Last night, East Carolina and UTEP squared off in a Conference USA game in Greenville, North Carolina. ECU got the win, but they weren't the story.
The story was the world class rant that UTEP coach Tim Floyd went on just after the start of the second half. Both Floyd and assistant Phil Johnson got a pair of technicals less than two minutes into the half and were ejected.
However, Floyd didn't go quietly. Or willingly. A police officer had to escort him to the locker room. It didn't help his team either. UTEP is fighting for a potential NCAA tournament bid and has won 20 games thus far, but they lost to a 14-13 ECU team, 83-76.
Floyd didn't apologize for the rant and in fact admitted he, probably deserved the second technical.
But, through the magic of the internets, as a service to our readers, we found the video of Floyd's "Go Crazy" moment and are bringing it to you...
Here's the short version from our friends at WNCT-TV in Greenvile...
Texas El-Paso senior guard Myron Strong has been kicked off the Miners squad by head coach Tim Floyd. But Strong didn't leave town without calling out Floyd and burning every bridge he could find between El Paso and Memphis, Tennessee.
Strong told KVIA-TV in an e-mail that Floyd "stereotyped him from day one." Strong also said that Floyd even intimated that another guard was brought in and Strong would fall even further down the depth chart- even possibly relieving him of his team duties. Strong also said that he knew Tim Floyd created an artificial charity event to pay off OJ Mayo.
Its better to know something or experience something for yourself than to take somebody else word. That way u know for sure
Dan Wolken, through his Twitter page, has been keeping up with everything through his work in the Commercial Appeal. Wolken tracked down Tim Floyd who said: Spoke with Floyd, who went right back at Strong, said he was dismissed due to drug policy violation, noted his fourth school in 4 years.
Strong claims he's going to play for Victory University, an NAIA school in Memphis.
Just so you can see what Strong looks like in time for his return to Memphis, here's some postgame from a Conference USA game between UTEP and SMU ((HT: epvox))
The HQ knows this is far from over... More when we know more...
Apparently you can't keep Tim Floyd down for long. Floyd who has coached at 4 other schools in the NCAA along with 2 NBA teams now can add a 5th to the college resume'. Truth be told, he was an assistant at UTEP way back in his past before heading into the Head Coaching ranks.
According to our friends at the 4-letter word, UTEP is set to announce Floyd as the replacement to Tony Barbee who left to go to Auburn. The announcement is supposed to be today at 6pm El Paso time.
((Tim Floyd likes the 4-horsemen//Courtesy: John W. McDonough/SI))
Floyd left his last job at USC under a bit of a cloud. He was the coach while who got O.J Mayo to come play with the Trojans and there were a bunch of allegations regarding illegal recruitment. Floyd, according to the report, won't be in trouble for those issues (hmmmm?)
In the meantime, enjoy some video of the aforementioned Floyd playing peacemaker during a casino brawl. Thanks You Tube:
As we reported, Al Skinner was relieved of his head coaching duties with the Boston College men's basketball team or as athletic director Gene DeFilippo says, "Coach Al Skinner and I agreed it would be mutually beneficial for us to part ways,"
In a statement released by Boston College, DeFilippo added, "We discussed our philosophical differences and our concern for the future of our basketball program."
Skinner wasn't on the same page as DeFilippo and of course his employment was terminated.
As stated earlier, look for Cornell head coach Steve Donohue to be in B.C.'s cross hairs. Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker could also be in the mix.
Meanwhile down in the west Texas town of El Paso, The El Paso Times and the Associated Press is reporting that Tim Floyd will be introduced as UTEP's new head coach. The A.P. cites UTEP spokesman Jeff Darby who says that Floyd is the new Miners men's basketball head coach and will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Floyd spent 8 years at UTEP on Don Haskins' staff from 1978 - 1986.
USC tries to be pro-active and nukes their own 2009-2010 basketball season...
AD Mike Garrett found out that, shockingly, rules were violated during OJ Mayo's one season with the Trojans under former coach Tim Floyd.
Mayo did his one-and-done and now is in Memphis playing for the Grizzlies. Some people would say that doing that is sanction enough...
The sanctions call for: A one-year ban on all postseason play for this season, A loss of one scholarship for this season and next, A loss of one coach able to recruit this summer, and 20 less recruiting days next season...
Whatever in the hell that means in the grand scheme of things... they're also blowing up the 21 wins from that season.
SportsCentral's Jim Hill and Steve Hartman look at the fallout of the self-imposed ban and try to figure out where in the hell Mike Garrett and Kevin O'Neill go from here...
Kevin O'Neill has been hired by USC as basketball coach, the school announced today on its website.
O'Neill's hiring came a day after USC representatives made a final run at Pittsburgh Coach Jamie Dixon, who again declined to leave the Big East powerhouse to take over a beleaguered Trojans' program that is under NCAA investigation.
O'Neill, 52, replaces Tim Floyd ((pictured, thanks LA Times file)), who resigned June 9 in the midst of a tumultuous off-season that included allegations that he hand-delivered a payment in 2007 to an associate of former USC star O.J. Mayo.
The salvage operation O'Neill faces is immense. USC had its three top returning players declare their intent to turn professional, and five recruits either asked to be let out of their scholarships or change their verbal commitments. Only nine scholarship players remain on the roster.
"I'm very excited about this opportunity to coach at such a great institution as USC, with its tremendous athletic and academic tradition," O'Neill said in a statement released by USC. "I appreciate [Athletic Director] Mike Garrett's confidence in me. I will work my hardest to coach us to a championship level every single day. I can't wait to get started."
O'Neill also sounded like a coach who knew what he was getting into at USC.
"I recognized that USC basketball has been through a tough time lately," he said. "Like many college basketball fans, I have been following the developments in the media. One thing I expect people might second-guess me on is whether I made the right call in taking this job.
" . . . I want to assure you that I made my decision only after a thorough evaluation. . . . If I didn't believe in USC -- and all of the people involved -- I wouldn't be putting my name and reputation on the line. But I do and I am. Enough said.
"I'm sure I am also going to be asked whether the NCAA investigation involving basketball is going to hurt recruiting or the program in general. Let me just say that if I thought I wouldn't be able to do my job -- do the job that the University expects of me and equally important that I expect of myself -- I wouldn't have taken the job."
O'Neill spent last season as an assistant coach and special assistant to the general manager for the Grizzlies. He was the interim coach at Arizona, filling in for Lute Olson, during the 2007-08 season. Arizona reached the NCAA tournament and finished with a 19-15 record. Although O'Neill was designated as Olson's successor by Athletic Director Jim Livengood, he was pushed out when Olson announced his return in April 2008.
O'Neill was the Toronto Raptors head coach in 2003-04, when they finished with a 33-49 record. He has been an assistant with the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers.
On the college level, O'Neill has been the head coach at Marquette, Tennessee and Northwestern. Marquette made the NCAA tournament in 1993 and 1994 under O'Neill.
Tim Floyd has resigned as USC's men's basketball coach, according to a report in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper.
Floyd has been under fire since a report surfaced that he gave $1,000 to a man associated with former player O.J. Mayo. If true, the payment would be a major NCAA violation.
Floyd submitted a letter to USC athletic director Mike Garrett, obtained by the paper:
“As of 1 p.m. today, I am resigning as head basketball coach at the University of Southern California. I deeply appreciate the opportunity afforded me by the university, as well as the chance to know and work with some of the finest young men in college athletics. Unfortunately, I know longer feel I can offer the level of enthusiasm to my duties that is deserved by the university, my coaching staff, my players, their families, and the supporters of Southern Cal. I always promised my self and my family that if I ever felt I could no longer give my full enthusiasm to a job, that I should leave it to others who could. I intend to contact my coaching staff and my players in coming days and weeks to tell them how much each of them means to me. I wish the best to USC and to my successor.”
Floyd reportedly turned down an offer to be Arizona's coach earlier this spring. He led the Trojans to the NCAA tournament each of the last three seasons.
Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo has communicated with the U.S. Attorney's office amid allegations that federal laws may have been violated when Mayo's former advisor gave him money and gifts during his high school and college career, according to a source with knowledge of the case. The source would not elaborate on Mayo's contact with federal authorities.
The development comes as the NCAA is looking into whether Mayo's brother Todd Mayo, a high school basketball player, also received improper benefits.
Dan Goodman, the deputy criminal chief of the U.S. Attorney's office for the Central District of Los Angeles, said: "We couldn't comment whether there's an ongoing investigation or not."
Federal authorities are investigating Rodney Guillory, the advisor, for possible tax evasion and misuse of charitable organization funds, according to reports.
