Oct. 28, 2011

USC will be hosting the second annual men's and women's basketball Salute to Troy on Sunday, Oct. 30 at the Galen Center in the practice courts at 1 p.m.

The day's festivities will include games, autographs, prizes, the band, the Dance Force and several notable former Trojans are expected to be on hand like Nick Young, Taj Gibson, Brandon Granville, Jacque Hill and Ron Holmes.

USC men's head basketball coach Kevin O'Neill and women's head coach Michael Cooper will introduce the 2011-12 Trojans and talk about the upcoming season.

The Galen Center promises to be the place to be this season for big-time college basketball for both the men's and women's teams. The dynamic sophomore duo of the electrifying Maurice Jones and the uber-athletic Dewayne Dedmon are expected to lead the men's team, along with sophomore Garrett Jackson and junior transfers Aaron Fuller and Greg Allen. USC also will rely heavily on freshmen guards Alexis Moore and Byron Wesley and junior transfer center James Blasczyk.

The Women of Troy will be led by seniors Ashley Corral, Briana Gilbreath, Stefanie Gilbreath and Jacki Gemelos. Gilbreath was named an AP All-American while Corral, Gemelos, junior Christina Marinacci and sophomore Cassie Harberts were All-Pac-10 honorees. Our newcomers this season are freshmen Kiki Alofaituli, Deanna Calhoun, Ariya Crook and Alexyz Vaioletama and junior transfer Kate Oliver, giving USC the No. 8 ranked recruiting class in the nation.