Overton and USC hit court — as opponents

LOS ANGELES — Once point guard Venoy Overton hits the floor for the Washington Huskies today, USC coach Tim Floyd is certain to tell his defense not to let him break loose.

It's something Floyd couldn't do himself last winter, when Overton — after committing to USC — changed his mind and signed instead with Washington, a twist that serves as a juicy subplot to today's 3:30 p.m. game at the Galen Center.

Each team is winless in Pac-10 play — UW at 0-2, USC at 0-3 — a fact that looms most important.

But Overton's switch of allegiances likely won't be forgotten, at least by Floyd, who said at Pac-10 media day last fall that "I wasn't thrilled with it, no." Floyd said he thought the Franklin High School grad changed his mind largely because the Huskies continued to recruit him.

But Overton said Friday the decision was all his, saying he grew concerned about USC's plans for him after the Trojans picked up commitments from some other guards — namely, Brandon Jennings, who has since committed to Arizona, where he will play next season. Overton, whose eligibility was uncertain until shortly before school started this fall, also said he was worried USC might want him to go to a prep school to shore up his academics.

Overton committed to USC in September 2006 but didn't sign in the early November period, then pledged his allegiance to Washington in February 2007, signing later that spring.

"I was ready to sign [with USC early], but he [Floyd] didn't want me to sign right away," Overton said. "That was the issue. UW wanted me to sign right away, so I wasn't sure if their [the Trojans'] offer was real, like they didn't think I was going to make it. I think they were going to set me up to a prep school, and I didn't really want that."

Said Floyd: "We would have taken Venoy if he had honored his commitment."

Overton said he ultimately decided to just stay home.

"I just wanted to be a hometown kid," he said.

Intriguingly, Overton could return to the starting lineup today as coach Lorenzo Romar attempts to jump-start the Huskies after losses to Washington State and UCLA.

Overton started the first eight games of the season, then was relegated to reserve status when Romar decided to reward those who had shown the most commitment to defense.

But UW's offense has grown stagnant — the combined 107 points in the past two games is the lowest two-game total for the Huskies since 1996 — and Romar said lineup changes could be coming.

Despite some limited playing time in recent games, Overton continues to lead UW in assists with 50, and his assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.56 is the best on the team and 10th in the Pac-10.

"I feel like I'm about to really start opening up a lot right now," Overton said. "I feel like I'm ready to perform and just push the ball and give us a point guard and help the team out."

If all goes well today, it could at least make the postgame handshake a happy one, if potentially still a little tense — Overton said he hasn't talked to Floyd since changing his mind.

"The biggest thing for me is just to come in and get the win and let those guys know I made the right decision," he said.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com