Tim Floyd meets about USC basketball opening

Former-USC men’s basketball coach, Tim Floyd, met with the school’s athletic director, Pat Haden, on Monday night about the possibility of a return to the program to fill the head coaching vacancy for the Trojans, according to a report from Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times.

In addition to the potential return to USC, Floyd told Pucin that the meeting with Haden was important for him to show former players and coaches that he was not guilty of wrongdoings in relation to the NCAA penalties:

“I feel they should know that USC reached out, that no violations were found by the NCAA with USC basketball,” Floyd said.

“I felt like I got my name back when I got offered a number of jobs when I left USC. Pat and I talked at length,” Floyd said.

In each of Floyd’s last three seasons with the Trojans, they earned trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2007. After a postseason ban in 2010, USC earned a spot in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, but lost in the first round to Virginia Commonwealth.

In the 12-13 season, USC began 7-10 overall and 2-2 in Pac-12 play before head coach Kevin O’Neill was fired and replaced with interim head coach Bob Cantu. The team has since earned a 7-5 record and is in a tie with Colorado for fifth in the Pac-12 following back-to-back wins against Arizona and Arizona State.

The UTEP Miners are 9-5 and in third in the Conference-USA standings, but have not made the NCAA Tournament during Floyd’s tenure.

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