USC’s Pac-10 run is one for the record books

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One month ago, nobody in USC’s locker room realistically thought they would make the field in the NCAA tournament.

One week ago, USC knew their only prayer was to win the Pacific 10 Conference tournament with three big upsets.

One day ago, USC had upset Cal and UCLA on consecutive days. Suddenly, the team felt it deserved to be in the Big Dance regardless of the next game -- but knew it might not be enough.

One half away from the end of Saturday’s Pac-10 championship game against Arizona State, the Trojans were just hoping to save face. Maybe, just maybe, they could bring the deficit back to single digits and convince the NCAA selection committee to give them an at-large bid.

One minute from the end of the game, Dwight Lewis made a three-point basket to bring USC to within one point and electrify the hometown crowd.

One minute of quintessential March Madness this surely was, with two free throws converted by Daniel Hacket and one each by Lewis and Taj Gibson.

One huge block by Gibson, the Pac-10 defensive player of the year, against James Harden, the Pac-10 player of the year.

One Pac-10 tournament championship. First in school history. First for a No. 6-seeded team. First time the Trojans will make three straight trips to the NCAA tournament, thanks to an automatic berth that comes with the conference tournament crown.

Of all the ‘ones’ in USC’s remarkable run, the most stunning was how they came together as one.

Last month, all the juicy headlines were about the team’s lack of unity, lack of oneness. ‘Everything was going wrong,’ said Hackett while wearing a Pac-10 championship hat. A piece of net, which he cut from the rim at Staples Center, was tucked into the brim. ‘We lost close games, lost leads, and had issues. But that talk that we had when me and Dwight [Lewis] had that little argument really helped us. We figured out what we needed to do to be successful.’

After the 66-63 victory over the Sun Devils, Hackett took a victory lap around the court and talked to anybody who would listen.

‘Thank you!’ he shouted to some.

‘Thank you!’ he whispered to others.

He hugged his friends. He hugged complete strangers. His fiery on-court persona was no different once he stepped off of it. He oozed raw emotion, and at that moment it was one that isn’t expressed often enough to fans -- deep gratitude.

As he watched the net being cut down, Leonard Washington just stood there beaming at his teammates. A baggy championship t-shirt made the 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward look as if he were 4 years old. His grin could only be described one way -- like a kid on Christmas.

If it appeared Washington was living a dream, it’s because he was. He had never been part of a championship before. ‘I came really close, my freshman year and my senior year of high school. I got to the state championship against [current USC teammate] Marcus Simmons both years. They beat us. I figured if I team up with a champ, I can be a champ. It came true. It’s like a dream come true.’

Dazed by three intense games in three days, Hackett said that this wouldn’t set in until he got a chance to sleep. He had trouble doing so before the game.

‘This morning I woke up at 6 a.m. and went back to sleep. I had a dream that we were going to be successful, and that happened. It’s amazing.’

One sweet dream.

-- Adam Rose