With all the turmoil surrounding the USC men's basketball program, particularly in the case of one aforementioned head coach (Tim Floyd), there are a few bright spots that provide a silver lining for the Trojans’ faithful.
While it came as no surprise to see DeMar DeRozan, Daniel Hackett, and Taj Gibson all cash in their NCAA chips at a shot at professional gold, it was sad to see the core of the squad that led USC to stunning NCAA Tournament berth a year ago disperse and go their separate ways. Even as the Trojans basketball program lays in smoldering ruin, it is nice to see that DeRozan and Gibson look to represent the Men of Troy at the next level of professional basketball, the NBA.
The athletic stylings of DeMar DeRozan intrigued the Toronto Raptors with the 9th pick in this past NBA draft. In heading to Toronto, DeRozan joins a squad that already includes star power-forward Chris Bosh, center Andrea Bargnani, play making point-man Jose Calderon, and the newly signed Hedo Turkoglu who is fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals.
Jim Mone/AP
Not only did the Raptors make the selection of DeMar because of his many abilities on the basketball court, the acquisition of DeRozan fills a need at the wing for Toronto after they allowed Anthony Parker to exit via free-agency and traded Jason Kapono for spare parts (no offense Reggie Evans). Simply put, DeRozan gives the Raptors something that they have been lacking since the days of Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter, an athletic wing who can penetrate and create.
At the end of the 2008-09 college basketball season, there was no hotter Pac-10 player than DeMar DeRozan, who seemed to elevate his game just when the Trojans needed it most. DeRozan is a far cry from fellow hyped prospect O.J. Mayo in that he's not a flashy scorer, but rather a do-it-all slasher who has a knack for making the right play at the right time.
Fast forward to this summer and DeRozan has picked up where he left off at the end of the last season. While summer league competition should never be mistaken for that of the NBA, there is an added element of competitiveness and skill on hand, and DeMar has once again risen to the occasion.
Most recently DeRozan's skills were on hand in a match up against Southern California native Brandon Jennings and the Milwaukee Bucks. In the game, DeRozan showed again why the Raptors selected him with the ninth pick putting up a solid stat-line of 20 points on 8 of 16 shooting, while snagging 6 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists. While DeRozan's all-around game has not gone unnoticed, it has clearly been overshadowed by his athleticism on the court, particularly “highlighted by a backboard-shaking and-one DeRozan dunk over Milwaukee's [Joe] Alexander.”
For the summer league, DeRozan holds averages of 17ppg, 4.8rpg, and 1.2apg respectively.
Danny Moloshok/AP
In the lower half of the NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls took a flier on rugged forward-center Taj Gibson and selected him with the 26th pick in the first round. In Gibson, the Bulls snagged a hard-nosed defender who impacts the game with his defensive prowess as well as his potent play on the low block.
Trojans fans will never forget the impact that Taj Gibson had during his time at USC, especially memories of that impressive performance against Boston College in this past NCAA Tournament. Gibson put himself on the map with a performance of the ages, racking up an astonishing 24 points on 10 of 10 shooting while also contributing 3 blocks and half a dozen rebounds en-route to the USC upset.
Joining up with the Bulls summer league squad in Las Vegas, Gibson has done quite well for himself out on the hardwood, putting up impressive numbers on both ends of the court. Gibson will never be considered a flashy post player, but his rebounding skills give him enough put-back shots to make an impact on the offensive end. In the two summer league games that he has appeared in, Gibson has averaged 13ppg as well as 10rpg (4th among all summer league participants).
It will be interesting to see if Gibson's summer league performance will help him carve out some playing time with the Bulls next season. Chicago's front-court is a bit crowded at the moment with Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, and Brad Miller all commanding significant time up front. That being said, a basketball team can never have too much defense and rebounding, two things that Gibson does very well.
Stay tuned for more NBA Summer League updates regarding your USC Trojans.
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