At the USC Men's Basketball game vs Florida Gulf Coast, Trojan Candy saw the USC Song Girls passing out flyers in the stands. Curiosity got the best of me, so I walked over to two Song Girls and asked them what they were handing out. They told me that the USC Song Girls were going to have a workshop for young girls. Then these girls would perform at a future men's basketball game.
Trojan Candy thanked them and asked if I could take their picture. Meet my two new USC Song Girl friends, Kiley and Bella.
FIGHT ON, USC Song Girls!
By the way, the Men won 71-58.
Our Men's Basketball Team played LSU in the Hall of Fame Classic at the Staples Center.
The game was close throughout with our Trojans trailing 28-35 at halftime. With three minutes left in the game, Trojan Candy began to take action videos again.
LSU scored the next four points. Nick Rakocevic (8/26/2016) tipped in a hard-fought basket for a 70-66 lead with 0:11 left.
LSU scored another basket and fouled Jonah Mathews (4/12/2017). Jonah missed a bonus free throw. LSU got the rebound and raced downcourt. Onyeka Okongwu (11/9/2019) blocked LSU's Javonte Smarts' shot at the buzzer to preserve a 70-68 win.
Jonah Mathews was chosen as the MVP of the game.
Our Trojans celebrated their victory!
Trojan Candy was at Galen Center for the Women of Troy basketball game vs Nevada. I noticed a familiar face in the courtside seats. It was Desmon Farmer sitting with his family.
Our women were down 15-22 to Nevada at half-time.
Naturally, during halftime, I walked down to visit with Desmon. Desmon told me that after he retired from the NBA, he started coaching. He has coached youth basketball with the Vegas Thunder AAU Basketball team, the Royal Basketball School, and Private Training. He is now with BIG3's 3-on-3 Youth Initiative Young3. Keep coaching and FIGHT ON, Desmon!
Our Women of Troy beat Nevada 50-47.
FIGHT ON, Women of Troy Basketball!
Trojan Candy was at Galen Center for the Women of Troy basketball game vs the University Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros. I recognized some USC football players sitting together and saw a player whom I had never seen before. I walked right over to interview him before the game started.
Freshman cornerback Adonis Otey is from Columbia, Tennessee. He is majoring in Communication. His favorite food is pizza. His hobby is playing football and taking care of his academics. Adonis likes rap music the best, and his favorite rap artist is NBA YoungBoy. So nice to meet you, Adonis, and FIGHT ON!
Our Women of Troy beat UTRGV 80-43.
FIGHT ON, Women of Troy Basketball!
Our Women of Troy Basketball team was playing a game against UNLV at Galen Center. During halftime Trojan Candy saw her sitting across the court. I walked over to meet our new president. Carol Folt was friendly and smiling. We spoke about organizations that I am a member of, such as Town & Gown, TGLA, Half Century Trojans and the Associates. I asked her if I could take a picture of her. Instead, she had someone take a picture of both of us. So nice to meet you, President Folt!
As I walked back to my seat, a young man signaled to me to come over to him in the stands. There were four of them sitting together. They were USC football players! Trojan Candy told them that I would come back to take pictures and interview them.
As soon as I returned, I took a picture of them. They were Abdul-Malik McClain and Velus Jones Jr (1/29/2017) in front and Isaac Taylor-Stuart and Dominic Davis in back. Then, I proceeded to interview each one of them and take individual pictures.
The first player whom Trojan Candy interviewed was Dominic Davis. Dominic is the player who motioned me to come over to them. WR-CB Dominic is a senior majoring in Communication. His favorite food is sushi. Dominic's hobby is playing video games. "Call of Duty" is his favorite game. Dominic likes R&B music the best, and his favorite artist is Lil Wayne. As for movies, Dominic likes "Kung Fu Hustle" the most. FIGHT ON, Dominic!
