With the Trojan defense hanging tough, and a little help from Oregon's kicker, USC held on to defeat Oregon 38-35. With one more game left against UCLA it might be a little early to look ahead, but with a performance like that coupled with a strong game against Stanford it is hard not to wonder about what could be next season. Right now there are only two senior starters on the team (well 3 if you count Marc Tyler, but I think he may have had his last carry as a USC running back) which are defensive tackles DaJohn Harris and Christian Tupou meaning Lane Kiffin could potentially bring back 20 of 22 starters for next year from a team that is a hair's breadth from being 10-2. However, there are four juniors who will have a tough decision to make as they are all projected NFL Draft picks: Matt Barkley, Matt Kalil, Nick Perry, and T.J. McDonald.

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Here's a link to an excellent article on SI on Trojan Dewayne Dedmon and his strange journey towards becoming a D1 basketball player:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1191974/1/index.htm

When Horton finished talking with one of his players, the boy walked over. He wore an enormous pair of beat-up hightops, ratty shorts and a white T-shirt so large it looked like a muumuu. He hunched over, as if trying to shrink to standard proportions. "Coach," he said, "my name is Dewayne Dedmon. I want to play basketball."

Instantly Horton recognized the name. For years stories had floated around the valley about a tall kid who wasn't allowed to play basketball, but the coach had never believed them. He heard lots of stories. Most came from the kids themselves. Every year dozens of cocky teenagers approached Horton and assured him they'd score 20 a game if only he'd give them a uniform and the rock. To weed out the dreamers and boasters, he told them, "Come back next week." Only one in 10 ever did.

"O.K., Dewayne Dedmon, how about we see what you got," Horton said. "Show up next Tuesday at 3 p.m., and we'll work you out."

Dedmon nodded. "Yes, sir," he said. "I'll see you then."

It's incredible stuff and it almost reads like an outline to an uplifting sports movie. Hopefully this one will have a happy ending for both the Trojans and Dedmon. FIGHT ON!

This year, because of renovations to Pauley Pavilion, ucla will play many of their home basketball games at the Sports Arena meaning they will "host" the Men of Troy just steps away from the coliseum. Tickets for the game go on sale Monday at 10AM so make sure to represent SC and turn it into a home court advantage for us.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/090046F2ECA07DA5?artistid=841523&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=7

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Bumped...Great Read! - P

With Nikola Vucevic's recent announcement to sign with an agent and declare for the NBA draft it is easy to write off the upcoming hoops season as a wash. Kid Euro's decision means that 4 starters from the VCU game (the others being Donte Smith, Alex Stepheson, and Marcus Simmons) and at first blush there doesn't seem to be much to look forward to for next year's squad. But there is one huge fact that shouldn't be overlooked about next season; for the first time since the end of the 05-06 season the Trojans have the opportunity to return every single player for the following season if Jio Fontan's petition to the NCAA is successful. This sets up next season as an important developmental year where Kevin O'Neill should be evaluated based not so much on wins and losses, but rather on how he utilizes the roster and develops the team's young talent.

So let's take a look at what benchmark's KO needs to meet for a successful year and to set up for a run in 2012-13:

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There are some really priceless comments from the Pac-10 writer's survey on how the bruins' should decorate the post-pauley basketball court:

How about John Wooden’s face . . . Or maybe a bunch of little Wooden faces spelling out UCLA in script? It might be best, though, to have a bunch of cars, representing the traffic jams on the 405 at game time.

Deep in the Smog. Halo-adorned image of John Wooden pokes through billows of gray skies

There are a few that are a bit more inflammatory so you can read them at the original article here (http://www.ibabuzz.com/beartalk/2011/03/09/basketball-gutierrez-montgomery-earn-spots-in-10th-annual-pac-10-writers-survey/). Fight On Trojan Basketball and let's go out and win the Pac-10 Tournament!

Why yes, I am a masochist and a glutton for disappointment. Why do you ask?

Bumped - JK

It was really too bad that tonight's match-up between USC and Santa Clara was not televised because anyone not listening in on radio or watching the stream at usctrojans.com missed out on a truly spectacular performance by our freshman point guard in the 86-73 Trojan victory. All night MoJo carved up the defense and got to the basket basically at will en route to a 29 point, 5 assist performance. The Michigan native also hit two very deep three pointers and 2 or 3 of his assists coming off of deep dribble penetration resulted in easy baskets for Kid Euro (who finished with 22 points and 11 boards). And before I get too far a big time hat tip to the other freshman Jones, recording 15 points for the gme, who shot 60% (3 of 5) from the perimeter and looked solid on defense. Both of these freshman are the real deal, and I'm pretty certain SC has found the starting PG for the next 4 years.

