McMillan Is New but Dominant in Rivalry

Raised in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, N.Y., Jeff McMillan grew up with the St. John’s-Georgetown rivalry and the enmity between the New York Knicks and just about everyone else in the NBA as points of reference.

It took the junior power forward, who transferred to USC from Fordham last year, only one game to get acclimated to the intense loathing that exists between the Trojans and UCLA.

And it was in his second meeting with the Bruins -- the Trojans’ 78-77 overtime win on Wednesday -- that the 6-foot-8, 260-pound McMillan stamped his own mark on the rivalry by dominating UCLA’s lithe big men down low, finishing with 19 points and a career-best and Pacific 10 Conference season-high 18 rebounds. The last Trojan to get 18 rebounds was David Bluthenthal against UCLA on Jan. 10, 2002.

“I’m just trying to step up,” said a sheepish McMillan, who had seven offensive rebounds. “That’s it.”

McMillan, the lone Trojan to start all 24 games this season, had hit a wall midway through league play, averaging three points and four rebounds in the Trojans’ 1-3 stretch against Stanford, UCLA, Washington and Washington State.

Since then, McMillan has averaged 13.6 points and 11.4 rebounds and has three double-doubles.

“Jeff McMillan has been good the last four or five games,” USC Coach Henry Bibby said. “He dominated play in the first half ... but he got a bit winded in the second half.”

Indeed, McMillan dropped several passes to him on the block late in the game and in overtime, though he was credited with only one turnover.

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Freshman point guard Rodrick Stewart was the lone recruited scholarship player to not get in the game against UCLA.

Bibby said Thursday through school spokesman Paul Goldberg that Stewart was not held out as a result of a suspension.

“I can’t play everybody,” Bibby said.

Stewart has not scored from the field since Jan. 22, going 0 for 18 since the Trojans’ loss at California.

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Senior guard Desmon Farmer, whose circus shots and 11 points in overtime enabled the Trojans to overcome a five-point deficit, averaged 27.3 points in his final four games against the Bruins.

Farmer’s 1,553 career points rank fourth all-time at USC, 104 behind Sam Clancy for third place.

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Junior guard Errick Craven (1,022 points) moved into 27th place on the USC scoring chart, and his two steals against UCLA gave him 201 steals, two behind Jeff Trepagnier for third place and seven behind Stais Boseman for second.