October 4, 2009

Rivals.com Staff

At the College Basketball Roundtable each week, we ask each member of the college basketball coverage staff for his opinion about a topic in the sport.

Today's question: Which coach and/or program faces the biggest challenge after a turbulent offseason?

David Fox's answer:
USC's saving grace might be that it's a football school in Los Angeles. If the Trojans were in, say, Lexington, Ky., the situation would be utterly miserable. The aftermath of the Tim Floyd era will be difficult to overcome, starting with the talent level. The Trojans appear headed to a ninth- or 10th-place finish in a weakened Pac-10 after the loss of Taj Gibson, DeMar DeRozan and Daniel Hackett. The roster is cobbled together (including one key player, Leonard Washington, who is ineligible for the fall semester) and led by Kevin O'Neill, who doesn't strike me as being a permanent solution. Making matters worse, there's no reason to believe USC's problems will be a one-season deal. The consequences of previous misdeeds should last for years to come.

Mike Huguenin's answer:
I'll go with USC. The Trojans had a late-season surge to make it into the NCAA tournament last season, then won a game in the tourney, and the future looked bright -- so bright, in fact, that the Trojans looked as if they would be the preseason favorite in the Pac-10 and a top-10 team. It unraveled quickly. Three starters who still had eligibility remaining left for the draft, then coach Tim Floyd abruptly resigned amid allegations that he broke NCAA rules. A top-notch recruiting class scattered, as well. Left behind is a team that looks as if it will finish eighth or ninth in a weakened Pac-10. In addition, the specter of future NCAA sanctions looms over the program. I also need to mention Binghamton, the defending America East champion. The Bearcats' top three returning players were dismissed last week, along with three other players; the Bearcats also lost three seniors off last season's team, so, in all, they lost their top five scorers. In addition, athletic director Joel Thirer resigned. If this were a Big Six-conference program, this type of news would be staggering.

Jason King's answer:
Of all the offseason scandals, I think the one that occurred at Louisville is the worst -- mainly because it's something that will hover over the heads of coach Rick Pitino and his players until the day Pitino retires. And, frankly, that's something he already should've done. Can you imagine the ridicule Pitino will receive when he and the Cardinals visit the hostile arenas throughout the Big East? What about the difficulty he'll have in the living rooms of recruits when he's asked to explain why he was irresponsible enough to have an affair and impregnate a woman, who later had an abortion, in a restaurant while one of his assistants stood guard? Try as they may to forgive him, Louisville fans will always have a tainted image of Pitino. They'll always look at him in a different light. The program won't truly be able to move on until Pitino is no longer walking the sideline.

Steve Megargee's answer:
I'd have to go with Louisville coach Rick Pitino. USC and Memphis undoubtedly have undergone plenty of adversity since March, but I think their respective fan bases understand those programs could need some time to rebuild after losing so much talent in the offseason. I'm guessing those fan bases will show at least a little bit of patience toward new coaches Kevin O'Neill at USC and Josh Pastner at Memphis. O'Neill isn't the guy to blame that USC's in hot water with the NCAA. Those accusations surround former coach Tim Floyd. Likewise, Memphis fans shouldn't blame Pastner for losing what would have been the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation. Once John Calipari left Memphis, most of the guys he recruited were unlikely to stick around, no matter who was hired to replace him. But in Louisville's case, Pitino has only himself to blame for the off-court problems he's encountered in the offseason. Wherever he goes this season, Pitino probably will get a hostile reception in the wake of his admission of a marital indiscretion. If that isn't bad enough, the departures of Terrence Williams and Earl Clark could have Louisville playing second fiddle in its own state to Kentucky, which has emerged as a legitimate Final Four contender following the arrivals of Calipari and the nation's top recruiting class. The combination of replacing two lottery picks while dealing with off-court drama as an in-state rival surges into the national title picture could make this the most challenging season of Pitino's career.