Roster musings after the jump.

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Sports Illustrated and Sporting News each recently posted previews of the Pac 10 and each picked Southern California to finish 8th. Honestly, I find it difficult to believe that seven teams will finish ahead of SC. This team has its issues to be sure, specifically outside shooting and a lack of depth, but on the flip side the Trojans are extremely athletic, will be excellent on defense, and feature the best front court in conference with Alex Stepheson and Nikola "Kid Euro" Vucevic. So let's take a look at the shortcomings each of the teams ranked ahead of USC face coming into this season.

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Bumped JK

Posters on the USC Hoops Message board and We Are SC have hinted that USC may be in the mix for former Texas commit and 2011 high major SF/PF prospect Deandre Daniels. Daniels was recently cleared by the NCAA and has the OK to play in the 2010 season, making him eligible a year earlier, meaning he is looking to sign immediately. He may ave academic issues down the road, but there's no question that Deandre would be a talented pickup for O'Neill and bolster an already excellent recruiting class.

Although he hasn't mentioned USC as a candidate, Daniels is supposedly looking for immediate playing time and if he wishes to stay on the west coast USC has a scholarship available and has teammate Bryce Jones committed to play. UCLA also has a ride, but that would leave them with 0 open schollies for 2011 if Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee elect to stay after this season. Kentucky, another team mentioned by Daniels, is also bringing in 6 highly touted freshman which might make playing time sparse. Either way, look for news on him over this weekend.

If you'd like to read more about Deandre Daniels, check out this writeup from Full Court Press where they ranked him as the #1 wing forward in the 2011 class:

http://www.fullctpress.net/10socalreport3.html

Would it be worthwhile to offer the veteran minimum, or maybe a bit more, to get Tracy McGrady? He has really turned into one of the NBA's biggest Albatro I never really bought into the whole "attitude" problem thing, but the injuries are a bit worrisome. But if T-mac would be willing to take limited minutes and act as a sixth man coming off the bench as a two guard I think there are a lot worse ways the team could spend a couple mil. What are your thoughts, and do you think McGrady would be willing to come to the Wolves?

FYI - McGrady's Career Stats: 21.7 ppg, 6 rpg, 4.7 apg, and posted 9.4 ppg 3.7 rpg 3.9 apg in 26 minutes for the Knicks last season.

Bumped! Nice work - JK

News came out today that former Rivals top 100 recruit Mike Moser would be transferring out of UCLA. Taken together with the recent announcement of the "transfer" of J'Mison Morgan and starter Drew Gordon's departure earlier this season that makes 3 transfers in this season alone for one of college hoops' most storied programs. Moreover head coach Ben Howland turned in a 14-18 season and will lose three seniors, two starters in Michael Roll and Nikola Dragovic and rotation player James Keefe. Perhaps Dragovic and Keefe won't be missed that badly, but when you consider that the incoming recruiting class, although featuring elite talents in Tyler Lamb and Josh Smith, currently stands at only three players strong then there is a rather urgent personnel need. In fact if you include the incoming class, Howland is working with only 9 scholarship players and that is without accounting for Brendan Lane's recenty projected 5 month recovery from surgery and the very real possibility that Malcolm Lee may be headed for the NBA Draft. It certainly looks like troubled times are ahead for the Bruins.

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Lane Kiffin this, Norm Chow that blah blah blah, we'll have all off season to talk about that! But for now USC is playing at UCLA tomorrow and there's not nearly enough noise about especially considering that SC has a great chance of sweeping the Bruins this year. Rick Neuheisal may not have his monopoly just yet, but it looks like the gap between basketball programs has closed for at least this season and for the foreseeable future. So consider this your official kickoff to hate on UCLA basketball. FIGHT ON AND BEAT THE BRUINS!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mzndVHWC0Q

Oh yeah, and for all the bruins who like that tired old U$C "insult"... have one of these!

