It’s hard to overstate how happy the USC basketball staff is that Angelo Johnson has gotten his clearance to play this semester.

The 5-foot-10 point guard was the quickest player the USC coaches saw all year, they’ll tell you, and allows them now to guard a quick point guard on the other team and leaves them without the matchup problem that going with three 6-5 perimeter players might have.

In a deep and talented Pac-10 this season, getting Johnson is a big deal for this young USC team, the coaches will tell you.