Tim Floyd

Tim Floyd submitted his resignation Tuesday and Athletic Director Mike Garrett accepted it so fast he probably got a paper cut snapping it out of the fax machine. The good news, of course, is that it's only the fall of USC basketball, leaving the all-important work of preserving, defending and protecting the constitution of USC football. What happened to Floyd was inevitable and the appointed hour of his departure was inconsequential.

Finally, USC speaks! Actually, no, the university on Wednesday again refused to discuss the public disintegration of one of its marquee assets -- the blowing up of the men's basketball program -- but I dug up a quote anyway. The following is an excerpt from President Steven B. Sample's annual address to the faculty, delivered Feb. 10, 2009: "I have learned that difficult times often bring out the best in us. Complex challenges have a way of focusing our attention on what is essential.

USC basketball Coach Tim Floyd delivered cash to the man who steered O.J. Mayo to the university, according to a former associate of the player and the middleman. That associate, Louis Johnson, says Floyd met Rodney Guillory outside a stretch of Beverly Hills cafes on Valentine's Day in 2007, giving him at least $1,000 cash in an envelope -- which Johnson has since reported to investigators from the U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI, IRS and the NCAA.

Last year, Tim Floyd told anyone who would listen he was a USC Trojan for life. "This is my last job," he insisted. What Floyd never said was "this is my last job interview." This week, Floyd told players at the season-ending basketball banquet that he was in for the long haul. And Floyd meant it, at the time he said it. Before he knew it, though, he was on a private jet headed to Tucson and interviewing for the Arizona job. Reaction: Attach yourselves to dogs, folks, not coaches.

Marcus Johnson played only 16 games for USC's basketball team, averaging 3.6 points during one injury-marred season -- and even he is turning pro. "Kansas has two players who would have been NBA lottery picks, Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins, and they are returning to school," USC Coach Tim Floyd said late Monday night, only hours after hearing about Johnson. "Good for them. "Our guys get an offer from Islamabad and they're gone." Where the Trojans go from here is unknown.

The Pacific 10 Conference standings written in black on the grease board in the USC locker room Monday looked a lot more appealing to the Trojans than the ones printed in black type in newspapers up and down the West Coast. In the official conference standings, USC (9-5 overall, 0-2 Pac-10) is tied with Oregon State (6-8, 0-2) for ninth place. But according to the way USC Coach Tim Floyd tabulates the standings, the Trojans are in a three-way tie for fourth with Arizona State and Oregon State.

Could this be the night USC finally conquers Bank of America Arena, Washington's raucous home court that has been something of a Trojans torture chamber in recent seasons? The Huskies blasted USC by 30 points in Seattle in 2005, and two years ago things got so out of hand that USC Coach Tim Floyd inserted walk-ons Greg Gaudino and Reed Doucette -- with the Trojans actually playing better for a stretch. Then there was last year.

Two days after his team was called for a season-high 29 fouls during a loss against Arizona State, USC Coach Tim Floyd on Monday said he had voiced his displeasure with the game officiating to Pacific 10 Conference officials. "I discussed my concerns today with the pertinent officials -- not the basketball officials," Floyd said. "I can't discuss it with you, but I did what I needed to do."

Tim Floyd repeatedly refused to comment Tuesday on whether he had been contacted by Louisiana State athletic officials about their basketball coaching vacancy, instead reaffirming his intention to remain with the Trojans. "I've said from day one that this is my last job, so there's nothing else to say. It's a non-story," Floyd said. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Eddie Nunez, LSU's associate athletic director for operations, said he could not comment on the coaching search.

Two years ago, Jacobe Shannon was sorting out mail. Now he's sorting out plans for a future that could include a four-year college degree. Shannon, a point guard who has played the last two seasons at Antelope Valley College, recently accepted a scholarship from Jacksonville (Ala.) State. "That was my goal, period -- to get to a Division I college and play Division I basketball," Shannon says. "That's pretty cool that it's about to happen." For that, he can thank USC basketball Coach Tim Floyd.