USC Basketball: O’Neill doesn’t think sanctions will affect team

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USC Coach Kevin O’Neill said he doesn’t think his team will be affected by the self-imposed sanctions the unversity handed down today on its men’s basketball team regarding allegations that O.J. Mayo received improper benefits while he played at USC.

The sanctions include a ban on any postseason play this season, including the Pacific 10 Conference tournament, the forfeiting all its victories from 2007-08 when Mayo played for USC, a scholarship reduction and the return of money received from the NCAA tournament when Mayo was on the team.

With O’Neill’s team, which has 10 wins against four losses and has won eight straight games, it seemed the Trojans would be a Cinderella story to make this year’s NCAA tournament, considering the squad is rebuilt after losing three players to professional basketball and having five recruits leave after Tim Floyd resigned as coach this summer.

But O’Neill said he doesn’t think the postseason ban will dampen the team’s spirits.

‘I have a lot of faith in these guys,’ O’Neill told The Times. ‘I have a lot of respect for them. I think they have high character and high integrity.’

O’Neill said he knew this day was coming when he was hired in June to replace Floyd.

‘When I took this job, I knew there were going to be some ramifications from the investigation,’ he said. ‘I’m taking the same approach when I took the job. No matter what the penalties, we’re just going to move forward as a team.’

He said his team was ‘shocked and disappointed’ to hear the news, which he told them at a 10:15 meeting this morning.

‘I’m very disappointed for our players, more than anything in the world, because I love this group,’ O’Neill said. ‘I think they’re really great.’

--Baxter Holmes