as told to Peter Walsh
Every day I walk into USC’s Galen Center, I know that I am prepared for this job. I coached in the NBA for years, was an assistant at Florida State where we earned multiple NCAA Tournament berths, and took Florida Gulf Coast to the Sweet 16 in just two years. Every morning is exciting for me and my coaching staff shares that excitement. To us this isn’t work—this is an opportunity to build a top program in the largest basketball market in the US. We’re enthusiastic, and every day we’re trying to make this a better place.
We built the FGCU program quickly and the building process at USC will be no different. We expect to win this year while creating the foundation to sustain a level of success over the next few years. We’re looking forward to our returning players to establish a culture of winning at USC this season. They’ve done a great job during the offseason showing up every day and working hard. Our goal is to become a top-25 team every season, and I wouldn’t have taken this job if I didn’t have that goal.
Los Angeles has always loved exciting basketball teams like the Showtime Lakers and now the Clippers. The offense we run is a lot like the Clippers’ in the sense that we try and get out and run and spread the floor. They’re exciting to watch, they win and they fill the Staples Center. We plan on doing the same thing. We’re going to have a very athletic, fun team that will provide the fans in Los Angeles a great entertainment package.
The Pac-12 is going to be one of the elite conferences in the country this year, the recruiting has been excellent and the coaching is outstanding. I’m looking forward to competing.