The NCAA, Pac-10, FBI, IRS and U.S. Attorney's office have been interested in speaking with Mayo since they began investigating questions raised in a May, 2008, "Outside the Lines" report that detailed how Mayo had accepted about $30,000 in cash and other benefits from Guillory.
The "Outside the Lines" report included an interview with former Guillory associate Louis Johnson, who said he helped Guillory provide Mayo with money, meals, clothes, a flat-screen television and other goods until 2008, shortly before Mayo finished his freshman season at USC. The gifts and cash began when Mayo was in high school at North College Hill in Cincinnati.
The 6-foot-4 Mayo left USC after his freshman season and was taken with the third pick in the NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. After a trade, he played this season with the Grizzlies and averaged 18.5 points a game.
While Mayo has responded to inquiries from law enforcement, for more than a year he has declined requests to set up a meeting with NCAA investigators looking into the allegations. After the "Outside the Lines" report aired, Mayo told reporters he planned to cooperate with the NCAA. Mayo could not be reached for comment.
In a concurrent investigation, federal authorities are investigating whether Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management (BDA Sports) funneled up to $250,000 to Guillory in exchange for Mayo signing a contract with Duffy's agency.
After he declared for the NBA draft, Mayo signed with agent Calvin Andrews of BDA Sports, but they split shortly after the "Outside the Lines" report aired. Andrews was suspended from representing players for one year by the National Basketball Players Association in connection with the Mayo case. Mayo is now represented by agent Leon Rose. In the latest development of the NCAA's investigation, the enforcement staff wants to know whether Guillory paid for a flight for Mayo's younger brother, Todd Mayo, from Los Angeles to Columbus, Ohio, in 2007 while O.J. Mayo was in summer school at USC, Johnson's attorneys Anthony Salerno and David Murphy confirmed. The attorneys also confirmed that NCAA investigators want to know whether Guillory paid for Todd Mayo's cell-phone service while O.J. Mayo was in college.
Todd Mayo is a basketball player himself. This past season he averaged 23 points a game as a junior at Houston High School in suburban Memphis. Attorneys for Johnson confirmed on Wednesday that NCAA investigators asked Johnson about two documents from the "Outside the Lines" report that are linked to Todd Mayo.
One of the documents the NCAA is reviewing is a copy of a Nov. 4, 2007 T-mobile invoice charged to a non-profit foundation run by Guillory. Johnson told "Outside the Lines" that Guillory paid $192.33 for Todd Mayo's cell service.
Johnson said Guillory paid for Todd Mayo's phone bill as a favor to O.J. Mayo and not out of any attempt to "recruit" the younger Mayo. Murphy said even though Todd was the recipient of the phone service, Guillory paid it to curry favor with the older Mayo brother. "Given Todd Mayo's relationship to O.J., any benefit that was given to Todd Mayo could reflect upon the [NCAA investigation] as it pertains to O.J.," Murphy said.
Johnson's attorneys further confirmed that the NCAA has a copy of another document that "Outside the Lines" obtained: a handwritten receipt with Todd Mayo's name on it, dated Aug. 2, 2007. The receipt is from L.A. Traveling Tours for the amount of $395.80 ($345.80 for the ticket and $50 commission, the receipt says).
Johnson said Todd Mayo was visiting his brother, who attended summer school at USC during the summer of 2007. Johnson said he was with Guillory and Todd Mayo when Guillory purchased in cash the one-way ticket for Todd Mayo from Los Angeles to Columbus. Todd Mayo lived in Ohio. Even though Guillory paid for the ticket, according to Johnson, the receipt shows the purchaser's name as "Ovinton Mayo." Johnson said Guillory made sure it appeared that O.J. Mayo had paid for his brother's flight home.
"He needed [the receipt] to say that O.J. bought the ticket," Johnson said Wednesday. "It doesn't have Rodney's name on it ... because Rodney was deemed a runner by the NCAA and because there was a lot of scrutiny on him because of his relationship with O.J."
The NCAA could rule that Todd Mayo received preferential treatment if it's proved that he received gifts from Guillory. It was unclear how his high school eligibility or college recruitment could be affected by such a ruling.
USC men’s basketball coach Tim Floyd made a direct cash payment to a man who helped deliver O.J. Mayo to the Trojans program, according to Louis Johnson, a former member of Mayo’s inner circle.
