UCLA BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK: YOUNG WONDERS ABOUT HIS FUTURE.

Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL

Staff Writer

Nick Young watched Saturday's pregame ceremony honoring USC's seniors with envy, knowing he may never get the same treatment. The junior has said he will explore his NBA options after the season, and will turn pro if he get feedback that he will be a first-round pick.

"That was very emotional coming out there because it could be my last game at Galen," Young said. "I try not to think about it, but it kind of got to me because I want my jersey hung up like that too."

Seniors Lodrick Stewart, Abdoulaye N'diaye and Chris Penrose came away with framed jerseys to commemorate their time at USC.

Long after the game ended, as Young walked off Galen Center court for perhaps the last time, the crowd chanted "One more year!"

"It's good having them thinking about me at the end of the game and showing me support that they want me to come back," Young said. "I feel like part of the Trojan family."

Out of Africa: Family members joined Penrose and Stewart for the pregame festivities. N'diaye, who comes from Senegal in western Africa, said his parents hoped to come out for their first USC game but could not get a travel visa.

"I'm thinking about sending the framed jersey to my parents back in Africa so they can see what I accomplished," N'diaye said. "I know they wish they were here tonight, and they're with me in spirit."

Coaching plans: Penrose, who is scheduled to graduate in the spring with a degree in economics, said he hoped to return to the USC basketball team as a graduate assistant.

"Basketball is a love of mine and I'd really like to start my way into coaching," Penrose said. "But we'll see what happens."

USC coach Tim Floyd praised Penrose as the ultimate team player, someone who urged on his teammates at practice and hosted nearly every recruit USC has brought in over the past two years.

"When I first got here, it was a little dysfunctional at times, and Penny was the one guy I could always count on," Floyd said. "He's a big USC guy and will be his whole life. The kid's going to be a great success at whatever he does."

Going pro? Gabe Pruitt, who said Friday that he planned to return for his senior season, said after the game that he still may attend the NBA pre-draft camp June 4-8 in Orlando, Fla., to see where he stands.