Daniel Hackett’s father, Rudy, likely to leave USC coaching staff
By Joe K
According to Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News, it appears increasingly likely that USC basketball’s strength and conditioning manager Rudy Hackett, the father of former point guard Daniel Hackett, will be leaving the program with new coach Kevin O’Neill at the helm.
"“I’ve talked to Rudy and we’re deciding his future,” O’Neill told the Daily News."
Hackett will likely leave a USC program amidst a controversial NCAA investigation, in which he also played somewhat of a role in. A year ago, ESPN ran a story highlighting the common trend of “package deals ” in college athletics in an Outside the Lines report that also used Hackett’s hiring at USC as an example.
The move was considered to be controversial, because Hackett was hired by Tim Floyd at the same time his son Daniel joined the Trojan hoops program as a freshman. The move allowed USC to save a basketball scholarship because Hackett received free tuition as a student with a parent as a school employee.
As a result, many accused USC of cheating, when in reality, they simply found a loophole and exploited it. But while the move did receive a fair amount of criticism on the UCLA message boards, it was a relatively safe hire for Floyd. The elder Hackett certainly had the necessary credentials for a college basketball coaching/managing position, as he was a former college basketball player at Syracuse, a third round draft pick of the New Orleans Jazz in the 1975 NBA Draft, and a professional player in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the Italian league.
Even though Hackett was more than qualified, the perception was that USC was somehow being dishonest by employing him. And sometimes, perception is reality. With new coach Kevin O’Neill trying to reshape the Trojan hoops program in a new light, he has been making his best efforts to “clean house.” So with Daniel Hackett set to play in Italy next season, it may be best for both parties to go their separate ways for the betterment of the program.