1 BLACK E10 DAILY 03-23-07 MD RE E10 BLACK E10 Friday, March R x The Washington Post 23, 2007 NCAA Tournament ROUND OF 16 ON BASKETBALL John Feinstein Floyd, USC Arrive a Year Ahead of Schedule EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. work as a volunteer: Haskins, Ralph Miller and im Floyd is back in the maelstrom again. Bob Knight. Haskins, remembering his father, It isn’t because he has coached wrote back. He ended up working at what had T Southern California into the round of 16 become Texas-El Paso for nine seasons. in his second season at the school. It isn’t even “I still talk to him about five times a week,” because the Trojans were one of college Floyd said. “After we lost to Oregon [in the basketball’s surprise teams this season. Pacific-10 final], the conversation wasn’t very It is because of O.J. Mayo, one of those high pleasant. He chewed me out pretty good.” school prodigies who has been touted as a Not this week. The fifth-seeded Trojans superstar since the seventh grade. Mayo has made crushed 12th-seeded Arkansas and fourth-seeded all sorts of headlines this season — on the court, Texas and Kevin Durant to reach this point in the off the court and, most of all, by recruiting USC tournament for the first time since 2001. and Floyd rather than the other way around. Floyd has been around long enough that he Because most figure he will head for the NBA insists Mayo’s recruitment wasn’t the strangest of after the required one-year waiting period and his coaching career. because he reportedly called Floyd to say he “Ervin Johnson,” he said, laughing. “When I wanted to come to USC rather than the other way got to New Orleans in 1988, we had no one on the around, he has been the subject of a good deal of team over 6-4. We were getting ready for our first controversy and speculation. game that November, and I was in my office at “I’m telling you, this is a good kid,” Floyd about 9 o’clock. A very tall young man walks in insisted Thursday afternoon, standing in a and says: ‘Coach, my name is Ervin Johnson. I’d hallway at Continental Airlines Arena after his like to play for you.’ ” team had practiced in preparation for its East Region semifinal on Friday night against top-seeded North Carolina. “He’s a ‘yes-sir, no-sir’ kid. But because he’s different than some other kids, I think some people have gotten the wrong idea about him.” Whether that’s true or not, only time will tell. But in a sense, Mayo could not have picked a better coach if he is going to be playing under a spotlight. Floyd, 53, was a successful college coach at Idaho, New Orleans and Iowa State before coming to USC. But he is most remembered for the one job in which he failed: taking over the Chicago Bulls in 1998 after the departures of Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson. The Bulls went from six championships in eight years to 13-37 (in a lockout-shortened season), 17-65, 15-67 and 4-21, at which point Floyd BY JESSICA RINALDI — REUTERS resigned midway through the 2001-02 season Antonio Anderson, who made the winning free throws for Memphis, soars over Joseph Jones, front, and Donald Sloan. before he could age another 100 years. “I’ve had people tell me that I walked into the worst job in the history of professional sports,” Floyd said with a smile. “I think I’ve got the scars Aggies Stumble, Tigers Advance on my butt to prove it.” He can joke about it now. He can even TIGERS, From E8 throw shooting team in the regular in Thursday night’s regional semifi- reference his NBA experience — he also coached season, hired a sports psychologist nal, and his affected gait seemed om- the New Orleans Hornets for a season, going ing behind a safety. The ball floated before the tournament. His mes- inous. But Douglas-Roberts played 41-41 and making the playoffs in 2003-04 — as over his shoulder and into his hands, sage: Don’t think about the conse- 37 minutes and scored 15 points, 11 something that has helped in recruiting. BY BILL KOSTROUN — ASSOCIATED PRESS and he took two dribbles before lay- quences of foul shots; just shoot of them in the first half. “There’s not a 6-5 kid in the country who Tim Floyd made the round of 16 in his second year ing the ball toward the basket. But it them. Another bad harbinger: The Ala- doesn’t think he’s going to play in the NBA,” he at USC. Expectations will be