Reflecting on the Tim Floyd Era

Personally, it has been a long and frustrating past few months for myself as a diehard USC basketball fan. In March, it appeared as if the program was looking to become a permanent fixture in the top 25, as the Trojans were within a few points of upsetting eventual national championship runner up Michigan State and advancing to the Sweet 16. But even with the heartbreaking loss to the Spartans, it was easy to take solace in the fact that the entire team would be returning for the 2009-2010 season in addition to a highly rated recruiting class. Many early polls – mind you very early – pegged the Trojans as a top ten squad with Taj Gibson and DeMar DeRozan teaming up with a recruiting class highlighted by five star center Renaldo Sidney.

However, if you’ve kept tabs on the program recently, the Trojans are nowhere near the top 25, as the resignation of head coach Tim Floyd has left USC in near-shambles. A program finally so close to turning the corner and becoming a west coast basketball powerhouse was suddenly on the fast track to becoming a bottom-runner in the Pac-10 conference once again.

Floyd’s resignation has proved to be so infuriating for us, as everything he had built in four years at ‘SC was now in ruins after nearly everyone affiliated with the program either left for the professional ranks or enrolled at another school. It was easy for us to make Floyd the scapegoat at first, blaming him for everything that had gone wrong in Trojanland. It was even easier to say that his four years in Los Angeles were a colossal failure and nothing was accomplished.

But as the English philosopher Geoffrey Chaucer once wrote, “time heals all wounds.” While it may be too soon for the relationship between Floyd and my fellow Trojan hoops fans to fully heal, I do believe that enough time has passed for us to be rational when discussing the Floyd era and his impact o the program. With that said, I think his time at USC was successful in many ways.

Regardless of our personal feelings regarding Floyd, his 4 year tenure at ‘SC was one of the most successful runs in school history in terms of wins and losses. Yes, he may have left the program with quite a large mess to tend to, but in terms of his on-the-court performance during his four seasons at the helm, it was nothing short of spectacular.

For starters, Floyd not only posted numerous Ws in the wins column, but he also proved the Trojans could be competitive against some of the nation’s toughest foes. During the 2005-2006 season, his first year in LA, he orchestrated upset victories over the likes of North Carolina; the defending national champions, Arizona; a formidable top 25 foe under Lute Olson, and even UCLA; who ended up in the Final Four later that season. Despite finishing with a relatively unremarkable 16-13 record, it was a big improvement over the previous season in which they finished with a 12-17 mark. At the very least, the groundwork had been laid for future success.

But it was the following three seasons from 2006-2009 where Floyd really cut his teeth as the Trojans head man. For the first time in school history, the Trojans went to three consecutive NCAA tournaments and achieved back-to-back-to-back 20 win seasons. By most standards it wasn’t a big deal, but for a routinely bottom-feeder such as USC, it was historic to say the least.

In 2006, they were a few blown calls away, which caused Taj Gibson to foul out, from defeating top seeded North Carolina and advancing to Elite Eight. The following two years didn’t necessarily equate to tournament success, as the Trojans lost to Kansas State in round one in 2008 and to Michigan State in the second round last March. But nevertheless, it was a step in the right direction, making the Trojans March regulars when they had never been at any point before.

Last season’s Pac-10 tournament was arguably the high point of Floyd’s four year tenure in Los Angeles. Despite starting as the 6th seed and appearing to be on track for the NIT, the Trojans upset California, 14th ranked UCLA, and 23rd ranked Arizona State, to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament while also clinching their 20th victory of the season. During their three game span, fans witnessed some of the best performances in school history, as the team not only played extremely hard but also at a high level of play due to a very talented roster. It showed that when placing talented players in Floyd’s system, positive results were sure to ensue.

In addition to the team’s on the court success, the talent level of the program during Floyd’s reign may have been at an all time high as evidence by four first round draft picks (Nick Young, O.J. Mayo, DeMar DeRozan, and Taj Gibson) over the past three years. In fact, no other school in the nation has had players taken in the top 16 of the NBA Draft for three consecutive years. Not even those guys across town. Floyd’s ability to bring in highly-sought after prospects such as Mayo and DeRozan proved to recruits nationwide that USC is a legitimate place to play college basketball. Whether his tactics were shady or not, we still don’t know the full details at this point, it’s clear that he has gotten many of the top recruits, even those outside Southern California, to consider USC. He made any eighteen year-old prospect, who wanted to play college hoops in Los Angeles, to not only look at UCLA, but also USC, which certainly wasn’t the case ten years ago

But the most common criticism Floyd’s receives – even the skeptics credit the Trojans’ improved play under Floyd – is regarding his character. And while I may not know all of the details regarding his relationship with Mayo and Rodney Guillary, I do not feel as if Floyd deserves to be placed on the moral guillotine. He may not be a choir boy either, but Floyd was still in large part, a good man.

During the Ryan Francis tragedy, I thought Floyd handled it with the utmost respect and dignity. Shortly after Francis’s death in May, Floyd made sure that the entire team flew out to Baton Rouge, Louisiana; to attend the funeral and comfort the slain point guard’s family, especially his mother Paulette Francis. (note: Francis was killed over Mother’s Day Weekend) In memory of Francis, Floyd and the USC athletic department also took steps towards establishing The Ryan Francis Endowed Scholarship in honor of his hard work and dedication to the program. Through the scholarship foundation and his eagerness to keep Paulette Francis an integral part of the program, Floyd really came across as an honorable person, and he certainly deserves credit for his work.

At the end of the day, I think it’s unfair for us to blame Floyd completely for the Mayo/Guillary/NCAA investigation until all the facts are out there. At this point, all we’ve really heard is scuttlebutt, rumors, and accusations, from a guy, Louis Johnson, who has a book deal lined up. While Johnson may in fact be telling the truth, I don’t feel as if I’m in the best position to decipher fact from fiction regarding Floyd’s alleged violations. All I can do is judge Floyd and his impact on USC basketball from what I know he did do. I know he had success in terms of wins and losses and he raised the talent level of the program. Simply based on that, we owe a lot to Tim Floyd.