Time for my take on the hiring of Kevin O’Neill, following plenty of criticism over the move from fans and national columnists. It’s worth noting USC could not pay Jamie Dixon enough to lure him from Pittsburgh and late June is a lousy time to hire a coach.
That said, I kind of like the hire. Above everything else, I know O’Neill will outwork everyone. He will come to the office at 5 a.m., recruit like a madman and do everything possible to succeed in his last chance to be a head coach at a large Division I college.
Remember, I write this as the guy who championed Oregon State’s Craig Robinson, so I’m not disposed to support O’Neill. But I like the fact he coached at Arizona as an assistant and also did that interim stint two years ago, which makes him familiar with the Pac-10.
And I also like that he is not Reggie Theus, who would have been all flash and who knows what else? If his stint at New Mexico State was any indication, player arrests and a lousy APR were likely.
O’Neill’s got a clean reputation. He will also be a disciplinarian and to be honest, last year, the inmates ran the asylum at certain points of the season. He wants to succeed more than anything else. And USC basketball needs a jolt right now.
My only caveat with O’Neill is that he really needs to mellow as much as he claims he has since those crazy days at Tennessee.
OK, that’s my thoughts. As usual I turn to English sportswriter Barry Glendenning to sum it up: “Bear in mind it’s only an opinion that’s no more valid than that of anyone else … except you, obviously. Yes you, sitting there in your office or bedroom, reading this on your PC monitor, possibly with several other screens open, each of them showing something that’s probably illegal in several American states.”