Sunday, April 12, 2009

Cassie Harberts rescinds verbal committment to USC

Four days after USC Coach Mark Trakh was ousted, the fallout has begun: junior standout Cassie Harberts of San Clemente, CA has rescinded the verbal committment she made to the university just a few weeks ago. She said she will begin her college search anew:

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncw/recruiting/tracker/school?schoolId=30&season=2009&page=briefingroom&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncw%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fschool%3fschoolId%3d30%26season%3d2009%26page%3dbriefingroom

"We hoped he was going to stay," Dorothy Harberts said, "and when we found out it was very upsetting."

A reliable source told me that Tuesday's meeting between the five-year coach and at least two Trojan athletic directors turned into a shouting match. The ADs reportedly told Trakh they wanted nothing less than a national championship from him, and they were willing to give him a one-year contract in which to accomplish that. Trakh turned it down.

Regardless of varying opinions on whether or not Trakh is an effective coach, who could reasonably expect anyone to deliver a national championship in just one year? Who do the USC athletic directors have in mind for a replacement? And how does Christina Marinacci and other recruits feel who have already signed on the dotted line?

What a mess.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

USC are crazy - they have no clue what they are doing and the recruits are not happy!

Anonymous said...

A national championship. If more players leave they may have a hard time putting a team on the court.

Sue Favor said...

Anonymous, why don't you elaborate on that. Do you have inside info?

Kailapea, I'm hoping that won't be true, but you never know. I'd like to see USC get serious about naming a replacement.

Unknown said...

Perhaps the school was unreasonable to ask for a national championship in one year. But my interpretation of it is that they want him to put up or shut up. Eventually, they expect him to perform and he still has several McDonald's All-American players that he recruited. There are teams out there doing more with less.

Anonymous said...

I think Mike Garrett made a major blunder letting Trakh go. Make it a double blunder if he hires M. Cooper.

I always thought of USC as a major power in football and baseball. Since Garrett has been there USC has won two football championships and one baseball title. This in a 16 year period. Garrett is living on the USC Football program and Pete Carroll, as the baseball program has been out performed by such powerhouses as CS Fullerton and UC Irvine? I dont see the baseball coaching under pressure, in fact it looks like a bit of nepotism on the baseball team as former Coach Gillespies job was taken over by his son in law a few years ago.

If anyone should have been not renewed it was Garrett.

IM in OC