Well like most people this past weekend I was busy spending time with my family and busy traveling so I didn't get to see either of these games, but there are a few nice little insights to be taken from the box Scores.  First off, the Coppin State game from all appearances went about as well as could possibly expected.  The 31 point victory was keyed by strong team shooting including nearly 50% three point shooting and a staggering 39 to 16 rebounding advantage. So what if they feature only one starter taller than 6'5"? A win is a win, and although it certainly doesn't mean USC is a good team, it does mean that they aren't an absolutely horrible team at the very least.

The Nebraska game is another story though, and although it was nice to see that the Trojans were competitive with a 51-48 loss, the box score shows a lot of missed opportunity. The veterans (ie players who saw significant minutes at the end of last season) Dwight Lewis, Marcus Simmons, and Nikola Vucevic were a combined 3 for 22 from the field. That is almost unspeakably awful, I mean if those three would have hit on just 25% of their shots with all else being equal they would have won the game. On the flip side, Marcus Johnson  and Alex Stepheson both shot 50% or higher on their way to 10 and 13 points respectively, but combined for an absolutely miserable 6 of 15 free throw shooting. If the Trojans would have had had just one player hit their shots and make their free throws then the game would have been a W by the looks of things. Although, for whatever its worth, the Trojans as a team played like garbage and gave the ball away like nobody's business (see 17 turnovers) and still almost won.

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Bumped - P

Can a picture say a thousand words?

What a disappointment after the UCR game. The fact of the matter is that yes, USC's lack of depth hurt them and the outside shooting just was not there like on Tuesday night, but SC still should have won this game. And actually, early in the second half the Trojans had a fairly comfortable 10 point lead, and it appeared as though everything was going to go according to script. Some poor coaching decisions combined with strong shooting by LMU though quickly closed the gap and ultimately lead to the loss.

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Bumped...Thanks LS! - P

I was debating about whether to go to this game tonight. Really, it seemed just as likely that USC would lose as they would win, but I am pleased to report that it was well worth the trip and that it seems that Kevin O'Neill may have a very competent team on his hands. Certainly I would be hesitant to describe any of the players as "spectacular" or even "explosive" but if very competent gets a comfortable win over a potentially dangerous opponent then I'll take that any day.

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OK, I guess not technically our season, but ucla lost to Cal State Fullerton in double OT 68-65. Really a very sloppy game for both teams. It seemed like the bruins were taking far too many outside shots and not developing the inside out game when the three just wasn't there. At the same time though CSUF could not finish near the rim to save their lives and it seemed like neither team really wanted to win.

So of course tonight USC hosts UC Riverside which features former Trojan Kyle Austin who was selected pre-season first team all conference. And honestly SC could very well lose this game; Alex Stepheson is dealing with knee inflammation issues and Kasey Cunningham being listed only as probable. Also both Leonard Washington and Marcus Johnson are not eligible to play (although its only for two games for Johnson, have to wait till December for Washington).

I still think the Trojans have the edge with a (likely) starting lineup of Donte Smith, Dwight Lewis, Marcus Simmons, Kasey Cunningham, and Nikola Vucevic, but if they want to win they're going to have to build a lead in the first half and hold it with tough defense as they have almost no bench whatsoever. Well unless you consider a freshman guard recovering from a separated shoulder, a walk on point guard, and an unknown rail thin Latvian giant a bench. Its gonna be a tough battle, and I'm going to try to make it out and grab some pics. 

A look at something a bit different in the midst of all the preseason and training camp hoopla from Football

Regardless of how anyone feels about Tim Floyd, his 4 year tenure at USC was one of the most sucessful in the history of SC hoops. The three conecutive NCAA tournament sppearances had never been accomplished, and Floyd achieved three 20 win seasons in a row at a school where basketball is a distant second to football. In addition, the talent level of the program may have been at an all time high as evidenced by 5 first round draft picks over the past three years and that no other school in the nation had players taken in the top 16 picks for three consecutive years. And way back before the Trojan's improbable run to a Pac 10 tournament championship the likely 2009-2010 starting lineup, a group that definitely had final four potential, looked to feature five players all poised to go in the NBA Draft (Derozan, Gibson, and Sidney as 1st rounders with Hackett and Lewis as 2nd rounders).

So looking at things from the other side of a summer filled with scandal, early entrants, coaching changes, and an imploded recruiting class it is easy to feel more than a little bit discouraged. But I'm here to say chin up Trojan nation, things are not nearly as dire as they may seem. WIth some returning talent, a favorable OOC schedule, and a down year for the conference mean that these Trojans have a chance to surprise.

