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June 22, 2009

O'Neill faces press at USC

Former Chateaugay star said decision was easy: 'It's USC'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin O'Neill took over Southern California's troubled basketball program on Monday, promising to try to win next season under the weight of an NCAA investigation and the departures of three starters and several recruits.

"There's nothing here that says you can't win and that's why I like this job," he said after being introduced by athletic director Mike Garrett at a campus news conference.

The 52-year-old coach returns to the college ranks after spending last season as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzles.

"My attraction to the job was simple, it's USC, " he said. "They major in graduation and championships here, two pretty good things."

The titles, however, belong to the powerhouse football program and to sports other than basketball, which was on the upswing until Tim Floyd resigned suddenly on June 9 amid allegations that he paid to have O.J. Mayo play for him at USC.

During Floyd's four seasons, the Trojans reached the NCAA tournament the last three seasons and won the school's first Pac-10 tournament title.

O'Neill said he has no qualms about taking over during tough times. He said Garrett told him everything he needs to know about the past.

"I really didn't care what had happened and we didn't get into detail because that's not my place. I was taking the job no matter what. I wanted the job from the beginning because it's USC," he said.

"The fact that there's an investigation going on never changed my view of the university at all. We're going to deal with whatever comes out of this and be positive and move forward."

But O'Neill would be affected by any fallout.

If the NCAA can prove Floyd paid to have Mayo delivered to USC, that would be considered a major violation. The Trojans could be forced to forfeit victories, and they could face recruiting restrictions and lose scholarships.

O'Neill has worked in the basketball coaching ranks for 30 years.

He began his NCAA Division I collegiate head coaching career at Marquette, where he went 86-62 in 5 seasons (1990-94) and had 3 post-season appearances. His initial 1990 team went 15-14 and played in the NIT (the school's first winning season and post-season trip since 1987). His 1993 squad was 20-8 (Marquette's first 20-win season since 1985) and captured the school's first NCAA berth since 1983. That season, he was named the Great Midwest Conference Co-Coach of the Year, Basketball Weekly Midwest Coach of the Year and National Association of Basketball Coaches District 11 Coach of the Year and he was a finalist for Associated Press National Coach of the Year. He then went 24-9 in 1994, helped Marquette to its first-ever league title and guided the Warriors to their first NCAA Sweet Sixteen berth since 1979. He was selected as the 1994 Great Midwest Coach of the Year and NABC District 11 Co-Coach of the Year.

He then became Tennessee's head coach for 3 years (1995-97), inheriting a team that had won just 5 games in 1994 and getting the Volunteers into the NIT tourney by his second season. He next was the head coach at Northwestern for 3 seasons (1998-2000), where he went 30-56. The 1999 Wildcats team was 15-14 (their first winning season since 1994) and played in the NIT, just the third post-season appearance in school history.

O'Neill then went to the NBA as an assistant coach, spending 2001 with the playoff-bound New York Knicks and then 2 seasons (2002-03) with the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons won 50 games, were the Central Division champs and appeared in the playoffs both seasons (advancing to the Eastern Conference finals in 2003) and were regarded among the NBA's premier defensive teams. He served as the Toronto Raptors' head coach in 2004. His team started out 25-25 and was in position to make the NBA playoffs, but then injuries struck and the team finished with a 33-49 record, just missing a playoff spot.

He spent the next 3 years (2005-07) with the Indiana Pacers, the first 2 as an assistant as the club made the NBA playoffs both seasons and the third as a consultant. O'Neill was named interim head coach at Arizona for the 2008 season when Lute Olson took a leave of absence. His Wildcats went 19-15 and made the NCAA tourney. O'Neill began his coaching career as the head coach at Central High in Hammond, N.Y. in 1980, then spent the next 2 years (1981-82) as the head coach at North Country Community College in Saranac Lake, N.Y. He was the head coach at the NAIA's Marycrest College in Davenport, Ia., in 1983. He then became an assistant coach at Delaware for 2 seasons (1984-85), Tulsa in 1986 and Arizona for 3 years (1987-89) before landing the head coaching job at Marquette. Tulsa won the 1986 Missouri Valley Conference tournament and made the NCAAs. Arizona captured the Pac-10 title and Pac-10 Tournament crown in both 1988 and 1989 (it finished second in the 1987 league standings) and advanced to the NCAAs all 3 seasons (including to the Final Four in 1988).

O'Neill was a 3-year (1976-79) basketball letterman at McGill University in Montreal, helping the Redmen to a 52-38 (.598) mark in his career. In his 1978 junior season, McGill posted a school-record 28 wins and advanced to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport national championship tournament.

He received his bachelor's degree in education from McGill in 1979 and his master's degree in secondary education from Marycrest in 1983.

He was born on Jan. 24, 1957, in Malone, N.Y. and starred at Chateaugay in basketball. His wife's name is Roberta. He has a son, Sean.

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