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Remembering Ryan
TEMPE, ARIZ. — These are the times they miss Ryan Francis most, when they imagine what it would have been like for the 5-foot-9 bundle of energy to be a part of what is shaping up as a special season.

The ache runs especially deep for USC junior swingman Nick Young, Francis' roommate on trips and a close friend of the freshman who was slain last May in Baton Rouge, La. As fun as it was, the No. 22 Trojans' 80-75 victory Thursday over No. 19 Arizona somehow seemed incomplete.

"It's something he would have been proud of," Young said of a triumph that ended USC's 21-game losing streak at Arizona's McKale Center. "Those moments always get to us, like when we upset Wichita State … he would have been out there jumping around.

"Last night we would have been celebrating in the room, just having fun. We used to always have a pillow fight every other day."

The Trojans have remembered their fallen teammate by putting one of his jerseys in an empty locker inside the Galen Center and erecting a bench bearing his name outside the facility. Francis' No. 12 is also inscribed in large red letters on the court near the scorer's table, and players have worn red wristbands adorned with his name as a tribute.

The trial of DeAnthony Norman Ford, the man accused of shooting Francis, is scheduled to begin June 11 in Baton Rouge.