Floyd Resigns at USC

In yet another blow to the USC basketball program, head coach Tim Floyd has resigned after four years with the Trojans.

The story was reported first in The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.). The paper obtained the letter of resignation that Floyd sent to athletic director Mike Garrett.

"As of 1:00 p.m. today, I am resigning as head basketball coach at the University of Southern California. I deeply appreciate the opportunity afforded me by the university, as well as the chance to know and work with some of the finest young men in college athletics. Unfortunately, I no longer feel I can offer the level of enthusiasm to my duties that is deserved by the university, my coaching staff, my players, their families, and the supporters of the University of Southern California. I always promised myself and my family that if I ever felt I could no longer give my full enthusiasm to a job, that I should leave it to others who could. I intend to contact my coaching staff and my players in coming days and weeks to tell them how much each of them means to me. I wish the best to USC and to my successor."

Statements from Garrett and Senior Vice President of Administration Todd Dickey were brief.

Said Garrett: "I accept Tim's decision and wish him well."

"The University is cooperating fully in the continuing investigation with the NCAA and Pac-10 into all allegations of NCAA and Pac-10 rules violations at USC. The University, the NCAA and Pac-10 have jointly conducted interviews of approximately 50 witnesses. No conclusions have yet been reached," Dickey said. "At this point, it would be both inappropriate and premature to comment further."

A report on Yahoo! Sports last month alleged that Floyd had made a $1,000 cash payment to Rodney Guillory, who played a major role in bringing O.J. Mayo to USC two years ago. The allegations were based off testimony and information from Louis Johnson, who used to be a member of Mayo's entourage. Johnson had previously said that Guillory received thousands of dollars from Bill Duffy Sports Agency in hopes that Mayo would sign with agent Bill Duffy after college.

Floyd's resignation is the latest in what has been a terrible offseason for USC. Since the season ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to Michigan State, the Trojans saw DeMar DeRozan, Daniel Hackett and Taj Gibson enter the NBA Draft. Gibson was the lone one not to hire an agent. Highly-touted high school senior Renardo Sidney is now with Mississippi State after originally committing to USC. Fellow recruit Solomon Hill reneged on his commitment and signed with Arizona, while Noel Johnson recently asked out of his letter-of-intent and is now exploring his options. Furthermore, Marcus Johnson decided to pursue a professional basketball career despite receiving a fifth year of eligiblity.

With Floyd now resigning, Lamont "Momo" Jones is now likely to ask out of his letter of intent, and remaining recruit Derrick Williams is following the situation closely and could be gone as well.

Floyd was reportedly offered head coaching positions at both Arizona and Memphis during the early part of the offseason, but declined both. He likely regrets that now.