USC’s Kevin O’Neill is impressed with team during scrimmage

During a closed scrimmage against Air Force last weekend, the USC men’s basketball team proved three things to Coach Kevin O’Neill:

That freshman point guard Maurice Jones was ready to lead the Trojans, that overall the team is in very good physical shape and that the Trojans are, as a group, unselfish.

The unofficial score of the USC victory was 75-46, and the Trojans got balanced scoring highlighted by a 10-point, 10-assist, five-turnover performance in 38 minutes from Jones.

“He played very well,” O’Neill said. “He looked very comfortable. The first four minutes, he was trying too hard to run what we wanted to run instead of just playing, and then when he started just playing, he was very, very good.”

O’Neill said three of Jones’ five turnovers came in the first three minutes.

“It was cool,” Jones said of his first chance to lead the Trojans against an opponent. O’Neill “just told me to do what I’ve been doing: Get my open shots, be aggressive, and then give the teammates open shots too.”

O’Neill said junior forward Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and 13 rebounds, senior guard Marcus Simmons had 13 points, and freshman guard Bryce Jones had eight rebounds in 21 minutes.

O’Neill said the main thing he took from the game was his team’s improved conditioning “because as the game wore on, we got stronger.”

“We played better as a group than I thought we would,” he said.

Air Force runs a Princeton motion offense predicated on backdoor cuts, but O’Neill said his team only gave up three layups — none in the second half.

Said Jones: “We watched film on how to prepare for that. Once we got down to it, it was kind of easy.”

Freshmen forwards Garrett Jackson ( broken nose) and Curtis Washington (strained groin) were held out of the scrimmage, as were transfers Aaron Fuller and Jio Fontan.

Psaltis dies

Tony Psaltis, the most valuable player and team captain of the 1956 USC men’s team, died Saturday in Los Angeles of leukemia. He was 76.

Psaltis, a three-year starter, is survived by sons Spiro — a pitcher for USC’s baseball team from 1979 to 1981 — and Arthur and daughter Katherine, as well as seven grandchildren. His children each graduated from USC.

baxter.holmes@latimes.com