Kevin O'Neill-USC: Might O'Neill Be the Hoops Version of Pete Carroll?

Since it is a generally accepted fact that USC A.D. Mike Garrett lucked out with his hiring of Pete Carroll several years ago, it brings up the question if maybe he has done it again with USC basketball coach Kevin O’Neill.

Everyone knows that Carroll was USC’s fourth or fifth choice after the carousel of “No thank you’s” that the USC fax machine (yes, they were still using fax machines then) received from several other, more desirable coaches that Garrett tried to lure to USC. 

While there may not have been as many basketball coaches to hit the “Decline” box in this year’s attempt to fill the hole left by Tim Floyd’s resignation, this was probably only because it was obvious that going after a top coach was a certain waste of time. 

There was a "Line of Desirability" that existed for USC, with all the previous allegations of wrongdoing and the imminent exodus of top players and recruits, from which trying to get any coach with a current job or in line to get a job at a solid program would be a pointless attempt.

That left a VERY short list for Garrett to choose from. In fact, there may not have been a "choice" at all. Much speculation was that if O’Neill had said no, USC may have not had another name on that list.

So, this makes one wonder if Garrett has lucked into another program-changing, or in this case program-continuing, hire?

Both Carroll and O’Neill were nowhere near USC’s top choice. Neither produced kudos from the alumni and neither increased season-ticket sales or booster donations right away. However, both took the job by the horns and ignored the air of ambivalence around their arrival and attacked the job as if the upcoming season had Championship possibilities.

Kevin O’Neill, personality-wise, is the polar opposite of Pete Carroll. He will not charm you into his corner. No one will ever refer to him as “slick”, as Carroll is often called. But where he does parallel Carroll is in the way he runs his program and builds a wall around the team, ignoring the doubters and convincing his guys that his way will produce the results they, and the university, desire.

There are obviously still many hurdles for O’Neill. He has barely cleared the first one on a 400-meter track. But what USC has done under his guidance in the last six games is nothing short of incredible. 

Taking a depleted roster that lost its three best players from last year and their four top recruits, including three in the top 77 of the ESPN Top-100, and patch working a run that includes two blowout wins over top-20 teams is borderline unthinkable.

O’Neill is gruff and prickly. He is no charmer like Carroll. If USC Nation had a rough time embracing the crusty Tim Floyd, then trying to warm up to O’Neill’s personality is going to be a tough task.

The main difference, however, may be that while O’Neill is these things, he is at the same time self-realizing of this. He has a self-deprecating side that can soften his hard shell that Floyd did not.

While Floyd’s demeanor was “life and death, 100 percent of the time”, O’Neill is all business 90 percent of the time, but can tone it down when most necessary. This could prove to be his saving grace at the media-savvy USC.

O’Neill has not really hit the recruiting trail yet. This will be his true test that may determine his staying power at USC. When Coach Carroll comes to your living room and explains why he needs you, it's like a visit from Bear Bryant. When Kevin O’Neill comes to your living room, its more like a visit from a hungry bear.

But, O’Neill has some very savvy recruiters on his staff, the same guys who helped Coach Floyd, a noted hater of recruiting, put together a few top-15 classes in his short stint at USC.

But nothing will sell O’Neill and USC to potential recruits like success, and USC’s start has to have produced a few return phone calls from top recruits who may have just hit the delete button on O’Neill’s calls a few weeks ago.

There is a lot to be interested in at USC right now if you are a top recruit, including a weak Pac-10 and the potential for a ton of playing time as the shallow USC roster loses several more top players next year.

It is impossible to dispute that O’Neill is off to an amazing start at USC. But it is just that, a start. If this momentum cannot be carried into the Pac-10 season, then it may not mean anything in the long run.

The Pac-10 is weak this year and there for the taking. USC just beat three teams in the last week that would be considered favorites, or at least challengers, for the Pac-10 title in Tennessee, UNLV, and St. Mary’s.

There are no teams in the Pac-10 that are clearly better than any those three teams.  No other Pac-10 team has three wins over teams that are anywhere near the quality of these three. No other Pac-10 team even has two wins over teams that good.

It is, of course, impractical to guess at this point whether USC’s hire of Kevin O’Neill is “Carroll-ian”, or if O’Neill will be just another stab in the dark by Garrett that has brief moments of greatness, followed by an intense flame-out.

But the very fact that the comparisons between O’Neill and Carroll are being made after the innocuous hire and feeble start to the season is a remarkable progression of events in its own right.