USC Loses Starting Guard Cooper

Guard Duane Cooper of USC might miss most of the 1989-90 basketball season after breaking a bone in his right foot in practice Wednesday.

Cooper suffered a stress fracture in his right foot Sept. 6, and resumed practice last week. He was making a cut during a drill Wednesday when he was reinjured.

Cooper started 19 games as a sophomore last season, averaging 4.1 points and 2.7 assists. He was also voted USC’s best defensive player.

With Cooper sidelined, Robert Pack is expected to move into the starting lineup. A 6-foot 2-inch junior, Pack is a junior college transfer from Tyler (Tex.) College.

With Cooper out, USC has lost its starting backcourt from last season. Guard Anthony Pendleton was declared academically ineligible last summer. Pendleton was USC’s second-leading scorer with a 15-point average.

Meanwhile, USC announced the signing of three high school recruits--Lorenzo Orr, a 6-7 forward from Pershing High in Detroit; Kraig Conger, a 6-9 center from Wasson High in Colorado Springs; and Wayne Butts, a 6-5 forward from Baldwin High in Milledgeville, Ga.

Orr averaged 17 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots as a junior. Conger averaged 22 points and 11.3 rebounds last season, and Butts averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds.