstays like current Washington Wizards guard Nick Young and current Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson. One-and-done prep star and now-Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo gave the city of Los Angeles and the school a buzz of excitement for a brief time.

I have also witnessed some quirky players come to the land of Troy.

For those that have followed the men’s basketball team long enough, remember Desmon Farmer?  That’s the guy that wore his headband upside down and never saw a shot he didn’t like.

Then there was Jerry Dupree. He was one of those players that always left me scratching my head, and not necessarily in a good way.

Unfortunately, his out-of-this-world athleticism never matched his brains, cutting his career at USC short his senior season because of academic issues.

Then, there was the announcement in 2008 that the No. 2 ranked Rivals.com player  — DeMar DeRozan, of nearby Compton High — would be coming to play basketball at USC.

Along with that news came the even-more-interesting news that Percy Miller would be coming to play basketball as well.

For those of you who aren’t familar with Miller, you probably know him as Romeo, or Lil’ Romeo.

My first thought was, “I knew the guy could rap, but he had game too?”

My second thought was: “Maybe he shouldn’t have dropped the ‘Lil’ from his name because that’s the amount of time he saw on the court — very little, or 19 minutes in two years to be exact.

I don’t know if scoring 8.6 points per game your senior season at Beverly Hills High says much, but presumably former coach Tim Floyd saw something in him.

And it was something worthy enough to give him a Division I scholarship to play basketball.

Right?

Well, for all I know and as far as the media can speculate, DeRozan and Miller were a “package deal,” — meaning Miller’s scholarship was a sort of appeasement to get DeRozan to attend USC.

But for those skeptics and hecklers — including myself — who chastised and questioned the recruitment of Miller two years ago, our wishes have come true.

He will no longer be with the USC men’s basketball team next year.

And good riddance, because for the little — Lil? — time that I witnessed Miller play, it looked like the school was going through an emergency evacuation drill and he was running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

But the chicken is gone now, and with it comes a brand new era for the USC basketball program.

But before the basketball season started and before the news of Miller leaving, the men’s basketball season was similar to a typical school year.

Like papers, tests and multiple projects all coming at me during the school year, it mirrored the kind of turmoil the Trojans basketball team had gone through this year ever since Floyd skipped town — everything just kept piling up.

And like Miller running around with no sense of direction and with the uncertainty of the future, it seemed like there was no end in sight — or as they say it, no light at the end of the tunnel.

Floyd resigned in the summer of 2009 after being accused of providing improper benefits through a cash payment to Rodney Guillory in order to lure Mayo to come play at USC.

The basketball team dealt with ineligible players and injuries, and then to top it all off, the university imposed sanctions on the basketball program for possibly violating NCAA rules during the 2007-2008 season.

But that wasn’t it.

In March, forward Leonard Washington was dismissed from the team because of attitude issues and just recently, center Davis Rozitis decided to transfer.

One head coach and multiple players were out, one coach was in and numerous sanctions were imposed on the basketball program still trying to make a name for itself.

With Miller, Washington and Rozitis all gone now, only five scholarship players remain from the Floyd era.

Coach O’Neill has brought in four freshman recruits for this coming season, including two top ESPN 100 recruits in guards Bryce Jones and Maurice Jones (no relation), and forwards Garrett Jackson and Curtis Washington.

The Trojans will also be receiving help midway through next season when guard Jio Fontan becomes eligible to play.  Forward Aaron Fuller — an honorable mention All-Big 10 player at Iowa — decided to transfer to USC and O’Neill also managed to recruit a seven-foot potential-packed junior college transfer in DeWayne Dedmon.

And with a team boasting a solid core of underclassmen and transfers that will be donning the cardinal and gold for hopefully the next couple years, the future looks bright and promising.

So with all the distractions that came in the form of one-and-done players, head coaches, violations of NCAA rules, the Trojans basketball team must put its past behind them.

And, not to put all the blame on Miller, but his departure marks a time when scandal ruled the program.

There will be no more scands that Floyd was ruled responsible for.

There will be no more traces of highly touted in-and-out prep stars that may or may not have received improper benefits from agents or marketing agencies.

This coming season will be one filled with many changes — with new faces on the coaching staff, new recruits and an overall new beginning for the Trojans basketball team.

In short, it is out with the old and in with the new. And boy, am I looking forward to it.

“In the Zone” runs every other Wednesday. To comment on this article, visit dailytrojan.com or e-mail Trevor at [email protected]