Floyd Appears to Top USC List

USC officials are trying to put a positive spin on losing their men’s basketball coach after less than a week. As senior associate athletic director Daryl Gross said Saturday, when word began to spread of Rick Majerus’ change of heart, “I’ve always had a list of people ... interested in coaching at USC.”

Topping that list now, sources said, is Tim Floyd, who made a name for himself at Iowa State.

Floyd, 50, acknowledged Monday evening that he had heard from Heritage Hall.

“I’ve had contact,” Floyd said in a brief telephone interview. “I’ve heard from USC. But that’s all I care to comment on right now.”

Gross, the point man in the Majerus hiring, will also run this coaching search even though he will leave for Syracuse late next month to become that school’s athletic director. He did not return messages.

Floyd began his head coaching career at Idaho, going 35-25 in two seasons before moving on to New Orleans, where he was 127-58 in six years. Iowa State was next, and the Cyclones were a combined 81-49 in four years under him.

He had a rough time in the NBA, though, going 49-190 in four years with the post-Michael Jordan Bulls, who were torn apart before he took over, and 41-41 in his only season with the Hornets, who lost a playoff series to Miami last spring.

But Floyd’s is not the only name floating.

As he was before, Pepperdine Coach and USC alumnus Paul Westphal is a favorite of Trojan alumni, former players such as Jarvis Turner and Brandon Granville having endorsed him.

Pittsburgh Coach Jamie Dixon, who is from North Hollywood and was Ben Howland’s top lieutenant at Pitt, is also considered a candidate.

Texas Tech Coach Bob Knight has let it be known through friends that he would be interested in USC if the school reciprocated. The school, though, is not thought to be interested.

Also fascinated by the job: George Karl, a standout player at North Carolina who made his coaching reputation in the NBA. He took the Seattle SuperSonics to the 1996 Finals.

“The guaranteed contract of the NBA has put such an emphasis to motivate,” said Karl, an analyst with ESPN. “The pressure is on the coach to motivate a guy who doesn’t have to be motivated. Eighty-two games of trying to motivate a guy who doesn’t have to be motivated, it’s hard.”

Karl said he was “gun-shy” about going after a college job after being shunned by Nevada Las Vegas, Ohio State and his alma mater.

“I want a job where they want me,” he said. “My whole desire is to coach next year, maybe coach this year. I’ve always been open to a great college job, and USC seems to be just that.”