A tradition-rich Pacific 10 Conference program should be the barometer for USC basketball, or at least that's the way new Coach Tim Floyd views things.
Floyd signaled his desire to raise the bar early in his introductory news conference Friday at Heritage Hall, praising the conference's marquee power that's led by a high-profile coach whom he admires.
It was the type of let's-go-get-'em stuff Trojan fans would have hoped for from a coach determined to elevate USC into UCLA's neighborhood, but Floyd has even richer tastes.
The Arizona Wildcats were Floyd's focus as he outlined his vision for the future of USC basketball, which won't be anything like its recent past if Floyd has his way.
He figures everything is in place for USC to be all it can be, which for Floyd means being better than UCLA. Arizona is the target, and Floyd doesn't care how that's perceived in Westwood.
Forget about keeping up with the Howlands. Floyd wants to live the life of Olson.
"That's the plan," said Floyd, who repeatedly reiterated his intention to eclipse the Bruins, just in case anyone arrived late.
"I know [UCLA Coach] Ben Howland ... he's a terrific coach. I just think that this place [can be] as good as we want it to be, and I'm not going to use UCLA as the barometer. I'm using Arizona as the barometer."
It seemed obvious to Floyd, considering the Wildcats have been a perennial national power for three decades under Hall of Fame Coach Lute Olson.
UCLA leads Arizona, 11-1, in NCAA championship banners, but the Wildcats have maintained a standard of excellence second to none in the Pac-10 since the late 1980s."They are the team, in my opinion," Floyd said. "We all are trying to get to that level."
Aspiring to achieve anything less than what Arizona has accomplished would be silly to Floyd, whose coaching history indicates he isn't aiming too high.
Floyd quickly turned around an abysmal program at Idaho, had a .686 winning percentage at New Orleans and led Iowa State to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. Those schools weren't exactly in prime recruiting areas, so Floyd crisscrossed the country to get the players who helped build those programs.
Along the way, Floyd, 50, developed a reputation as a tireless recruiter and excellent teacher who knew how to help players improve.
USC has only four scholarship players who currently have eligibility next season, so it's good for the Trojans that Floyd maintained a network of recruiting contacts while in the NBA.