The next football player whom Trojan Candy interviewed was freshman Munir McClain. He had just sat down in the aisle seat. WR Munir is majoring in Sociology. Two of his hobbies are playing football and playing the piano. Munir's favorite food is seafood. Yum! Munir's favorite music artists are "Takers Rap" artist T.I. and Rap artist Future. RAP and FIGHT ON, Munir!
Trojan Candy interviewed WR Velus Jones Jr. next. Velus is a red-shirt junior. Like Munir, he is majoring in Sociology. His hobbies are to go to movies and play X box. Velus's favorite movie is "Talladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby," and his favorite actor is Trojan Will Ferrell. His favorite food is seafood and soul food. Velus likes Trap hip hop music the most. FIGHT ON, Velus!
The fourth USC Football player whom Trojan Candy interviewed was Isaac Taylor-Stuart. CB sophomore Issac is majoring in Communication, just like Dominic and Munir. His hobby is playing video games. Isaac's favorite food is barbecue. Mmm! As for favorite music, Isaac likes RAP artist Future, also like Munir. This must be why they are good friends. Isaac's favorite movie is "Barbershop 2: Back in Business." FIGHT ON, Issac!
Then at last, I was able to interview Munir McClain's older brother Abdul-Malik who is also on the USC football team. OLB Abdul-Malik is a sophomore majoring in Communication. He likes to go to the beach and wear Michael Jordan shoes. Unlike his brother, Abdul-Malik's favorite food is hot wings. His favorite movies are action movies. Another Trojan after my own heart! Like Velus, Abdul-Malik likes Trap hip hop music the best. His two favorite artists are Lil Baby and Drake. FIGHT ON, Abdul-Malik!
All the time that Trojan Candy was interviewing the five football players, our Women of Troy were playing well against UNLV. We won 75-54.
FIGHT ON, Women of Troy Basketball!
Trojan Candy arrived a little early to her first USC Track Banquet. I sat at a middle table with my sister Patti and brother-in-law Dudley Poon. There were three Women of Troy track athletes at our table.
I was able to interview the young lady sitting next to Patti. Sydney Tullai, who is a Junior from Chino Hills, competes in Cross Country. She is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sports Business and Management. One of Sydney's hobbies is to discover new movies. Her favorite movie is the "Phantom of the Opera." Sydney's favorite food is Fettuccine Alfredo. So nice to meet you and FIGHT ON, Sydney!
Trojan Candy didn't have time to interview the other two Women of Troy track members sitting at our table because the banquet started.
The 2020 Track and Field Seniors were introduced near the beginning of the program. I recorded two videos of the introductions.
Then, at the podium, Director of Track and Field Caryl Smith Gilbert told us that our men had the highest GPA (3.05) of all men's sports last semester. The Seniors in eighty-four events won 46 Gold Medals, 23 Silver Medals and 15 Bronze Medals. What a record! FIGHT ON, USC Track and Field Seniors!
Coach Smith Gilbert was announcing awards continually during the banquet. I took pictures of several of them. The Male MVP Award went to Matt Katnick and the Woman MVP went to Angie Annelus.
Now it was time for the Heritage Award winners to be introduced. Heritage Awards recognize individuals who have contributed to the great tradition of USC track and field. The first award was given to Mike Larrabee, posthumously. He passed away in 2003. Mike Larrabee, Jr., accepted the award. His father was an All-American sprinter at USC from 1954-56. Mike won the Gold Medal in the 400m dash and the 4x400 Relay at the 1964 Olympics.
The second Heritage Award was given to Aaron Brown (9/8/2011). Trojan Candy interviewed Aaron at Heritage Hall. Aaron, who is from Toronto, Canada, ranks fifth on USC's all-time 100m list and seventh on USC's all-time 200m list. He won a Bronze medal in the 2016 Olympics in the 4x100m relay. It was so nice to see you again and FIGHT ON, Aaron!
Anna told Trojan Candy that she has one more year of eligibility. Fantastic!
As Trojan Candy was leaving, I saw Matt Katnick standing with his family. They held Matt's trophies for "Most Improved Man" and "Most Valuable Male Athlete."
What an award filled "Out of the Block" banquet.