SBNation.com - USC Bans Basketball Team From Postseason Over Recruitment Of O.J. Mayohttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46737/sbn-fave.png2010-01-07T07:36:10-05:00http://www.sbnation.com/rss/stream/9957292010-01-07T07:36:10-05:002010-01-07T07:36:10-05:00Stanford 54, USC 53: Trojans Drop First Game After Sanctions Announced
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<p><i>Read more at our USC blog, </i><a href="http://www.conquestchronicles.com" target="_blank"><i>Conquest Chronicles</i></a><i>. This game was the first for the Trojans after the school decided to <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/2010/1/3/1231688/usc-basketball-oj-mayo-postseason-ban" target="_blank">ban the school from postseason play</a> this season because of NCAA violations committed during the recruitment of O.J. Mayo.</i></p>
<p>January 7, 2010 - Stanford, CA (<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/events/52278/recap/83063" target="_blank">Sports Network</a>) - Jarrett Mann hit a free throw with 10.6 seconds left and the Stanford Cardinal hung on for a 54-53 win over the USC Trojans in Pac-10 play Maples Pavilion.</p>
<p>Jeremy Green led the way for Stanford (7-7, 1-1 Pac-10) with 17 points, while Landry Fields had 14 points and eight rebounds.</p>
<p>Dwight Lewis turned in 22 points for USC (10-5, 2-1), which had its eight-game win streak snapped, and Alex Stepheson added 13 points and eight boards.</p>
<p>Stanford shot 48.1 percent from the floor in the first half and grabbed a 31-28 lead at the intermission.</p>
<p>After Mann hit the go-ahead free throw, Stanford came up with several stops of USC in the final moments to survive for the one-point victory.</p>
<p>On the night, the Cardinal made good on 45.8 percent of its attempts from the field.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/2010/1/7/1238202/usc-stanford-basketball-score-2010Chris Dobbertean2010-01-03T22:02:50-05:002010-01-03T22:02:50-05:00Conquest Chronicles: Worst Is Still To Come For USC
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<p>On Sunday, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/2010/1/3/1231688/usc-basketball-oj-mayo-postseason-ban">USC self-imposed sanctions on their basketball program</a> as punishment for NCAA violations committed during O.J. Mayo's recruitment. The school said it will not participate in the 2009-10 postseason, will forfeit a scholarship in both this season and next and will impose recruiting restrictions, limiting the number of days from 130 to 110. So, all better now in Los Angeles, right? Uh, not so fast. </p>
<p>SB Nation's <a href="http://www.conquestchronicles.com/2010/1/3/1232205/usc-self-imposing-sanctions-on-the">Conquest Chronicles</a> points out that the NCAA has yet to weigh in on any of this, which means the worst is probably still coming for USC. </p>
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<p>This is just the beginning. I have never heard of the NCAA accepting ANY self-imposed sanctions without having some official say. They have not done that......yet.</p>
<p>It would also appear that <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2010/01/usc-basketball-ncaa-reaction-to-trojans-selfimposed-sanctions-.html">USC knows something is coming...</a></p>
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<p>The basketball program's self-imposed punishment suggested that USC knew the NCAA was about to take action, said the director of a compliance department at a major university familiar with such investigations. "If they're doing all that, they know something's coming," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "They know they're going to have their day in front of the [NCAA's] committee on infractions, and they're preparing."</p>
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<p>Conquest Chronicles goes on to address the speculation that USC basketball is getting punished to protect the university's football program, referencing the Maurice Clarett-Ohio State fiasco, in which basketball head coach Jim O'Brien was fired for making a payment to the family of a former recruit, while the football program went unscathed. But USC ultimately has little ties to Reggie Bush and his situation, so perhaps the better issue to be raised here is why the current team is being punished for something that happened with Mayo, over two years ago.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, like it or not, that is just the way it goes...it isn't right but it is not like they didn't know this was coming so I am a little surprised that there is any shock over all of this.</p>
<p>Mayo and Floyd are gone and to me they are the only people that matter. They will answer to no one. Gibson, DeRozan, and Hackett have moved on and had really nothing to do with it.</p>
<p>I feel bad for these kids but there is nothing we can do.</p>
<p>Welcome to the world of the NCAA.</p>
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https://www.sbnation.com/2010/1/3/1232356/usc-basketball-sanctions-ncaa-investigation-worst-to-comeRyan Hudson2010-01-03T14:19:47-05:002010-01-03T14:19:47-05:00USC Bans Basketball From Postseason Over Recruitment Of O.J. Mayo
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<p>USC has been quite the story in college basketball over the past few weeks, as the Trojans have won eight in a row, highlighted by a wins over <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/2010/1/1/1229474/tennessee-basketball-weapons-drugs-charges">now-scandal ridden Tennessee</a> and UNLV and have looked like a completely different team with point guard <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/25318/Michael_Gerrity" class="sbn-auto-link">Mike Gerrity</a> and forward <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53702/Leonard_Washington" class="sbn-auto-link">Leonard Washington</a> in the lineup.</p>
<p>That all ended on Sunday, January 3, hours after the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/events/47845">Trojans defeated Arizona State</a> to join Oregon atop the Pac-10 with a 2-0 record. CBS Sports' Seth Davis reported on <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/SethDavisHoops/statuses/7339264504">Twitter </a>that the USC had self-imposed sanctions after finding NCAA rules were violated during <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/29053/O_J_Mayo" class="sbn-auto-link">O.J. Mayo</a>'s recruitment to the school. A visit to the university's athletics website confirmed this information, as a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/010310aah.html">statement on the matter</a> appears on the front page.</p>
<p>Here's a summary of the actions the school took.</p>
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<li><span style="line-height: 16px; font-size: 12px;">The men's basketball team will not participate in the 2009-10 postseason, including the Pac-10 tournament in Los Angeles.</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 16px; font-size: 12px;">Men's basketball loses one scholarship in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 16px; font-size: 12px;">The program also will suffer on the recruiting trail, as one fewer coach will be allowed to participate in off-campus recruiting this summer, and the number of recruiting days for men's basketball in 2010-11 was cut from 130 to 110.</span></li>
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<p>Mayo's involvement with Rodney Guillory led to further action regarding the record book.</p>
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<p>In addition, because of Mayo's involvement with Rodney Guillory, whom under NCAA rules became a USC booster due to his role in Mayo's recruitment, USC will vacate all wins during the 2007-2008 regular season, which was when Mayo competed while ineligible. USC will also return to the NCAA the money it received through the Pac-10 Conference for its participation in the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.</p>
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<p>The NCAA has yet to weigh in on the matter, but it would be hard to imagine that they could do much more to USC than this.</p>
<p>USC head coach says in the statement that his team will take these actions in stride.</p>
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<p>"As their coach, I will do everything in my power to make our program better on and off the court every day," he said. "Our job as a team now is to move forward in a positive manner. We have 16 games left to play this season. I have no doubt that our players will prepare and play well in those games. While it is unfortunate that our players won't have the chance to compete in the post-season, that just makes every game for us now a post-season game."</p>
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<p>Visit our Trojans blog, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.conquestchronicles.com">Conquest Chronicles</a>, for more on this story.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/2010/1/3/2312889/usc-bans-basketball-from-postseason-over-recruitment-of-o-j-mayoChris Dobbertean