Trojans to take advantage of exhibitions

With games in Las Vegas, Minnesota and Washington, the USC men’s basketball team has the opportunity to travel the country this season. The sightseeing highlight of the year, however, will take place in South America.

Every four years, the NCAA allows basketball teams to travel to a foreign country to compete against local teams, in addition to 10 extra days of practice.

This year USC coach Kevin O’Neill and his squad will travel to Brazil for a series of preseason exhibition games over 10 days in Rio de Janeiro, as well as Sao Paolo.

“I am really excited to get out there and see another part of the world,” USC senior guard Jio Fontan said.

The Trojans return just two starters, Fontan and sophomore guard Maurice Jones, from last year’s team, which fell to Virginia Commonwealth in the First Four round of the NCAA tournament in March.

As a result, for such an inexperienced group of players, it is advantageous to have 10 extra days of practice in August as opposed to waiting for the traditional opening of practice in mid-October.

“We are getting to know each other, and the younger guys are getting the jitters out of the way,” Fontan said. “They are getting their first practices a little earlier in the year so they know what to expect when the season starts.”

To best prepare his team for the regular season, O’Neill wanted to schedule games against the top teams available in Brazil.

“We hope that the competition is pro-level teams,” O’Neill said. “That is what we asked for. We had the choice of playing first or second level teams, and we wanted to play the highest level teams.”

With 10 days together in an unfamiliar environment, Fontan also looks forward to bonding with his teammates and developing some cohesiveness.

“There are going to be a lot more face-to-face conversations, being social with each other,” Fontan said. “It is a great way to start the season, and to build team chemistry.”

Some coaches initiate special rules on foreign trips — such as forbidding text messaging — to encourage players to interact with each other, but O’Neill allows his team greater freedom off the court.

“I don’t have any rules like that,” O’Neill said. “They can talk to whoever they want as long as they play hard.”

USC will count heavily on an influx of transfers — junior guard Greg Allen (Navarro College), junior center James Blasczyk (Texas A&M), sophomore forward Dewayne Dedmon (Antelope Valley College) and junior forward Aaron Fuller (Iowa).

The Trojans also add freshman guards Alexis Moore and Byron Wesley, in addition to sophomore forward Evan Smith, who returns after redshirting last season because of a shoulder injury.

“We are all [O’Neill] recruits,” Fontan said. “It is a new era, and we are having a great time.”

The last time the Trojans traveled abroad was to Mexico in 2007 with a squad led by guards Dwight Lewis and O.J. Mayo, as well as center Taj Gibson.

The Trojans open the 2011-2012 season at home against Cal State Northridge on Nov. 11.

“We are a hard playing group,” O’Neill said. “We are deeper and more athletic. We have a lot of guys with a lot to prove. I like our attitude, our team play, how we share the ball and that we play together on both ends.”