USC Hire Isn’t Eating at UCLA

There are no plans to drop basketball at UCLA, despite the splash USC made in introducing new Coach Rick Majerus.

While the affable, slightly-less-rotund-than-he-used-to-be Majerus tested his one-liners for the first time at Heritage Hall -- “I’ve got to find the salad places around town” -- UCLA Coach Ben Howland was on the road recruiting.

And he didn’t seem to be worried about a ripple effect in Westwood.

“When you think of USC, what are you always going to think of?” Howland said. “Everyone knows the answer to that.”

Football remains the Trojans’ focus, but the hiring of Majerus signaled USC’s desire to make basketball more than an afterthought.

The move fueled excitement about the program, prompting some in the USC athletic department and media to suggest that Majerus’ hiring and the building of the 10,300-seat Galen Center, scheduled to open for the 2006-07 season, could enable the Trojans to eclipse the Bruins in both revenue-producing sports.

Not so fast, Howland said.

“Because of our history and our tradition, UCLA basketball is the top program, for name recognition, in the country,” Howland said. “Rick is a great coach, and he will do a very good job, I have no doubts about that, but we’re confident in what we’re doing.”

Even after hiring a proven winner, USC could be playing catch-up to UCLA well into Majerus’ five-year, $5-million contract.

Majerus, who won’t officially take control of the program until April 1, joined interim Coach Jim Saia’s staff as an assistant for the final 23 games so he could recruit under NCAA rules.

Recruiting, as always, is the key, and USC is in a hole in that area.

Majerus must restock a roster that includes six seniors and no returning inside players. And knowing Majerus’ lack of patience for selfishness and poor work ethic, some players with eligibility remaining may transfer.

That would be fine with Majerus, who wants as many scholarships as possible to build his own program. Of course, it also means the Trojans could be starting with more inexperienced players next season.

Majerus teaches the game as well as anyone working today, but his tough-love style in practice prompted some Utah players to seek other schools. Some in the Utah athletic department were frustrated with Majerus’ approach and the autonomy he had.

The Trojans know what they’ve gotten into, Athletic Director Mike Garrett said.

“Our coaches have great autonomy here too,” he said. “Our job is to supply them with the resources they need to win, and they are to do three things: Graduate student-athletes, win and comply with NCAA rules.

“No one ever nitpicks or looks over one’s shoulder. We bring them in because we think they’re autonomous people with strong character who can do their jobs. He fills that bill, so it was simple shopping for us.”

If the current group struggles under Saia, though, the Trojans face the possibility of two painful seasons for the chance to have hired Majerus before other schools entered the bidding at the end of the season. This wasn’t lost on the candid former ESPN analyst, whose goal next season is a .500 record.

Meanwhile, Howland will be in the third year of his rebuilding project. Point guard Jordan Farmar leads an impressive UCLA freshman class that’s improving by the minute, and more help is coming in 2005-06.

Majerus is looking farther down the road.

“I’m not into this for a short haul,” said Majerus, who has a 74.2% career winning percentage at Marquette, Ball State and Utah.

“I want longevity and I want to try to build this thing. I don’t have any time frame.”

The Bruins still prominently display those 11 national-championship banners in Pauley Pavilion, and USC’s success in this crosstown series, including four consecutive victories, hasn’t altered the perception about who’s on top in the Southland.

But Howland and his staff have been on the sideline for only two of those losses. Howland and Majerus go way back, though people familiar with their relationship say they’re no longer close, and UCLA assistant Donny Daniels was Majerus’ top assistant for 10 years at Utah, so there’s familiarity moving forward.

“Ben is a terrific coach, and Donny is a great coach and a great guy who did a wonderful job for me,” Majerus said. “They’re good teachers of the game and it’ll be a good rivalry ... but I’m more worried about what we’re doing.

“The two times or the three times a year I play them, I want to win. I wish them all the luck -- except when they play us.”

Let the race begin.

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Still the One

Illinois is in its second week atop the Associated Press poll, marking the school’s longest ranking at No. 1.

The Illini (9-0) have been ranked first three times in school history, but lasted only one week at that spot in 1952 and 1989. Illinois did reach the Final Four in those seasons, and Coach Bruce Weber hopes to make it three for three.

“I want to be playing well into March and into April, but this No. 1 ranking is good for our program,” Weber said. “I think our kids take some pride in it.

“They’re excited about it, and it hasn’t bothered them at all. It’s a reward for their work and for how they play: Unselfish and hard.”

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No Title Yet

With seven teams ranked in the top 25, the Atlantic Coast Conference is considered the best conference again.

However, there’s still the matter of the NCAA tournament.

“The ACC is going to have a great year because they’ve got a lot of great players returning,” said Coach Kelvin Sampson of Big 12 member Oklahoma, which today plays ACC member Duke at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“But the last time I checked, they give out NCAA tournament bids in March. If they gave out the bids in December, I’d read a little more into it, so I’d say January and February are a little more important.”