USC’s Floyd is bullish on future

USC Coach Tim Floyd faced more questions than certainties when the Trojans’ season began.

With Abdoulaye N’diaye and RouSean Cromwell recovering from knee surgery, Floyd wondered where the rebounding would come from to turn around a team that had been beaten off the boards in 21 of 30 games last season.

He wondered how his players would withstand the tragic shooting death of Ryan Francis, the freshman guard whose spark and tenacity were keys to the identity Floyd was trying to create.

And when junior Gabe Pruitt was declared academically ineligible for the first semester, Floyd wondered who his point guard would be and how he’d assemble a backcourt.

Twenty-four games into the season, the Trojans are tied for second in the Pacific 10 Conference and ranked 19th in the Associated Press poll. Their game tonight against No. 2 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion will be the first in five years in which both are ranked when they have met, speaking well of the improvements that Floyd has effected.

Junior swingman Nick Young is averaging 17 points per game, third in the Pac-10. Freshman Taj Gibson leads the conference with a .614 field-goal percentage and is second in blocked shots (2.04) and fourth in rebounding, averaging 8.5 per game. Guards Daniel Hackett and Dwight Lewis, forced to grow up fast while Pruitt worked on his grades, became solid assets.

“They’re no longer freshmen because of the experience they gained,” Floyd said. “Our backcourt was our biggest concern, and it has become a strength of our team.”

All of which leaves one question for Floyd.

Can the Trojans ever win an NCAA championship banner and lift this rivalry against the 11-time champion Bruins to new heights?

“Absolutely, it will happen in my lifetime. I really believe that,” Floyd said Tuesday in his office at the Galen Center. “Why wouldn’t it? Why shouldn’t it?

“Would it be because of facilities? No. Would it be because you’re in an area that’s void of talent? No, we have that.

“Would it be because of commitment from our athletic department? No, because they’ve never told me no on anything that I’ve asked for.

“Duke and Carolina have won championships and they’re nine miles apart. They have 5 million people to draw from in their area. We have 18 million people, which means there’s more basketball players. So the whole notion that you can only have a team in an area is ridiculous, and we look forward to a day when this rivalry is that of Duke and Carolina.”

The Trojans are not nearly there yet. They must continue to upgrade their schedule and raise their national profile; toward that end, Floyd said the Trojans will play Kansas and Oklahoma next season and will take part in the Jimmy Valvano tournament at Madison Square Garden and another nationally televised tournament with teams from the Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.

“We’re getting closer,” Floyd said. “We’ve won a lot of close games this year and we’ve lost our share of close games. Our intent was to try and be competitive this year and hopefully try to contend in years four and five. That sounded realistic, but we’d love to move the timetable up if possible.”

If the Trojans get an NCAA berth, as appears likely, it would be a coup for Floyd in his second season. UCLA Coach Ben Howland led the Bruins into the tournament in his second season, but he arguably had more talent at his disposal and less adversity to combat.

Howland led the Bruins to the championship game in his third season, still a distant dream for the Trojans. But Howland believes the day will come when USC can compete for basketball supremacy.

“I don’t see why not,” he said. “I think with the addition of the Galen Center, they’ve obviously boosted their program. They have a first-class facility and that’s going to add to their ability to recruit.”

Howland praised the progress of Pruitt, Young and senior guard Lodrick Stewart under Floyd’s guidance.

“He’s done a good job,” Howland said. “He’s got that team playing real sound basketball. But I think a lot of it for both our squads has to do with the fact that we have real good players.”

One player no longer at USC still figures in its success.

Francis remains a presence to them, inspiring them in ways they didn’t know were possible. Players call out his nickname, “Franchise,” when they break the huddle, and they placed his uniform in what would have been his new locker.

Early this season, Floyd said he often thought of what Francis might have done in certain situations or how disappointed he would be over a poor team effort.

“He came to my office a couple times a year ago and said, ‘Coach, these guys are too selfish. Coach, these guys aren’t playing hard enough, and you’ve got to get that corrected.’ And he was right,” Floyd said.

“So I think he’d be proud of how they’re playing now, because they’re playing hard and they’re playing very unselfishly. There was a real sadness early in the season that has been translated into trying to play through his spirit.”

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Helene Elliott can be reached at helene.elliott@latimes.com.