Raveling Brings In Seven New Players to Bolster USC

Anyone familiar with USC’s basketball team last season would hardly recognize it now.

In the wake of a last-place finish in the Pacific 10 with a 4-14 record (9-19 overall), Coach George Raveling went recruiting.

He brought in seven new players, combining them with three players who sat out last season and four returning players, meaning that the team has 10 newcomers.

USC will begin practice today, and Raveling was upbeat when he said: “We’ll have greater depth, speed and quickness and we’ll be a much better shooting team. With the exception, perhaps, of the center position, we’ll be three deep everywhere else, and in some cases, all three guys have the ability to be starters. The practice situation at USC will be more competitive than it has been in years.”

The recruits are forwards Calvin Banks of St. Francis de Sales High School in Toledo, Ohio; Ronnie Coleman of Compton Dominguez High; Robert Hooper of Lawson State Community College in Birmingham, Ala., and Chris Moore of Southern Junior College in Birmingham, and guards Andy Olivarez of Cypress College, Johnny Holmes of Hallandale (Fla.) High School, and Duane Cooper of Lakewood High.

They’ll be joined by guard Dave Wiltz, a starter last season before he was declared academically ineligible; forward Alan Pollard, a transfer from Brigham Young, and guard Anthony Pendleton, who failed to meet the requirements of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s Proposition 48 as a freshman.

The returning veterans include guards Brad Winslow and Rich Grande, center Chris Munk and forward Bob Erbst.

Raveling said 7-2 center Carl Pollard is transferring to another school to get a degree in electronics that couldn’t be obtained at USC.

The USC women’s team also will start practice today. Coach Linda Sharp has three returning starters--forward-center Cherie Nelson, forward Holly Ford and guard Karon Howell--from a team that had an overall record of 22-8 and won the Pac-10 with a 15-3 record last season.