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From the Pac 10:

This is the first year the NCAA has instituted a fourth-round match-play format. The top-eight teams, after three rounds of competition, advance to compete for a national championship.

In the quarterfinal round of match-play, Arizona State will face Texas A&M, USC competes against Michigan and Washington will vie against Arkansas. Oklahoma State, who finished in first after three rounds, will face Georgia in a match-up of the nation's top-two teams.

Arizona State shot a three-round total of 10-over 862 to become the second team to advance to the match-play format. USC and Washington shot a 13-over 865 to also qualify.

Congratualtions to USC men's golf and good luck out on the course today. It is amazing that they are continuing to fight and advance despite the injury that knocked out star golfer Jamie Lovemark. Here's to continuing the run to an NCAA championship!

UPDATE: USC lost to Michigan 3-2, but still a very impressive run for SC. Do not be surprised if the Trojans bring home a national title in golf next year. 

Sorry, I'm a little late on this, but USC men's golf advanced to the final round of play in the NCAA tournament despite an injury to All American and former NCAA individual champion Jamie Lovemark. From CSTV:

USC finished a combined 11-under 853 (285-284-284), one stroke ahead of sixth-place New Mexico (854-280-292-282) and four ahead of San Diego State (857-286-287-284). The Trojans, who started the day in fifth, fell behind both teams early but managed to rally on the back 9, where they were a combined 5-under.

Only the top 5 teams advance from each region, and as you can see the Trojan men just barely made it. Last year USC fell just short of a title, finishing in third overall and just two strokes behind ucla for the championship. However, if Lovemark can return healthy then SC has a strong shot at the title, especially consdering the great season that Sophomore Matthew Giles is having. 

Even if this year isn't the year, USC should return nearly everyone save for Glissmeyer, and make a run at the tutlke again next year. ...But it would be nice to take home a golf championship this year anyways. FIGHT ON!

via FreeDarko

The amazing thing about sports is that despite, or even perhaps in spite of what happens on the court or what appears in the box score is that people tend to construct a narrative and mythology around various teams in players. Any USC fan knows this all too well. Look at the preseason hype machine of over four years ago that made Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart into demi gods and then the same system that created a seemingly immortal legacy left by Vince Young's sensational man-against-the-world performance in that now legendary Rose Bowl game. But this isn't about football,but instead about another So Cal and Texas showdown.Tthis is about a modern sports myth in the making, the final game of the Lakers v. Rockets playoff series.

Yes, even before the playoffs had been started it already had been declared an inevitibility that a Lakers/Cavs Bryant/James armageddon matchup would be the one to decide the champions, and even with the larger than life (literally) Yao Ming, the Rockets weren't really given a chance at the series. Yet we have the birth of a hero in the diminuitive Aaron Brooks leading the supposedly less talented Rockets to a nearly dominant game 1 victory, and when the series turned back to Houston anything seemed possible even though the Lakers had just shown that they could be the Lakers everyone thought they were.

But Houston lost the next game, and lost Ming to an unfortunate (but not unlikely) foot injury and the feisty Rockets were given no hope. Then the Rockets won! Then they lost! By 40 points, and once again the decree from the pundits on high was that Houston had no chance and that now the door had definitively shut. But as we have seen now the door was not really shut at all, and that perhaps there was no door in the first place.

So here it is. Kobe Bryant. Ron Artest. Pau Gasol. Shane Battier. If you watch ESPN or ABC you already know that the Rockets once agins have no chance and that LA is basically the consensus pick. And who knows, this series may not even be remembered even two months from now. However, at this moment it has taken on a near Biblical David and Goliath vibe and seems to have the seeds of greatness sewn (sown?) into its very fabric. So I'll just leave you with some smirking words from Aaron Brooks when asked by a reporter if his team had a chance after the end of game 6, "Oh, I don't think we have any chance of winning. But I think we'll come out to play anyways."

Rare recent photo of Phil Knight. This is what happens kids when you promise your alma mater hundred of millions and a recession hits.

An absurdly early look at the 2009-10 Pac 10 Basketball season. Each team will be scrutinized in a ruthlessly clinical fashion, and a final post will wrap up the predicted final standings at the end of the season. For no particular reason I decided to go in alphabetical order, so up now are the woeful (but for how long?) Oregon Ducks.

