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Forward Aaron Fuller makes the best of Iowa-to-USC transfer

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The fax pushed out the paperwork Aaron Fuller wanted. Yet, reading it over, he started second-guessing his decision to ask Iowa for a release from his scholarship.

His request had come after Iowa fired its coach in March 2010 and now, a month later, he had the document in his hand.

But was it wise to leave one of the only major-conference Division I schools that recruited him?

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“Who else would want me now?” Fuller remembers thinking. Soon, he found out.

He checked his phone: Two missed calls, each from a USC assistant coach.

Then, USC Coach Kevin O’Neill called. He happened to be nearby, recruiting in Illinois. A six-hour drive later and they were sitting across from each other in a Mexican restaurant in Iowa City.

“He came out really fast, which is a good sign the coach really wants you,” Fuller said. A month later, he signed with USC.

Fuller sat out last season because of NCAA transfer rules, but through 10 games, the redshirt junior is averaging a team-high 6.3 rebounds and is second with 11.7 points.

USC (4-6) plays host to Georgia (4-5) on Saturday at the Galen Center.

“He holds us together,” O’Neill said of Fuller.

Fuller is on the floor a lot — as in, diving for loose balls and taking charges. And “he’s a phenomenal offensive rebounder,” added Shane Burcar, his coach at Mesa (Ariz.) High.

Indeed, Fuller has grabbed 28 of them, the second best total in the Pac-12 Conference. And if USC needs a basket inside, Fuller is the go-to option despite being a bit undersized at 6 feet 6.

“He’s had a really great year for us,” O’Neill said. “And he really hasn’t gotten the rust off from sitting out last year, plus he’s playing with a shoulder injury.”

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Fuller is left-handed and has a small tear inside that shoulder, so he takes it easy in practice and sometimes shoots with his right hand. “It feels really weak,” he said.

He doesn’t play like it. Playing in the blue-collar, physical Big Ten Conference calloused his style of play and forced him to bulk up.

Weighing just 199 pounds coming out of high school, Fuller gulped down several protein shakes a day and gorged on Iowa’s famous sweet corn.

He muscled up to 238 pounds as a sophomore and earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention after leading his team with averages of 12.3 points and 9.7 rebounds during conference play.

But being far from home was tough, and so was the weather.

In his first week on campus, he remembered standing atop a hill in Iowa City and seeing businesses swallowed by flood waters. He filled sandbags to help.

But he grew comfortable there. Leaving wasn’t easy.

“The day he made the decision, I ran into him in downtown Iowa City, and I could tell how difficult it was from how emotional he was,” said John Streif, the Hawkeyes’ trainer.

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O’Neill had won him over with straight talk. “He just kept it real,” Fuller said. “Everything he said, I was agreeing with.”

O’Neill told Fuller that USC needed players because the scandal involving former USC star O.J. Mayo had prompted an exodus. He wanted him because he played hard and was versatile, able to play inside and out.

Turns out he was right about him too.

baxter.holmes@latimes.com

twitter.com/baxterholmes

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