Sports
A familiar face takes over at USC
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| Scott A. Taras | Special to the Green Valley News Kevin O’Neill coaches the Arizona Wildcats in this Nov. 7, 2007 file photo. The former UA interim head coach was announced as USC’s head basketball coach Saturday morning. |
By Nick Prevenas, www.gvnews.com
Tim Floyd almost left USC to take over the Arizona coaching position. Now that he abruptly resigned in the wake of some serious recruiting allegations, a familiar face for Wildcat fans will be helping to pick up the pieces.
Former UA interim head coach Kevin O’Neill was announced as Floyd’s replacement on Saturday morning. USC athletic director Mike Garrett said in a statement that “[O’Neill is] a no-nonsense coach who is very detail-oriented and prepares his teams well. He stresses defense and I’ve always believed that defense wins championships.”
Lute Olson brought O’Neill onto the UA coaching staff in 2007 to replace beloved associate head coach Jim Rosborough. The plan was for O’Neill to bring a hard-nosed man-to-man defensive identity to the Wildcats, who had spent the previous few seasons struggling on that end of the floor.
When Olson announced his leave of absence in November of that year, O’Neill was handed the coaching reins. After some early success, UA athletic director Jim Livengood put together a plan for O’Neill to become Olson’s permanent successor, but those plans were scrapped in the spring of 2008.
O’Neill’s Wildcats finished 19-15 and kept the NCAA Tournament streak alive at 24 (now 25) seasons, but the team fell apart toward the end of the season and sputtered to a lackluster finish.
There were also reports that O’Neill had alienated a handful of the players on the roster, as well as his coaching staff.
He spent last season as an assistant coach and as the special assistant to the general manager with the Memphis Grizzlies. Garrett said he wanted a coach with professional experience, and O’Neill has that in spades.
He’s also held down head coaching jobs at Marquette, Tennessee and Northwestern.
O’Neill has his work cut out for him at USC. Outside of the potential sanctions this program might see as a result of Floyd’s alleged wheelings and dealings, many of the team’s top contributors (DeMar Derozan, Taj Gibson, Daniel Hackett, Marcus Johnson) are heading to the NBA draft, with eight recruits leaving the team.
Sean Miller will officially make $1.6 million annually in his position as head coach of the Arizona Wildcats.
The Board of Regents unanimously approved the deal on Thursday. Arizona would be required to pay the 40-year-old coach $4.8 million if he was fired during the first year of the contract, $4 million during his second year and $3.2 million during the third year. The buyout would drop to $1.6 million during Miller’s fourth year with the Wildcats.
If Miller leaves before the contract ends, he would owe the university $500,000.
The contract is essentially for seven years. Even though the board bylaws state that contracts can be no longer than five years, there is a clause for the contract to be renewed an extra two years after his first two seasons on the job providing there are no grounds to fire him.
Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger don’t have long to wait before hearing their names called.
Both former Wildcats will be first-round picks during Thursday’s NBA draft, which takes place in New York and will be broadcast on ESPN at 4 p.m.
Hill is a definite lottery pick and could go as high as the top-five, with many teams in the mix to trade for the forward’s services. Budinger could sneak into the bottom end of the lottery, but he’ll likely go in the middle part of round one.
Check Wednesday’s Green Valley News for a full scouting report on the two NBA hopefuls.
nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747
Former UA interim head coach Kevin O’Neill was announced as Floyd’s replacement on Saturday morning. USC athletic director Mike Garrett said in a statement that “[O’Neill is] a no-nonsense coach who is very detail-oriented and prepares his teams well. He stresses defense and I’ve always believed that defense wins championships.”
Lute Olson brought O’Neill onto the UA coaching staff in 2007 to replace beloved associate head coach Jim Rosborough. The plan was for O’Neill to bring a hard-nosed man-to-man defensive identity to the Wildcats, who had spent the previous few seasons struggling on that end of the floor.
When Olson announced his leave of absence in November of that year, O’Neill was handed the coaching reins. After some early success, UA athletic director Jim Livengood put together a plan for O’Neill to become Olson’s permanent successor, but those plans were scrapped in the spring of 2008.
O’Neill’s Wildcats finished 19-15 and kept the NCAA Tournament streak alive at 24 (now 25) seasons, but the team fell apart toward the end of the season and sputtered to a lackluster finish.
There were also reports that O’Neill had alienated a handful of the players on the roster, as well as his coaching staff.
He spent last season as an assistant coach and as the special assistant to the general manager with the Memphis Grizzlies. Garrett said he wanted a coach with professional experience, and O’Neill has that in spades.
He’s also held down head coaching jobs at Marquette, Tennessee and Northwestern.
O’Neill has his work cut out for him at USC. Outside of the potential sanctions this program might see as a result of Floyd’s alleged wheelings and dealings, many of the team’s top contributors (DeMar Derozan, Taj Gibson, Daniel Hackett, Marcus Johnson) are heading to the NBA draft, with eight recruits leaving the team.
Sean Miller will officially make $1.6 million annually in his position as head coach of the Arizona Wildcats.
The Board of Regents unanimously approved the deal on Thursday. Arizona would be required to pay the 40-year-old coach $4.8 million if he was fired during the first year of the contract, $4 million during his second year and $3.2 million during the third year. The buyout would drop to $1.6 million during Miller’s fourth year with the Wildcats.
If Miller leaves before the contract ends, he would owe the university $500,000.
The contract is essentially for seven years. Even though the board bylaws state that contracts can be no longer than five years, there is a clause for the contract to be renewed an extra two years after his first two seasons on the job providing there are no grounds to fire him.
Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger don’t have long to wait before hearing their names called.
Both former Wildcats will be first-round picks during Thursday’s NBA draft, which takes place in New York and will be broadcast on ESPN at 4 p.m.
Hill is a definite lottery pick and could go as high as the top-five, with many teams in the mix to trade for the forward’s services. Budinger could sneak into the bottom end of the lottery, but he’ll likely go in the middle part of round one.
Check Wednesday’s Green Valley News for a full scouting report on the two NBA hopefuls.
nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747
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