USC Hoops Rises to 2-0 A.G. (After Gerrity)

In what will clearly be considered the dividing point of the USC season, the arrival of unheralded Mike Gerrity before the Tennessee game has led to a 2-0 “A.G.” (After Gerrity) record for the Trojans after a gutsy win over Western Michigan which featured a double-digit, second-half comeback, led by the aforementioned senior point guard. 

USC has shown to be a different team with a floor leader who can both handle the ball and is a threat to opposing defenses with his break-down-his-defender-and-get-into-the-lane skills.

After what would have to be one of the top-five, all-time worst offseasons in NCAA history, that not only had the Trojans lose maybe their best coach ever (Tim Floyd), but also their strongest captain in recent history (Daniel Hackett), their best inside presence in recent history (Taj Gibson to the NBA’s Bulls), and their best pure scorer (DeMar DeRozan to the NBA’s Raptors).

They also had recruits fleeing USC for greener, potentially non-NCAA-sactioned pastures, including three players in ESPN’s Top-100 recruits, USC has apparently found its life preserver in Gerrity, after floating aimlessly to an early 4-4 record, with zero good wins and an RPI below 250.

Although new USC coach Kevin O’Neill and most USC-faithful owe Donte Smith a debt of thanks after how he had been previously treated by the former coaching staff, it was very apparent that Smith was not a Division I-level point guard and USC suffered horribly the first eight games with him at the point, sporting an assist-to-turnover ratio on the bad side of 1:1, where a good NCAA ratio hovers around 2.5:1. 

It was becoming very easy for USC’s opponents to just pressure Smith consistently, which led to too many easy baskets and with no real backup for Smith, USC was at the mercy of the opposing defenses and were actually lucky to stumble their way to a 4-4 record.

Then, before the Tennessee game, USC received word from the NCAA that unheralded point guard Mike Gerrity would be eligible for the Tennessee game, and for the rest of the season.  This news was surely music to the ears of the USC staff, but to the fans, this was just another piece of neutral news amid a season of below-average results. 

Gerrity by no means cut an imposing figure on the sidelines, and his under-six-foot frame and receding hairline made him look much more like an average, everyday, walk-on than the sparkplug and commander the Trojans so sorely needed.  While it seemed worth a try to throw anyone in at the point other than Smith, expectations for Gerrity had to certainly be moderate at best.

With a 40-point blowout at the hands of the ball-hawking, tenacious, and superiorly-talented, Volunteers surely imminent, Gerrity instead used his cool and collected ball-handling and ultra-quick dribble-drives to break down the startled Tennessee squad to a surprisingly easy blowout win where USC won going away over the No. 9-ranked Vols. 

It was USC’s most-shocking win in years and resuscitated the slumbering program, and got the Pac-10 its first win over a Top-50 rated RPI team after starting off 0-19 cumulatively vs. the RPI Top-50 this year.

It was certainly eye-opening for Tennessee and got the attention of the national media at the same time.  It even had ESPN commentator and Dukie, Jay Willaims (formerly Jayson), saying that USC could easily finish fourth in the Pac-10, which is quite a step up from the ninth-place finish that was predicted in the preseason by the Pac-10 coach’s vote. 

Gerrity is the sole reason for the turnaround from Season Of Doom to Season Of Hope for USC. 

Much like a football team that has no skill at QB and can be easily defended because there is no threat of any downfield passing game, USC went from a team that could be forced into dozens of turnovers per game.

They became a team that could actually dictate the pace of the game themselves, from using Gerrity’s speed and decision-making in the transition game to a competent half-court game where Gerrity can create shots for others by breaking down his defender, getting in the lane, and drawing defenders to him. 

USC had neither of these threats in the first 8 games and their offense struggled mightily with no real identity at all.

The arrival of Gerrity has moved Smith to a role where he can contribute much more productively and where he can play on a wing, taking the occasional open 3-point shot, while taking away the stress of just trying to get the ball past half-court each possession. 

Once Gerrity starts to take and hit the open 3-pointer, USC should be able to develop a decent half-court offense, which they heavily lacked against Western Michigan due to USC’s dearth of players who can create their own shot. 

Western Michigan packed in their defense and pretty much took away USC two best half-court players, inside threats Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson, forcing USC to shoot from the outside or try to drive to the basket, both of which they were incapable of doing on their way to an 18-point first half and 9-point deficit.

In the second half, USC was able to open the game up a bit and get some easy baskets, but were also buoyed by Gerrity’s 15 second-half points and a few outside shots made by Lewis, Smith, and Gerrity, which also forced Western Michigan out a bit on defense and opened up the middle for USC’s slashers and big men. 

For the time being, there is optimism in the Galen Center, where a cloud has been lingering for the last six months or so, as the arrival of Gerrity has turned USC’s probable eight- or nine-win season into a season that could see USC above .500 or even better.  Jay Williams’ prediction of a fourth-place Pac-10 finish is certainly a long-shot, but just a week ago, in a pre-Gerrity world, it would have been an impossibility.