Johnson, a one-time Mayo confidant, has told both NCAA investigators and federal authorities – including the FBI, IRS and U.S. Attorney’s Office – that Floyd gave at least $1,000 in cash to Rodney Guillory, a man who allegedly lavished Mayo with improper benefits while the guard starred for the Trojans.
Such an act would constitute a major NCAA violation for USC, which is the subject of an ongoing three-year investigation into alleged improprieties in both the football and men’s basketball programs.
Approached by Yahoo! Sports at his California residence on Friday, Guillory declined to comment. A message left on Floyd’s cell phone Tuesday was not immediately returned. The NCAA and USC also declined to comment.
“As you know, USC can’t comment on any issue that’s the subject of an ongoing NCAA and Pac-10 investigation,” USC general counsel Carol Mauch Amir said.
The revelation involving Floyd is the latest allegation put forth by Johnson, who described Guillory to Yahoo! Sports as a long-time “runner” who steered Mayo to the Bill Duffy Associates (BDA) sports agency. Johnson said Guillory received between $200,000 and $250,000 from BDA Sports for his efforts, which resulted in Mayo initially signing with BDA when he left USC after one season for the NBA in April 2008.
BDA spokesperson Ilana Nunn declined to comment on the relationship between BDA and Guillory.
Johnson also said Mayo received approximately $30,000 in extra benefits from Guillory while playing for the Trojans. He first made those allegations to ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” in May 2008, producing a litany of receipts to back up his claims, including purchases of food, clothing and a 42-inch flat screen TV for Mayo. Mayo broke off his relationship with BDA Sports shortly after the ESPN report aired. Mayo denied those allegations to reporters on several occasions. His agent, Leon Rose, didn’t return calls to his office and cell phone.
Floyd’s alleged financial involvement with Guillory is a potentially damaging new twist for USC, and was disclosed to Yahoo! Sports last week by Johnson’s attorneys, Anthony V. Salerno and David Murphy. The attorneys confirmed that Johnson had gone on the record with his account of the payment twice: first in a group interview in front of the FBI, IRS and U.S. Attorney’s Office on May 28, 2008, and then again in the second of two interviews with NCAA investigators, which took place last week. Two members of USC’s outside counsel also took part in the second NCAA interview and heard Johnson’s account of Floyd’s alleged payment. Salerno added that Johnson’s account to federal authorities carried the threat of potential prosecution if Johnson was found to be lying.
“It was clearly money in contemplation of inducing O.J. to go through with the decision [to play at USC]. That was the understanding that Louis had – that this was money from Floyd to Guillory for them to go out and have a great weekend. It was the inducement for Guillory’s efforts in delivering [Mayo to sign with USC].”– David Murphy, Louis Johnson’s attorney
“Louis knew that if he didn’t tell the truth in that meeting, he’d be in the same boat that Martha Stewart was in for deceiving federal authorities,” Salerno said. “The agreement that he was under, the explicit agreement was that he had to be completely truthful in his statement. Lying to a federal agent is a whole crime unto itself. If you’re going to talk to them at all, you have to tell the truth.” Johnson also confirmed his allegation of Floyd’s payment to Yahoo! Sports.
“It’s a complete and accurate depiction of the event I observed between Tim Floyd and Rodney Guillory,” Johnson said.
Johnson told the NCAA and federal authorities the payment took place in the week leading up to the 2007 NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas – three months after Mayo committed to USC while finishing his final year of high school. His attorneys said Johnson perceived the payment as an extension of Floyd’s gratitude for Guillory’s delivery of Mayo to USC.
“It was clearly money in contemplation of inducing O.J. to go through with the decision [to play at USC],” Murphy said. “That was the understanding that Louis had –that this was money from Floyd to Guillory for them to go out and have a great weekend. It was the inducement for Guillory’s efforts in delivering [Mayo to sign with USC].” The following is Johnson’s account of the payment as told to Yahoo! Sports.
Floyd ((pictured, thanks azcentral.com file)) has come and gone in a quick visit to Tucson to talk about the Arizona men's basketball opening, a source close to the situation has told the Tucson Citizen.
It's not clear, however, if Floyd has been offered the job to become UA's new coach. The source said it was a quick trip not knowing for certain if Floyd even visited the UA campus.
