Morrison Decides to Let Young Players Sit a Spell : Coach Says His Veterans Are the Ones to Put USC Team Back on the Track

It has been said that youth must be served, but not for a while, as far as USC basketball Coach Stan Morrison is concerned.

Morrison said Wednesday that he has given his young players too much playing time and that he’ll rely more on his veterans.

USC (1-3) is coming off a trip in which it was routed by Syracuse, 102-68, before frittering away a lead and losing to Penn, 63-54.

The Trojans will try to regroup tonight against experienced Texas (2-1) at the Sports Arena.

“We’re a disappointed and disheartened team and I hold myself responsible,” Morrison said. “We’re playing too many young guys too much, too soon. It’s not their fault.”

According to publications that specialize in such things, Morrison had an outstanding recruiting year. He brought in Tom Lewis, Rich Grande and the Philadelphia connection, Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble, all highly regarded high school players.

Lewis, Kimble and Gathers are among the top six on the team in playing time this season. That may change at bit, though.

“We need to inject more experience in the lineup,” Morrison said. “We’re going to play kids who know what to do and take the young people off the hook.”

Morrison wasn’t specific about lineup changes, but he said he needed a player who could run the offense, set screens, block off on the boards and play defense tenaciously.

The conjecture is that senior Troy LaMar, a forward-center who has yet to play this season, will start against the Longhorns.

Morrison was vague about which of his young players will be limited in playing time, saying only that he didn’t want three or four freshmen on the floor at the same time.

Lewis, who was heavily recruited while at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, has been the most visible of the freshman crop. A wingman, he is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 18.5 points and 29 1/2 minutes a game.

Morrison said that the lack of experience was catching up with his team, which lost Wayne Carlander, Ron Holmes, Clayton Olivier and Glenn Smith, who led USC to the co-championship of the Pacific 10 last season.

“I don’t care how talented you are. If you don’t know what to do in given situations it’s not your fault,” Morrison said. “For example, if you play against a team like Pennsylvania that changes defenses, it’s a very difficult thing to master.

“We’re going to have 3 1/2-hour practices a day before a game, which is almost unheard of, and that doesn’t count meeting time. I’m not going to forsake teaching for coaching. So I’m going to play kids who have been taught and, in fact, know what to do. Whether they can do it athletically remains to be seen.

“I’ve been somewhat blinded by our own recruiting success. Sometimes you think the talent is good enough and that it will find a way to get it done. That’s not true at all.

“We need to back up a step to get five guys on the floor who know what they’re doing and who will execute.”

Trojan Notes Tonight’s game will start at 8 and will be broadcast by KNX radio. . . . Texas beat USC last season at Austin, 71-70, in a nonconference game that was played after the Trojans’ four-overtime win over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. . . . Stan Morrison said that Texas is a veteran team led by 6-10 center John Brownlee, who scored a career-high 31 points against USC at Austin. “Texas is a big, strong, active team that is very well coached,” said Morrison, referring to Coach Bob Weltlich, a disciple of Indiana’s Bob Knight. Brownlee is complemented by junior-college transfer Patrick Friars, who is shooting 65.9% from the field while averaging 19.7 points a game. Karl Willock, a senior guard, is averaging 17 points. . . . Morrison is still numb from the shelling his team took from Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. “It’s the best team I’ve ever coached against,” said Morrison, who also coached against a Bill Walton-led UCLA team in the early ‘70s. “I’ve never seen a team pound as hard on the boards.” . . . It’s a short home stand for the Trojans, who will be on the road for games with Colorado State (3-1) and Wyoming (2-1) Saturday and Monday night, respectively. “We’re in a very, very tough situation, and it’s not going to get any easier,” the USC coach said. “Our confidence level is very low and we’re up against three teams that are experienced and physical inside.” Morrison said that senior guard Larry Friend is not playing as well as he did in 1984-85. “He is not with the same balanced team as last season,” Morrison said. “He is trying to make the home run pass for an assist instead of the pass that will lead to the pass for a basket. But he’s playing sound defense and he’ll be all right.”