# 2008–09 USC Trojans men's basketball team

The 2008–09 USC Trojans men's basketball team represented the University of Southern California during the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Trojans, led by 4th year head coach Tim Floyd, played their home games at the Galen Center and were members of the Pacific-10 Conference. They finished the season 22–13, 9–9 in Pac-10 play. They won the 2009 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournament over Arizona State. They went to the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as a 10th seed, where they lost in the 2nd round to Michigan State.

## Class of 2008

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| DeMar DeRozan SF | Compton, CA | Compton HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Feb 6, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Percy Miller PG | Beverly Hills, CA | Beverly Hills HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Apr 13, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 ||||||
| Donte Smith PG | Walnut, CA | Mount San Antonio CC | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 1, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 ||||||
| Nikola Vucevic PF | Simi Valley, CA | Stone Ridge Prep | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Jun 8, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 ||||||
| Leonard Washington SF | Compton, CA | Marshall HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jun 17, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Overall Recruiting Rankings: Scout – 26 Rivals – 20 ESPN – UR ||||||

## Roster

| Number | Name | Height | Position | Class |
| 43 | Kasey Cunningham | 6–7 | F | SO |
| 10 | DeMar DeRozan | 6–7 | F | FR |
| 14 | Mamadou Diarra | 7-0 | F | FR |
| 3 | James Dueavy | 6–6 | G | FR |
| 22 | Taj Gibson | 6–9 | F | JR |
| 30 | Terence Green | 5-11 | G | SR |
| 13 | Daniel Hackett | 6–5 | G | JR |
| 0 | Marcus Johnson | 6–6 | F | SR |
| 21 | Dwight Lewis | 6–5 | G | JR |
| 34 | J.J. Meyers | 6–2 | G | JR |
| 15 | Percy Miller | 5–11 | G | FR |
| 20 | Marcus Simmons | 6–6 | G | SO |
| 35 | Donte Smith | 5–11 | G | SO |
| 1 | Alex Stepheson | 6–9 | F | JR |
| 5 | Nikola Vucevic | 6–10 | F | FR |
| 4 | Leonard Washington | 6–7 | F | FR |
| 2 | Ryan Wetherell | 5–11 | G | JR |
| 23 | Keith Wilkinson | 6–10 | F | SR |
| 17 | Rashad Cooper | 6-3 | G | SO |

### Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 15, 2008* | No. 21 | UC Irvine | W 78–55 | 1–0 | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| November 18, 2008* | No. 20 | New Mexico State | W 73–60 | 2–0 | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| November 20, 2008* ESPNU | No. 20 | vs. Seton Hall Puerto Rico Tip-Off | L 61–63 | 2–1 | Coliseo de Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| November 21, 2008* ESPNU | No. 20 | vs. Chattanooga Puerto Rico Tip-Off | W 73–46 | 3–1 | Coliseo de Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| November 23, 2008* ESPNU | No. 20 | vs. Missouri Puerto Rico Tip-Off | L 72–83 | 3–2 | Coliseo de Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| November 28, 2008* | | UT Martin | W 70–43 | 4–2 | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| December 1, 2008* | | San Francisco | W 74–69 | 5–2 | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| December 4, 2008* ESPN2 | | at No. 6 Oklahoma Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series | L 72–73 | 5–3 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| December 15, 2008* | | Pepperdine | W 91–77 | 6–3 | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| December 20, 2008* | | North Dakota State | W 71–67 | 7–3 | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| December 22, 2008* | | Georgia Tech | W 76–57 | 8–3 | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| December 28, 2008* | | Oral Roberts | W 66–56 | 9–3 | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| January 2, 2009 | | at Oregon | W 83–62 | 10–3 (1–0) | McArthur Court Eugene, OR |
| January 4, 2009 FS West | | at Oregon State | L 58–62 $^{OT}$ | 10–4 (1–1) | Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR |
| January 11, 2009 FSN | | No. 7 UCLA | L 60–64 | 10–5 (1–2) | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| January 15, 2009 | | No. 15 Arizona State | W 61–49 | 11–5 (2–2) | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| January 17, 2009 Prime Ticket | | Arizona | W 65–64 | 12–5 (3–2) | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| January 22, 2009 FSN | | at Washington | L 73–78 | 12–6 (3–3) | Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA |
| January 24, 2009 FS West | | at Washington State | W 46–44 | 13–6 (4–3) | Beasley Coliseum Pullman, WA |
| January 29, 2009 Prime Ticket | | Stanford | W 70–69 | 14–6 (5–3) | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| January 31, 2009 FSN | | California | W 73–62 | 15–6 (6–3) | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| February 4, 2009 Prime Ticket | | at No. 12 UCLA | L 60–76 | 15–7 (6–4) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| February 12, 2009 FSN | | at Arizona | L 76–83 | 15–8 (6–5) | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| February 15, 2009 FSN | | at No. 18 Arizona State | L 53–65 | 15–9 (6–6) | Wells Fargo Arena Tempe, AZ |
| February 19, 2009 Prime Ticket | | Washington State | W 61–51 | 16–9 (7–6) | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| February 21, 2009 Prime Ticket | | No. 19 Washington | L 51–60 | 16–10 (7–7) | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| February 26, 2009 | | at California | L 78–81 | 16–11 (7–8) | Haas Pavilion Berkeley, CA |
| February 28, 2009 | | at Stanford | L 63–75 | 16–12 (7–9) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA |
| March 5, 2009 | | Oregon | W 80–66 | 17–12 (8–9) | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| March 7, 2009 | | Oregon State | W 68–52 | 18–12 (9–9) | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| Pac-10 Conference tournament ||||||
| March 12, 2009 FSN | (6) | vs. (3) California Pac-10 Quarterfinals | W 79–75 | 19–12 | Staples Center Los Angeles, CA |
| March 13, 2009 FSN | (6) | vs. (2) No. 14 UCLA Pac-10 Semifinals | W 65–55 | 20–12 | Staples Center Los Angeles, CA |
| March 14, 2009 CBS | (6) | vs. (4) No. 23 Arizona State Pac-10 Championship | W 66–63 | 21–12 | Staples Center Los Angeles, CA |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 20, 2009 CBS | (10 MW) | vs. (7 MW) Boston College NCAA First Round | W 69–55 | 22–12 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN |
| March 22, 2009 CBS | (10 MW) | vs. (2 MW) Michigan State NCAA Second Round | L 69–74 | 22–13 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USA Today Coaches Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||