Unsigned USC recruit Soloman Hill, who committed to UA and then pledged to the Trojans after Lute Olson retired, said he would "weigh his options" if Floyd goes to Arizona.
Fellow USC forward recruit Renardo Sydney also has not signed a letter of intent to play for the Trojans yet.
"I just heard Tim Floyd had been called down there for a meeting," Hill said Wednesday night. "It's kind of weird that it's Arizona where my (next) coach would go to."
Hill said it's too early to tell what he would do because he hasn't been told that Floyd is taking the UA job.
"It would be a good situation if (Floyd) went there (UA) and a good situation if he stayed," Hill added. "The only thing I worry about is the recruiting class." at Arizona, which has no players signed for next season except for an unproven junior college player.
"We have a good recruiting class (at USC)," Hill added. "I guess I'd have to talk to the people I got to know going to USC and see what they think about it."
On Wednesday morning, UA Athletic director Jim Livengood declined to speak about the job opening. He did not return a phone call on Wednesday night.
Arizona sports information officials said no news conference had been scheduled for Thursday, but that could change.
Tim Floyd/USC- Has a home in Hattiesburg, was rasied in the south, and won't compete with football if he shows...
Andy Kennedy/Ole Miss- Would it be a step backward...? But his incident in Cincinnati may preclude him in all of this...
Frank Haith/Miami (FL)- Haith's ready to get out of town, but it'll be a rebuilding project.
Tony Barbee/UTEP- Coach Cal's, rumored-to-be anyway, hand-picked choice. But would Barbee and assistant Josh Pastner want to leave and head to UK...?
Reggie Theus- Would "Rush Street Reggie" become "Beale Street Reggie?" Would a lack of success in the NBA and the Mountain West stop his candidacy...?
And, yeah, we buried the lead here...
Nolan Richardson- Here's an idea for you... bring Nolan back. He's proven that he wants to still coach since he's been the coach for the Panamanian and Mexican national squads. He's plugged into the Memphis, Oklahoma, and Ark-La-Tex scenes like no other coach available. And it would also give an absolutely cheap pop to a program that needs it right now.
You wanna make a statement...? Make that kind of statement... Let him go for another handful of seasons and give him the ride into the sunset that a lot of people think he deserves.
Press conferences start at 9:30 AM eastern time in Lexington for Calipari's introduction.
Dan Wolken starts the Memphis side of the Tigers post-mortem saying Calipari will receive an eight-year, $31.65 million deal plus incentives, according to the University of Kentucky. According to sources close to the process, however, Memphis had offered a deal that was just as lucrative.
Kentucky will pay Memphis a $200,000 buyout that was included in Calipari’s U of M contract.
Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson will hold a news conference at noon Wednesday to discuss plans for the future, as the program moves into its first coaching search since 2000. Donors Alan Graf and Mike Rose will play major roles in the search.
One name at the top of Memphis’ list was removed on Tuesday night when Mike Anderson agreed to a new seven-year contract to stay at Missouri.
The next coach on Memphis’ radar could be Southern California’s Tim Floyd, who has big-time recruiting connections, a track record of college success and NBA head coaching experience. Floyd, who reportedly makes $850,000 at USC, might also be intrigued by the opportunity to coach at a school where basketball is the top priority and doesn’t have to share the spotlight with USC football or UCLA basketball.
According to one of Floyd’s close friends in coaching, he would be interested in the job because of his strong roots in the South, despite his recent acclimation to the West Coast. Floyd owns a home just outside of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he was born. According to the coach, who requested to remain anonymous, the Memphis job would make a lot of sense for Floyd and he’d be as close to Calipari as Memphis could find in terms of his track record and ability to fit in with the program.
Other names that might come into play include Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy, Miami coach Frank Haith, UTEP coach Tony Barbee, current assistant Josh Pastner or former New Mexico State and Sacramento Kings coach Reggie Theus.
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla said Memphis can stay relevant if it makes the right hire.
“There’s no question. It will be slightly different,” Fraschilla said. “What John did is going to be tough to duplicate, and I’m not sure most coaches would want to try to step in his shoes, but two guys that could get it done are Tim Floyd and Mike Anderson. They both have the experience and the recruiting ties and the substance to be able to weather what is a tough place to please a great fan base.”
Here's Coach Cal's Landing in Lexington... ((HT: WKYT))
And the flip side from our friends at WHBQ-TV/Fox Memphis...
