Floyd hammers away at latest hoops project
Southern California men’s basketball Tim Floyd is a heckuva carpenter.
He’s taken on some of the most daunting rebuilding jobs in basketball and, for the most part, succeeded. He’s either rebuilt them from the ground up or given them a room with a view they’d never seen before.
He appears to be a happy man at USC, and why not?
In just his second season in Los Angeles – with his team in playing in an immaculate new facility – his Trojans are in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002. It’s his sixth NCAA tournament as coach.
Today, Floyd’s team will try to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, 10 years since he did so with Iowa State and 20 years since he took his first head-coaching job at the University of Idaho.
“It’s great to be back in this region,” Floyd said Saturday. “It’s a special area to me. … Bill Belknap (former athletic director) gave me a chance at the University of Idaho and I’ve got some great memories from being back here.”
Floyd has been through some hard times in the coaching ranks since that time, but has stuck to his basic beliefs.
“I’ve learned so much through the years, in some ways, yet I’m so much the same,” Floyd said, referring to the fundamentals he learned under Don Haskins at Texas-El Paso. The two still talk regularly.
It’s the personal side where Floyd’s changed the most – a maturation, if you will, as a father, husband and now-veteran coach.
“I’m more patient as a person, as a coach,” Floyd said. “The lessons that you learn in that first job that you carry with you the rest of your life.”
The job at Idaho turned out to be a quick fix and he was gone to the University of New Orleans. Six seasons later, he was ready for Iowa State.
Then, after four rarified years there, it was off what turned out to be one of the most challenging fixer-uppers in basketball history: the Chicago Bulls, after Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan.
“When I got there, Jordan and (Scottie) Pippen, and (Dennis) Rodman, and (Luc) Longley, and (Steve) Kerr – all those guys were still under contract. That part didn’t work out. I ended up with a few other guys,” he deadpanned.
Floyd had never experienced losing, but saw a lot of it in Chicago and was fired 25 games into his fourth season.
Yet it was a situation which was well understood from the outside, so his NBA reputation was still intact despite a .211 winning percentage with the Bulls.
Floyd next spent one season with the New Orleans Hornets and managed a .500 season and a playoff appearance, but it wasn’t enough.
After a year of fishing, golfing and reflecting on his future, Floyd re-emerged before last season to take the USC job after some prompting by his wife. The university has a lot of resources, but its commitment to the sport wasn’t visible to basketball recruits.
“I just looked at it as I did the other great football schools,” said Floyd, citing examples such as Alabama, Florida and Texas, where they’ve succeeded in both. “If football can fill with 75-80 scholarships, that mean’s you’re in an area that’s rich with talent.”
Floyd points out that his Southern California base has a population of roughly 18 million. It has produced more than its share of collegiate basketball stars, but the point is to keep them. USC has been winning recruiting wars and expects to win more in the near future. Floyd cites the Galen Center as the biggest edge.
“My predecessors were all outstanding coaches (Henry Bibby, Bob Boyd, ex-WSU coach George Raveling),” Floyd said. “We’ve been able to sell the kids by walking them through this new building (instead of promising one) and it’s changed our program.”
Yet new challenges emerge. Instead of facing the recruiting challenges of his prior stops, Floyd is dealing with high expectations. USC wants to win a national championship and Floyd is just as challenged as he’s been at every job.
“They’re all hard,” said Floyd, who has a .610 winning percentage as a college coach. “The hardest job is the one you have.”