higher next season rolled off the front of the rim, and And so Anderson made the first. modome felt more like Texas than a said. “The fact that I can say I have some idea with the arrival of heralded recruit O.J. Mayo. Memphis received a chance to win Gillispie called time out, the score honky-tonk Thursday night. Texas about what it takes to play at that level helps me the game. tied at 64, an arena twitching with A&M started four players from the with all our recruits.” Johnson explained he had been 6-3 as a high Jeremy Hunt, a reserve who led anticipation. Anderson went to the state, including three from Dallas. Whether Mayo has what it takes won’t be school senior, had never played basketball (but all scorers with 19 points, launched line and arced another perfect pa- The arena’s speakers blared George known until next year. The fact that he sent a had played tuba in the school band) and had then a three-point attempt, which the Ti- rabola that landed cleanly through Strait at halftime. Texas A&M fans “representative” to Floyd’s office last summer to grown eight inches while bagging groceries in gers rebounded, and Calipari called the rim. overtook the Alamodome, filling let him know he was interested in USC has raised Baton Rouge during the past three years. a timeout. He set his final play, Before that sequence, the Aggies three-quarters of the arena. eyebrows. The fact that he didn’t want to give Floyd thought some kind of prank was taking which ended up being a three-point- had outrebounded Memphis 36-27, Aggie fans started swaying arm- Floyd his cellphone number after their initial place. He asked Johnson to show him his driver’s er from the left wing by Andre Allen. eight of the boards from Antanas in-arm and chanting even before conversation also has caused some concern. license. Ervin Johnson Jr. (different spelling than It missed, but the Tigers rebound- Kavaliauskas, who also led the Ag- opening tip and never stopped “His mother didn’t want him giving the number Magic), it said. ed again. Another miss, another gies with 17 points. screaming, turning the contest into out to too many people,” Floyd said. “She didn’t “I walked him to the parking lot and asked him board. Again. Finally, Anderson For Memphis, Chris Douglas- a virtual home game about a 1 want to pay for all the calls. He wasn’t being to run to his car,” Floyd said. “I couldn’t try him leaped and corralled the fourth miss, Roberts walked with a slight limp 3 ⁄2-hour drive from the College Sta- arrogant about it at all.” out, but I wanted to see if he could run.” this time drawing a foul from Carter from the bench to midcourt during tion campus. Perhaps. Regardless, the road Floyd has Johnson enrolled at New Orleans the next as he tried to shoot the ball in one pregame introduction, surely a But Memphis overcame both the traveled to become Mayo’s future coach is one of semester, redshirted and ended up leading the motion off the rebound. dreadful harbinger for Memphis. Its Aggies and all those fans, like Gil- an unusual odyssey. Floyd’s father, Lee Floyd, team to 26 wins as a senior. He then played 13 Anderson strode to the line, hav- leading scorer wore a bulky brace lispie, were left only to walk away sa- coached at what was then Mississippi Southern seasons in the NBA. ing made one of four free throws in around the sprained left ankle that voring the memories of a season and College. He resigned in 1954, and a couple of “He also graduated on time,” Floyd said, the game. Memphis, a dreadful free- threatened to keep him from playing regretted the final, painful ones. summers ago, Floyd found his letter of proudly. “I knew what kind of kid he was when I resignation in his mother’s attic. told him if we were going to do this, I needed him “The letter said he couldn’t afford to be a coach to show up the next day to get him enrolled and to ROUND OF 16 anymore, and he was moving to El Paso to open a practice to learn how to play the game. He said he Final Four, March 31–April 2 [1] Florida North Carolina [1] gas station,” Floyd said. “He had three kids. He couldn’t do it; he had to give the grocery store in Atlanta needed more income.” two weeks notice. Today, 7:10 Today, 10:02 [5] Butler Southern Cal [5] Lee Floyd was the athlete of the decade at “He was so bad the first day of practice we Midwest Region East Region in St.