Practices Key for USC; It’s Where Washington and Wheatley Come In

Bob Wheatley and Carl Washington. Their names don’t often appear in USC box scores. They aren’t even on the traveling squad.

But Wheatley, Washington and players of similar caliber are making an important contribution to USC’s winning season, according to Coach Stan Morrison and senior wingman Ron Holmes.

They extend the regulars in practice, making them work for rebounds and shots.

“The level of competition in practice is greater this year,” Holmes said Monday. “The Bob Wheatleys and Carl Washingtons come to practice every day to play and, if I don’t, I will be exposed.

“The guys have a better attitude, even the ones who don’t make the trips. Therefore, the starters have to be ready. We can’t come in and have an easy stroll and say, ‘Today we’ll take it easy.’ Because if you take it easy, it would be obvious.”

Morrison said that the reserves who didn’t make the recent trip to Arizona were so dedicated that they even practiced last Friday on their own.

Apparently, that is one of the reasons USC is 10-4 overall and 4-1 in the Pacific 10 heading into games with California and Stanford next Saturday afternoon and Monday night, respectively, at the Sports Arena.

So far, the Trojan basketball season has been similar to the football team’s season. In 1983, USC went 4-6-1, then came back last season to win the conference championship and Rose Bowl game.

Morrison’s basketball team was 11-20 overall last season and 6-12 in the Pac-10, finishing eighth. Now the Trojans are contending for the conference championship, although they have yet to prove they’re capable of beating Oregon State and Washington, the preseason favorites.

USC’s 4-1 league start has additional significance because three of the wins have been on the road. The Trojans won only 1 of 14 road games last season.

Morrison said he needled his players before the Arizona trip. He wrote on a blackboard that the goal for the week was to split on the road.

Holmes erased Morrison’s goal and replaced it with this notation: “Win two. Nothing else will do.”

Holmes and his teammates backed it up by beating Arizona last Thursday night, 64-63, and Arizona State Saturday afternoon, 73-54.

“The players talked it over and we feel we can be 7-1 going into our next road trip,” Holmes said. “We feel we can control our own destiny.”

USC will have to beat Cal (9-6, 1-4) and Stanford (9-6, 1-4), along with UCLA Feb. 1 at the Sports Arena to improve to 7-1.

Then the Trojans will have to play three road games in six days--against Oregon State, Washington and Washington State.

“The atmosphere this year is that we can win on the road,” Holmes said. “Last year we’d let the crowd affect us and we weren’t confident we could win.”

Holmes also said the team is more mature with four seniors--forward Wayne Carlander, center Clayton Olivier, guard Glenn Smith and himself--and is much closer as a unit both on and off the court.

USC is the only team in the Pac-10 that has had the same starting lineup the entire season: Holmes, Carlander, Olivier, forward Derrick Dowell and point guard Larry Friend.

USC also has been getting a lift from the bench recently. Kevin Steward, Charlie Simpson, Rod Keller, Troy LaMar and Smith all contributed in the Arizona sweep.

Morrison said he is pleased with USC’s progress but not surprised by it, and he won’t look ahead.

“I can’t tell what will happen tomorrow,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to our two hours of practice today. The players feel the same way. They’re not overly impressed with themselves. They’re just keeping their mind on business.

“We’ve already played 14 of our 28 games, and it’s nice to be 10-4 and 4-1. But it would be better to be 14-0 and 5-0.”

Trojan Notes Wayne Carlander, who scored 25 points against Arizona State Saturday, is averaging 16.3 points a game and if he maintains that pace will become USC’s all-time leading scorer by the end of the season. . . . Ron Holmes is averaging 16.1 points, Derrick Dowell is averaging eight rebounds a game, and Larry Friend is leading the Pac-10 in assists with a 6.9 average. Friend needs just 45 assists in the remaining 14 games to break Gus Williams’ school record of 140. . . . Coach Stan Morrison praised Kevin Steward for the way Steward defended against Arizona center Pete Williams, and praised Glenn Smith for the manner in which Smith ran the team as a point guard against Arizona State while replacing Friend, who was in foul trouble.