Key Returners: Tajuan Porter (15.4 PPG, 50.7 eFG%), the entire team minus Churchill Odia

Key Departures: None

Key Recruits: Jamil Wilson (#31 ESPN 100, #94 Rivals 150)

Projected Starting Lineup:

PG          Garret Sim
CG          Tajuan Porter
SF           LeKendric Longmire
SF/PF     Joevan Catron
C             Michael Dunigan
6th Man  Kent rotated a ton of players last year...

The Lowdown: Trying to predict how Oregon will do next year is like trying to take the angry out of bees... its just not happening. This coming year's flock of ducks is an interesting group, one born under a sign of potential yet without any truly dominant talent or any dominant returning players for that matter. Sure, Tajuan Porter, Joevan Catron, Michael Dunigan, Lekendric Longmire, etc... could all be "the guy" but it seems as though they are all hesitant to step up and assume the mantle of leadership. Well someone has to, there is no under-achieveing yet still awesome in a subdued way Malik Hairston, no ultra efficient Maarty Leunen, and no sure & steady Bryce Taylor to fall back on. And for the love of Mike it has been nearly two years since Aaron Brooks has donned the giant yellow O. Basically, Oregon last season (and potentially next season too) was a bunch of pieces that did not quite make a sensible and more importantly the team lacked a star that could force them to fit together anyways.

So whither Tajuan Porter? Supposedly the diminuitive combo guard was going to be made into a point guard and take over ball handling duties for the team, but I think by this point it is clear to most that Porter's basic essence is to score and that any dishing or passing (assisting, as it were) would only come as a result of seizing momentary opportunities. For the sake of next season its important for the coaches to let Tajuan just be what he is, a volume scorer with a reckless streak. And of course, they need to have him switch on defense, otherwise they will get owned. Actually, Porter should be the least of Ernie Kent's concerns as getting something out of his cast of underachieving talent.

I mean, what is the deal with Michael Dunigan? He was a force on the court, but the way the dominance would come and go was almost spectral. OK OK, the reasons why Dunigan was not much of an impact player are not nearly that mysterious as he could never stay in the game. On the season, the freshman center averaged a foul for about every 6.8 minutes he was on the court, and he had an annoying tendency to pick up fouls in rapid succession which lead to frequent bench time despite Oregon's lack of height and front court depth. But even when he was on the court Dunigan had really subpar shooting percentages for a big man, and he needs to add efficient scoring to his efficient rebounding and shot blocking. And what to say about the other front court key, Joevan Catron? Catron has some nice moves in the post, but he fails to truly assert himself or make use of his relatively advanced skill set. Joevan is a truly frustrating player to be sure, and at this point in his career (he will be a senior next year) he should be more of an impact player.

I have to wonder aloud if OU fans will tolerate another mediocre season from Ernie Kent. In all honesty I think Kent is a pretty good coach, but some strange recruiting have resulted a bit of a patchwork team. Word is that new Oregon AD Mike Bellotti is good friends with the embattled hoops coach, but with a team that could finish as high as 3rd and as low as last, its hard to say if even the AD can spurn the masses if they begin calling for blood. Oh well... here's to next season Ducks fans!

Magic 8 ball says: "Will Oregon finish in the top half of a watered down Pac 10?" "Outlook not so good."

Bumped and edited...too important not to... Paragon

Take a look at this article from Andy Katz.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that Renardo Sidney earned a qualifying SAT score.

But he won't be playing at USC. A source close to the program confirmed that the Trojans are officially no longer recruiting Sidney, who had verbally committed to USC. The decision, according to the source, came from within the administration. UCLA also backed off in its recruitment of the 6-foot-9 power forward out of Fairfax High (Calif.) in a similar fashion, even though there was a strong chance the Bruins were going to land Sidney prior to him committing to USC.

I think this is for the best as it appears as though the administration had determined something was not quite up to snuff. It looks as though USC may be in for a bit of a rebuilding season, but with the incoming talent, newly eligible personnel, and the return of a few key reserves along with Dwight Lewis you just never know.

Also, head on over to USC Hoops to read some of The Sleuth's thoughts (FYI: The Sleuth is the web admin for the site). It sure has been one heck of a rollercoaster since the Pac 10 tournament started huh?

I think everyone here might get a kick out of this:

CampPete.com is not the average computer or video game. It's also a LEARNING experience with real information for your kids about how to lead a healthy, active lifestyle on an off the football field.

