Tim Floyd in Las Vegas

Lance Pugmire and Eric Sondheimer are in Las Vegas watching some of America's top high school basketball recruits (check out today's article and keep up with them on Varsity Times Insider). They report that they're not alone:

Operating along with all of his peers under an NCAA-imposed silent treatment with recruits, USC Coach Tim Floyd said spending the week at the club basketball tournaments for prep-aged players in Las Vegas requires a subtle system of recognition with the players USC is expected to sign later this year.

"We've already established who we want to sign for '09, so it's just a matter of making sure they know we're there," Floyd said Tuesday while watching Fairfax High standout Renardo Sidney and his club squad, the L.A. Dream Team, at Foothill High in Henderson, Nev. "You hope they recognize you."

Floyd said he plans to scout throughout the week at tournaments throughout the greater Las Vegas area, then huddle nightly with two assistant coaches to discuss not only the incoming 2009 players but whom the Trojans may pursue for the school years beginning in 2010 and 2011.