Things are a little different these days at USC than they were a little more than a year ago when Henry Bibby was at the helm.

Second-year Trojans head coach Tim Floyd received a commitment from freshman Dwayne Polee Jr. - considered one of the best young players in the state and maybe the country.

Floyd is expected to land O.J. Mayo, arguably the top player in the Class of 2007, when signing day rolls around next month.

He's among the finalists for the top point guard in the Class of 2008, Brandon Jennings, although UConn appears to be the frontrunner.

USC is also heavily in the mix for the top player in the Class of 2009 - Mississippi native Renardo Sidney, who moved to California for his sophomore season in high school.

The bottom line is that Floyd is a tireless worker. He's active on the recruiting trail and he can coach. Those are two attributres that the previous coach at USC never proved he had.

Shocking turn

Another program that has really begun to take advantage of its recent success is Wichita State.

Shockers head coach Mark Turgeon is now going toe-to-toe with Big East, Pac-10 and even ACC schools in recruiting battles - and coming out on top.

Turgeon landed Gal Mekal in the summer when the Israeli guard turned down Providence, USC and a late bid by Miami.

The Shockers got Denzel Bowles, a skilled 6-foot-8 forward from Virginia who considered Big East schools. Then they got Guy Alang Ntang, a skilled 6-foot-7 wing from Cameroon who is at New Hampton (N.H.), earlier this week.

``Wichita State is taking advantage of their success," New Hampton coach Jamie Arsenault said. "They are working hard, especially in recruiting, and putting themselves in a position to outrecruit programs from major conferences."