I'm kind of at a lack of words, but the whole thing seems oddly appropriate. Carrol was after all one of the first (maybe the first) to use twitter and it only makes sense that he should be the first coach to create an interactive online football world for kids. Ok, it doesn't really make any sense at all, but whatever. Have at it in the comments.

And you probably though I was going to post the Marcus Johnson Dunk again huh? (via calathletics)

An absurdly early look at the 2009-10 Pac 10 Basketball season. Each team will be scrutinized in a ruthlessly clinical fashion, and a final post will wrap up the predicted final standings at the end of the season. For no particular reason I decided to go in alphabetical order, so third out of the gates was surprisingly strong Cal, the only Pac 10 team to finish in the top half of the conference that returns its top five players by minutes.

Key Returners: Jerome Randle (18.3 PPG, 60.9 eFG%, 5.0 APG), Jamal Boykin (9.6 PPG, 53.5 eFG%, 6.4 RPG)

Key Departures: maybe Jordan Wilkes... maybe?

Key Recruits: none

Projected Starting Lineup:

PG           Jerome Randle
SG           Patrick Christopher
SF           Theo Robertson
SF/PF     Harper Kamp
PF           Jamal Boykin
6th Man  Jorge Gutierrez

The Lowdown: Last years California team is an excellent example of the limits of predictability. No one expected them to come out and contend for a Pac 10 title and absolutely nobody thought that Jerome Randle would end up being one of the nation's elite poing guards. Seriously the Cal team of last year is like some kind of Mandelbroatian fractal randomness nonsense that is almost impossible to predict outside of simply knowing that sometimes teams get hugely better for no readily apparent reason despite losing two players to the NBA. But here we are sitting in the present which at one time in the not so distant past was the incomprehensible future where the Golden Bears may actually be the favorite to win the Pac 10 in 2009-10. To be sure the merest notion would have been seen as the fevered dream of a madman, but as my goofy out of touch dad likes to say, "we are living in real reality". Are you following me? Ok good, because I promise I'll put the clamps down on the wild prose a little bit from here on out for the sake of readability, just bear with me...

So it may be a bit of a stretch to say that last year's team emerged out of some highly improbable soup to take the Pac 10 by storm. After all, Randle had a solid if unspectacular sophomore campaign, Boykin was a former Dukie who showed flashes of great potential, and Patrick Christopher had already established himself as a strong (albeit somewhat streaker) shooter. Add in the brilliant hire of semi-mythical college coach Mike Mintgomery and its easy to see (in hindsight) that all the pieces were there for a potentially great team despite some very key weaknesses. But now the team must face the burden of expectations along with the equally toilsome and ongoing burden of the lack of depth in the front court. Not that th're aren't options, 7+ footer Max Zhang has been riding the pine the past couple of seasons and a couple of JUCO players may help shore up the paint (Bak Bak anyone?). But I can't really say for sure how much effect a rag tag group of inexperienced big men will fare even in a somewhat depleted Pac 10.

So let's examine what there is to work with. Just by the sight test it seems like there is room to improve for all of Cal's players. It seemed like for much of the season that Randle could take over or alter games, but it always seemed as though he did so as a reaction to adversity on the court and not simply because he was a great player. Learning to assert himself for entire games could really elevate the Bears to another level. In a less philosophical way, Boykin is also capable of huge improvement over the off season and must live up to his potential if they want to talk seriously about a Pac 10 title. Finally, Patrick Christopher needs to be more consistent. To be frank I was shocked that Christopher was thinking about the draft because right now he is a scorer and not much else. If he really wants to make it to the association he needs to become a consistent volume scorer, and even then that Berkeley degree is worth more than the rookie minimum often thrown to 2nd round draft picks. 

So Cal may be maddeningly incomplete, but the essential incompleteness will not prevent them from improving and getting more wins next season. If anything basketball has been moving away from the platonic mold of pure 1 2 3 4 5, if it ever even existed, and a teams ability to emphasize its strengths and talent level is the only true limiting factor. Mike Montgomery is a coach that knows how to get the most out of the hand he has been dealt, and theres little doubt in my mind that California will be in the fight for the Pac 10 title up until the bitter end... well, as long as they can figure out how to beat Oregon State!

Magic 8 Ball Says: "Will Jerome Randle be recognized as the best PG in the Pac 10 next year?" "As I see it, yes"