USC basketball Coach Tim Floyd won't talk about turmoil

Tim Floyd worked the room. USC's basketball coach smiled and laughed with Trojans boosters, listened intently when circumstances called for it, and posed for a few photos.

What he didn't do was talk about the main issues confronting his program.

Floyd appeared Wednesday night along with football Coach Pete Carroll at the Irvine Hyatt Regency, the first stop on a meet-and-greet tour with Trojans supporters across the state over the next couple of weeks.

The free fall that the basketball team is currently experiencing, the specter of an NCAA investigation into the Trojans' basketball and football programs, and rampant speculation that Floyd's job might be on the line was not part of the agenda.

The crowd that filled one of the hotel's ballrooms mustered only one tough question, which was asked of both coaches: There has been this cloud of the NCAA, are we ever going to get out of it?

Carroll quickly answered, saying that when he first got to USC his goal was to build a program where, "everyone was coming after us."

"Be careful what you wish for," Carroll added, also saying that scrutiny was the price "for being on top."

Floyd did not respond to the question.

He did, however, answer a question about the recent rash of players disappearing from his roster -- USC had three players declare for the NBA draft and has lost three recruits since the season ended -- by saying, "One morning in March, one of our graduate assistants pulled up three articles that had us ranked fourth, fifth and sixth in early polls for next season.

"By 1 p.m., DeMar DeRozan, Taj Gibson and Daniel Hackett all declared for the NBA."

The tone of the event was set early, with moderator John Jackson, a former Trojans football player, reminding the gathering, some of whom paid as much as $350 to attend, that there were questions that couldn't be answered.

Carroll mentioned that the media was present and urged the crowd to "have respect of the issues."

Floyd opened with a joke, "commending" Carroll on his powder-blue tie. But he ended with a no comment, refusing to submit to questions posed by The Times after the event, sticking with the stance USC has taken in the wake of news that the NCAA is investigating whether the school has exhibited proper institutional control over its powerhouse athletic program.