Southern California's three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and high-profile recruits like O.J. Mayo and DeMar DeRozan seem like distant history. The Trojans are strictly in recovery mode these days. They open the season Tuesday against UC Riverside amid an ongoing NCAA investigation into alleged recruiting violations under former coach Tim Floyd and the early NBA-induced departures of DeRozan, Taj Gibson and Daniel Hackett. Floyd resigned following allegations of paying to land Mayo, who played one season before jumping to the NBA. "I don't need to address any of that other than to say whatever comes out of our investigation we're going to move forward in a positive manner, we're going to recruit well and get good players, and we're going to be competitive," new coach Kevin O'Neill said. He's been left to build a team around returning leading scorer Dwight Lewis, backups and transfers after most of USC's signing class bailed out. "I'm just learning our team, really," said O'Neill, who took the job in mid-June, too late to do any serious recruiting. Lewis finds himself with the pressure of carrying a team for the first time in his senior season. He averaged 14.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season and is used to playing major minutes. "If I had my way, everybody would have stayed and we would've been like a top-five in the country," he said. "I was cool being the second, third, fourth guy every night, it didn't bother me. Now I have to take on this role and try to make the best of it." So do the Trojans, who were picked to finish ninth, one spot ahead of Stanford in the Pac-10 standings. They were 22-13 overall and tied for fifth in the league last season, winning the school's first Pac-10 tournament title. Beyond Lewis, there are many questions facing the Trojans. "We basically have a bunch of guys that haven't played very much," O'Neill said. Sophomore Leonard Washington and junior Alex Stepheson figure to anchor the frontcourt. Washington averaged 6.1 points and 4.2 rebounds last season. Stepheson, who transferred home to Los Angeles from North Carolina, has been bothered by a left knee injury that is expected to keep him out a few weeks. Senior Marcus Johnson is another transfer from a big-time program. He played two productive seasons at Connecticut before leaving and could start at small forward. He will miss the first two regular-season games as punishment for playing in exhibition games while at UConn. Joining Lewis in the backcourt are juniors Donte Smith and Marcus Simmons, who were seldom used last season. A lack of challengers makes Smith the starting point guard by default, at least until Mike Gerrity is eligible after the first semester. Gerrity transferred from Charlotte after starting his career at Pepperdine. "The problem is he hasn't played that spot before very much, so he's going to be kind of a novice at this level," O'Neill said about Smith. Among others on the roster are sophomore James Dunleavy, son of Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy; sophomore Percy Miller, better known as actor and rapper Lil' Romeo; and sophomore Korri Ennis, who earned a spot on the team during last month's open tryout and whose eligibility is under review by the NCAA clearinghouse. "We're going to have to be resilient because we've lost a recruiting class and three guys to the pros, and a couple other guys to graduation," O'Neill said. "All those guys are in a position where they're going to have to do more than they've ever done before. Not so much is it a great challenge for them, it's a great opportunity. That's the way they should be looking at it." O'Neill is 171-180 in 12 seasons as a college coach, specializing in rebuilding efforts at places like Marquette, Tennessee and Northwestern. He knows the Pac-10 from serving as interim coach at Arizona during the 2007-08 season, leading the Wildcats to a 19-15 record and their 24th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. O'Neill was in line to permanently succeed Hall of Famer Lute Olson, but that didn't happen, and he spent last season as a special assistant to the Memphis Grizzlies' GM before answering the call of USC athletic director Mike Garrett. O'Neill didn't shy away from taking the job under threat of fallout from the NCAA investigation. If the NCAA can prove Floyd paid to have Mayo delivered to USC, that would be considered a major violation. The Trojans could be forced to forfeit victories, and they could face recruiting restrictions and lose scholarships. The football team also is under NCAA investigation for alleged improprieties involving Heisman Trophy-winning running back Reggie Bush. In Floyd's four-year tenure, the Trojans reached the NCAA tournament the last three seasons. O'Neill is faced with extending that rare streak at a school best known for its national championship football team.
