He looks like a totally different player than he did at the start of the season. I didn't get a chance to watch him in high school, so coming in to the season I only knew him by reputation. In the first half of the season he looked tentative and floated around the perimeter avoiding the ball. I would say he was the least effective of the team's starters which seemed to doom USC to a mediocre season. A close loss to Oklahoma (which should have been a win if Hackett made some free throws) gave reason to be optimistic, but Dwight Lewis and Daniel Hackett were the key players in that game and DeRozan still didn't warrant much attention.
Demar started to be more assertive during the conference schedule but he saved his coming out party for the Pac-10 tournament. He was a monster out there. I didn't see the Cal game, but he finished with 17pts, 11 rebs, and 3 blocks. He started off in the UCLA game showing off his athleticism with a huge putback dunk and another huge dunk on the fastbreak. But what really surprised me was how often his jumpshot went in. He rarely made a move off the dribble, but he'd pull up for pretty 12-15 foot jumpshots near the top of the key and I think they all went in. He carried SC in the first half of the Arizona State game with his scoring when it seemed like everyone else was cold. He really helped the team with his rebounding as well coming up with several key putbacks in the UCLA game in particular. Actually, I was surprised to find out that he has nearly as many offensive rebounds as defensive rebounds on the season. He just out jumps everyone else around the basket. He also made a spot up three pointer in all three games, which had been one of his weak points all season. His form looks good so the range should come as he gets stronger.
Defensively, USC is usually very active in the passing lanes and DeRozan was contributing there as well. He picked Collison a couple of times in the UCLA game, one of which led to a break away dunk. I think he had a break away steal and dunk in the Arizona State game as well. I didn't notice any other standout defensive plays, but USC won the tournament largely on the strength of their defense and it was a full team effort. Arizona State seemed like they ran a high screen on every single play so there were a lot of defensive rotations going on. UCLA couldn't get into their offense without turning the ball over. He's not as good of an on-ball defender as Mayo was, but he was playing at the PF position much of the time so he didn't really have much opportunity to show off his on ball defense either. He should be able to hold his own defensively.
Overall I'd say he's still a very raw player in terms of basketball skills. He can't take anyone off the dribble and he doesn't drive to the basket in traffic either. What he has shown is that he can hit his midrange jumpshots consistently and get after it on the boards. If he's unguarded on the wing, watch out. He'll be a threat for alley oops or put backs. A young Gerald Wallace is a pretty good comparison I think. He's got a lot of the same tools, and seeing his improvment over the course of the season I feel pretty good right now about his attitude and work ethic. Definitely an exciting player.
