Solomon Hill

The Varsity Times Insider blog, a source for observations, news and game coverage, can be found at latimes.com/highschool. Here are some excerpts we like to call "Best of the Blog": From the City Section When it comes to recruiting, no one gets as much attention as Renardo Sidney, one of the most sought-after Division I basketball prospects in the nation. However, the big man from Fairfax isn't the only underclassman from the City Section powerhouse whom scouts have been noticing recently.

Who's the point? Daniel Hackett bolted to play professionally in Europe. Lamont Jones found an NCAA investigation-free zone in Tucson, Ariz. So whom does O'Neill trust with the ball, and the offense? Mike Gerrity , a two-time transfer -- from Pepperdine to North Carolina Charlotte to USC -- won't be eligible until mid-December. Donte Smith made only 18 of 70 shots with 22 assists and 29 turnovers in 24 games last season, falling so far from favor that he was ticketed out of the program until the mass exodus canceled that departure.

USC Coach Kevin O'Neill coughed as he left the news conference following his team's 56-50 win in its Pacific 10 conference opener against Arizona on Thursday. He was sick, kind of. No swine flu. No fever. No pox of any kind. "I'm sick of watching our team on offense," he said, half-kidding. A dose of his team's defense should be enough to cure what ails him, especially since the grinding style the Trojans played helped overcome a wretched night by savior point guard Mike Gerrity in front of 4,823 at the Galen Center.

Get ready to break out those "City Section Rules!" signs in high school boys' basketball this season. Westchester, Woodland Hills Taft and Los Angeles Fairfax are eager to take on any and all challengers. They've got veteran coaches, talent-filled starting lineups and college prospects used to playing on television and in sold-out gyms. They could take turns beating each other during the regular season, the City Section playoffs and the Southern California Regional playoffs.

The reviews were in quickly, even before UCLA players had peeled off their uniforms in their Staples Center locker room. "My dad just called me," UCLA senior forward Nikola Dragovic said. "He asked me how come we don't play like that all the time." Good question. Maybe the Bruins just weren't ready to take a final misstep in a woeful season. Or maybe it was the bounce—along with the elbows—forward Reeves Nelson's provided in his return from an eye injury.

It's goodbye, for now. UCLA bids farewell Saturday to its basketball home of the last 46 years, with plans to return to Pauley Pavilion after renovations are completed in the fall of 2012. In a fortuitous development, the Bruins will also get a chance to say hello to first place in the Pacific 10 Conference. USC's 65-57 upset of No. 10 Arizona on Thursday moved UCLA (20-8, 11-4 Pac-10) to within a game of the Wildcats (23-5, 12-3) heading into the Bruins' home finale against the conference leaders.

On his face were broken goggles. In his heart was a broken promise. But it was OK, because back home in Modesto, Reeves Nelson's grandmother was breaking eardrums. ‘'Oh, my God!" shouted Marilyn Sieferer, her cheers echoing off a giant television a few feet away. Three weeks after suffering a torn retina in his left eye, UCLA's Nelson returned to the court Thursday to lead the Bruins to a 75-69 win over Arizona in the first round of the Pacific Life Pac-10 basketball tournament.

Seniors Jerime Anderson and Lazeric Jones, arms draped over each other, trudged back to the UCLA locker room Thursday. "We were trying to console each other," Jones said. Joshua Smith called the last five months "a big disappointment. " Travis Wear was perplexed, saying, "It's tough to say what happened this season. " The talk was unnecessary. The emotionless way the Bruins lumbered off the court after a 66-58 loss to Arizona in the Pacific Life Pac-12 Conference tournament quarterfinals was a picture worth 1,000 words.

USC junior guard Dwight Lewis seemed to be the last man standing this week, working out alone in the weight room at the Galen Center. Lewis was a key piece in what had become a difficult puzzle for opponents to solve, but other key pieces fell out this week. Freshman forward DeMar DeRozan and junior guard Daniel Hackett have said they will declare for the NBA draft, and sources said junior forward Taj Gibson will do so as well.

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.