Senior guard Jio Fontan - the player the USC Trojans could least afford to lose - suffered a left knee sprain during a 81-70 on Tuesday to Mogi das Cruzes a professional team in Sau Paulo, Brazil.
According to a press release from USC, "Fontan, who scored 57 points in USC's first two games on the trip, took a hit going to the basket and landed awkwardly with USC up 30-28 with 4:24 to go in the first half. After leaving the game, Fontan had an X-ray on his knee which proved negative, but is expected to have an MRI on the knee tomorrow after the team flies to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil."
USC returns eight players and one starter (Fontan) from last season's squad, which finished 19-15 and tied for fourth place in the Pac-10.
The Trojans were planning to rebuild around Fontan and newcomer DeWayne Dedmon, a 7-foot junior college transfer who coach Kevin O'Neill believes could be a future NBA first-round draft pick.
If Fontan is seriously injured, it's a major setback for USC.
This trip is proving costly for the the Trojans. During practice for the tour, sophomore forward Curtis Washington suffered a season-ending torn labrum.
WEDNESDAY MORNING LINKS:
--- California edged Uppsala 76-74, a professional team in Stockholm, Sweden, to remain push their record to 2-0 on their northern Europe tour. Richard Solomon scored a team-high 18 points and Allen Crabbe and Brandon Smith each had 17. Jorge Gutierrez (sprained ankle) and Harper Kamp (sore knee) did not play.
--- UCLA has a plethora of forwards, but guards are in short supply.
--- It's time to get to know Oregon's Olu Ashaolu, the 6 foot 7 transfer from Louisiana Tech who is eligible to play next season. He averaged 14.2 points and 9.4 rebounds, and was named to the WAC's all-defensive team.
--- It's a little old, but here's a story questioning if Oregon made the right decision in giving a scholarship to Wake Forest center Tony Woods who pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor assault on his girlfriend and was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.
--- ESPN's Andy Katz and Diamond Leung says Arizona, UCLA, Washington and Cal are the favorites to win the Pac-12 title. Katz likes Oregon and USC to make a jump into the upper echelon of the conference.
--- Leung also profiled new Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak, who has a difficult job of restoring Utah to prominence. There's major changes in Salt Lake City.
--- Just in case you didn't know the 7-foot guy walking around Montlake is Aziz N'Diaye, the Washington center shaved his name in the back of his head to avoid any confusion.
--- No link to their subscription site, but Scout.com list the top 100 2012 recruits after watching them during July tournaments. Washington is reportedly interested in No. 10 Anthony Bennett, No. 38 Shaquille Cleare and No. 73 Rosco Allen. Arizona has received verbal commitments from No. 24 Grant Jerrett and No. 43 Gabe York. UCLA has commitments from No. 64 Dominic Artis and No. 74 Jordan Adams.
--- Mark Knight at Husky Haul provides a great deal of insight into UW's 2012 recruits.
--- Griffin Bennett at Montlake Madness takes an in-depth look at 2012 target Demarquise "Que" Johnson, who will reportedly visit UW on September 24 and believed to be considering UNLV, Missouri, Washington and Washington State
--- Washington State finalized the 2011-12 schedule, which includes a difficult No. 14 opener against Gonzaga in Spokane at the Bulldogs' McCarthey Athletic Center.
The other highlights of the Cougars' non-conference are a trip to the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif. with an opener against Oklahoma as well as a visit to Seattle's KeyArena to play Pepperdine in the Dec. 22 Cougar Hardwood Classic.
WSU begins Pac-12 play Dec. 29 at the Spokane Arena for 'home' games against Oregon and Oregon State. They next week the Cougars make their first conference road trip to Utah (Jan. 5) and Colorado (Jan. 7).
WSU plays a Thursday-Saturday format with the exception of a Jan. 15 Sunday visit to Washington.
Because of the uneven schedule, WSU will not play Utah and Colorado at home and will not make a trip to the California Bay Area for games at Stanford and Cal this season.
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