After a turbulent stint with the Wildcats, Kevin O'Neill replaces Tim Floyd as head coach at Southern Cal. Kevin Garrett (USC's Athletic Director) shares his thoughts:
I love his coaching philosophy and principles: he's a no-nonsense coach who is very detail-oriented and prepares his teams well. He stresses defense and I've always believed that defense wins championships.
My only question is when does that no-nonsense, my way or the highway, philosophy wear thin with his new digs at USC? Of course, I assume O'Neill will be bringing his own staff who know his coaching boundaries and eventually O'Neill-type players will be recruited to fit his brash personality and style of play. But, I for one cannot wait to recruit a bruiser or two and watch as an O'Neill coached team refuses to enter some sort of zone defense while the Cats pound it inside.
Additionally, with his grind-it-out philosophy, how long will there be butts in the seats in Los Angeles, a finicky fan base as it stands, when the team fails to score just 50 points? He was a brash personality who never fit with the high-octane style of players Lute recruited: Budinger, Wise, Horne and Bayless all were tempted to leave (Or in Budinger and Bayless' case, enter the draft) after their short stint with him as head coach. Furthermore, this hiring puts Arizona steps closer to sealing the deal on former USC signees MoMo Jones and Derrick Williams.
I was never a fan of Kevin O'Neill, but I do have a spot of respect reserved for him after a certain water bottle throwing incident. He immediately stopped the game, grabbed a microphone and addressed the student section:
Who did that? I want to know who did that. Whoever did that, that's wrong. We are not standing for that here ... Tim, I apologize to you and your team.Hell, maybe those exact sentiments landed Kevin O'Neill the job at Southern Cal?
Damn, that was a really, really long first post.
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