Basketball

Police in Spokane, Wash., completed their investigation of a fight that occurred last month and have requested that two USC basketball players be charged with two counts each of second-degree assault, a police spokeswoman said. Neither police nor USC has named the players involved in the March 10 incident. USC suspended center James Blasczyk and forward Dewayne Dedmon indefinitely the day after the incident for violating team rules. The Spokane County prosecutor's office will make the final decision about whether to file charges, police spokeswoman Monique Cotton said in an email.

Born in Hawthorne and raised in Carson, Darius Morris spent his childhood cheering for the Lakers - largely because of his his admiration for Kobe Bryant. Morris is less than four years removed from his playing days at Windward School, and now his childhood idol is not only a teammate, but a mentor and friend. In 2009, Morris led Windward to its first state championship in his senior season. Then his basketball career took an unexpected turn toward a bottom-dwelling college program 2,250 miles away.

Richard Pitino was regarded as one of the nation's up-and-coming young coaches at Florida International and comes with a last name that draws immediate respect in all corners of college basketball. That combination was too good for Minnesota to pass up. Pitino has agreed to take over for the fired Tubby Smith , the university announced Wednesday evening. Athletic Director Norwood Teague said the final terms of the contract would be worked out as the week goes on and Pitino was expected to be introduced by Friday.

Steve Alford was formally introduced as UCLA's basketball coach Tuesday, at center court in Pauley Pavilion. He mentioned John Wooden three times during his first three minutes in the Westwood spotlight. Athletic Director Dan Guerrero noted the "blending the past, present and, of course, the future" of Bruins basketball. Alford, hired away from New Mexico, hopes to live up to UCLA's past, symbols of which were located high above him, where aging national championship banners dangle.

USC introduced Andy Enfield as its new coach Wednesday with Athletic Director Pat Haden proclaiming that it was time for Trojans basketball to be relevant. "Let's be honest," Haden said during a news conference at the Galen Center, "it's not been relevant for a while. "We're about to change that. " Enfield, 43, rose to prominence last month when he led 15th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast University to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.  But Enfield -- a former player at Johns Hopkins University, private businessman, NBA assistant and college assistant at Florida State -- indicated that he was no overnight success.

USC's football coaching staff traveled across campus to the Galen Center on Wednesday to attend the introductory news conference for basketball Coach Andy Enfield. While his assistants huddled in the back of the reception room, Lane Kiffin settled into a front-row seat. "USC basketball should be relevant," Athletic Director Pat Haden said in his opening remarks. "Let's be honest: It's not been relevant for a while. We're about to change that. " Even at a school dominated by its football program?

It's been a long time since I've written about domestic violence. But watching the video of Rutgers University basketball coach Mike Rice repeatedly hitting, kicking and verbally abusing his players during practice gave me the chilling sense that I was watching a training film on the dynamics of domestic abuse. He dished it out, they took it, he kept dishing out, they kept taking it. Can you see how this works? It wasn't their fault. But what were they supposed to do?

A process that started quietly more than a year ago went into overdrive last weekend and culminated with Andy Enfield's becoming USC's basketball coach. USC Athletic Director Pat Haden said Tuesday that Enfield, who coached at Florida Gulf Coast the last two seasons, was hired after a vetting process that once included 40 to 50 names. Haden fired Kevin O'Neill in January and the Trojans finished the season under interim Coach Bob Cantu. Haden, who said he hired a recruitment firm to search for a new coach more than a year ago, met with Enfield for 4 1/2 hours on Monday before announcing his hiring that evening.

I saw the guy working on TV, his team surprising folks in the NCAA tournament, but honestly I don't even know his first name now that he has become USC's basketball coach. But he has to be more interesting and exciting than the dolt introduced as UCLA basketball coach Tuesday. It's pretty well understood that whoever coaches UCLA basketball is a dead man walking, it being only a matter of time before the alumni agree he'll never be another John Wooden. But this might be the first time UCLA actually hired a dead man. Yeesh, the John Wooden statue outside of Pauley had more life to it than Steve Alford, the robot who sputtered nonstop platitudes while never once answering a question directly.

Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice's job is in jeopardy after the release of a video that shows the coach using gay slurs, physically pushing and grabbing his players, and throwing balls at his Scarlet Knights team during practices. In the video obtained by ESPN , Rice can be seen repeatedly belittling and shoving his players. He is also observed targeting a player's head with a basketball and kicking another. Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti, who according to the Associated Press was first shown the video in late November, originally suspended the coach for three games, required he attend anger management classes and fined Rice $50,000.