USC still recovering from offseason death of point guard

updated 4:42 p.m. ET Nov. 10, 2006

LOS ANGELES - For the first time in years, there’s optimism about Southern California’s basketball program at a school best known for its two-time national champion football team.

The Trojans have a sparkling new arena. Coach Tim Floyd has depth, size and experience at every position but point guard. And leading scorer and rebounder Nick Young promises to be even better.

But sadness pervades the Trojans.

The offseason shooting death of Ryan Francis in his home state of Louisiana dealt an emotional blow to the team and left the Trojans without one of the best young point guards in the Pac-10.

“It’s difficult for me, because I loved the kid,” said Floyd, whose first signing was Francis. “He never leaves my mind.”

USC’s season opener next Thursday against South Carolina in the new Galen Center will feature a tribute to Francis, with his mother, Paulette Francis, traveling from Baton Rouge, La., to attend.

The 19-year-old Francis was killed in a drive-by shooting on Mother’s Day weekend. The man accused of the shooting, D’Anthony Ford, is being held without bond at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

“When I learned that he passed, I couldn’t believe it,” said freshman Daniel Hackett, who is expected to start at point guard. “It was such a crazy thing to hear.”

The stunned Trojans traveled to Baton Rouge as a team to attend Francis’ funeral, and they still keep in touch with his mother.

“He was a wonderful, wonderful kid who was the heart and soul of our team,” Floyd said. “He just played his tail off every single day and represented himself like I think USC wants their athletes to represent.”

The players will wear a patch with Francis’ name and number on their jerseys this season. Fundraisers have been held to endow a scholarship in his name, and a bench in front of Galen Center will bear his name.

Francis’ presence also will be strongly felt in USC’s locker room, where a vacant locker with his jersey hanging in it has been set aside.

“Just now in the locker room we were talking about him, how he played hard, how we loved playing with him,” senior center Abdoulaye N’diaye said Thursday after practice. “We miss him a lot and we wish he was here right now.”

As a freshman, Francis averaged 7.1 points per game. He ranked seventh in the Pac-10 in assists and fifth in steals, and USC went 17-13 in Floyd’s first year. Francis’ presence made the Trojans’ backcourt their greatest strength.

“At times, we looked like a team that could guard people and it was all the result of his effort and his ability to initiate defense and have the others follow him,” Floyd said.

Now, Francis is gone and so is the backcourt. The point guard position wasn’t a priority for Floyd in recruiting because he thought Francis would play 32 minutes a game. Several players are in the running for starting minutes.

Hackett and fellow freshman Kevin Galloway will get first crack at proving they can be capable ball-handlers, although neither was recruited to play point guard. Senior Lodrick Stewart could start at the two-guard spot. He averaged 12.3 points and 3.6 rebounds last season.

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The 18-year-old Hackett was recruited for next season, but he finished high school in the summer and was cleared by the NCAA to enroll at USC.

“I used to come up here and Ryan used to talk to me about how it is to be a starting freshman point guard on a college team,” Hackett said. “I always respected that guy for how hard he played.”

After Francis’ death, the Trojans got more bad news.

Junior guard Nick Pruitt, who averaged 16.9 points last season, is academically ineligible and will miss the first 10 games. His absence increases the load on Young, a 6-foot-6, 195-pounder who was an All-Pac 10 selection last season. He averaged 17.3 points and 6.6 rebounds.

“I’ve been trying to relax a little bit,” said Young, who added 10 pounds over the summer. “Coach has told me don’t put so much pressure on myself, don’t get caught up in the hype.”

The Trojans are big inside, with the 6-11 N’Diaye providing an aggressive presence and shotblocking ability.

Last season, USC finished sixth in the Pac-10 and had a nine-game winning streak, including victories over Arizona, North Carolina and crosstown rival UCLA.

The Trojans have left behind the dank and dumpy Los Angeles Sports Arena for the new Galen Center, a 10,258-seat, $140 million arena located on campus, which should help boost attendance and give them a legitimate homecourt advantage.

“Our names are being said around campus more. That’s a big thing for us,” Young said. “The basketball program has always been an underdog. It’s a good feeling to finally get some light and some people behind us.”

Floyd says he has no idea where the grief-stricken Trojans will be this season. Various predictions have them finishing anywhere from third to sixth in the Pac-10.

But he offered a bold prediction.

“At some point in my lifetime, SC will win a national championship in basketball,” Floyd said.

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